Page 44 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2019

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PEOPLE MATTER
44 In the right direction • 46 Smoko with Lozo • 48 Understan
PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019
KILLING IT AT CRUISING SPEED
AUGUST WAS NIGHTMARISH IN MANY WAYS AT EAST COAST PAINT AND PANEL AND YET THE BUSINESS HAD ITS BEST MONTH EVER.
hurry up if you have no idea how long they have spent on the job. This way they have tar- gets and they keep an eye on the time. We're not racing against the clock, just ensuring no job is taking longer than it should."
A lot has changed at ECPP since Debono and Lewis started this transformation jour- ney at the beginning of the year and the im- portance of standard operating procedures (SOP) has been drummed into them from the start both by business coach Ben Fewtrell and Quality First manager Melanie Spink from Valspar. Debono now holds a tool box meeting every week. He is trying to intro- duce two new SOPs a week and has provided the staff with folders that they can slot them into. The paint shop processes are complete, administration tasks are the next priority. "Having standard procedures for booking in jobs and answering the phone means the business runs smoothly if we have to duck out for some reason and that has freed us up to do some other things, like delivering the brochures we had made up to our target cli- ents with local fleets."
Debono has also undertaken his first I-CAR course, the Fundamentals of Collision repair and is committed to achieving Platinum sta- tus. "I really enjoyed it, I knew most of it but it was a great refresher course and it really makes you think more about each repair."
Meanwhile in the office, Lewis has been working on the website which is nearly fin- ished. ECCP wasn't even listed on Google at the beginning of the year, as soon as Lewis completed the listing it generated calls and searches. Since she has put up the photos they had taken for their brochure and website the phone has been 'ringing off the hook'.
ECPP recently invested in two benches and a Point X measuring system. The bench- es have helped speed up the repair process and the Point X is allowing them to quote more accurately and to ensure that every job they start is in scope. The shop specialises in drivable repairs. If anything is out of scope then ECPP will send it to fellow Car Craft member Willmot Smash Repair Specialists who have all of the equipment for heavy structural repairs, similarly any out scope work for them such as resprays, will be sent in their direction. Both shops recently joined Car Craft and Lewis said: “Mark and I have received quite a few phone calls from Car Craft members since we joined – just wel-
M
ARK DEBONO AND CARA
Lewis went through the mill in August. Staff have been off for long periods of time - some- how two of the boys were expecting babies within a day of each other, so there was paternity leave for them as well as other legitimate staff absences. On top of that an incident with the dog spotting a bird and bolting on the lead left Lewis with a broken hand, then a family mem- ber was very ill and has now passed away which means she was also absent from
the business.
Despite all of that, the East Coast Paint
& Panel (ECPP) has had its best month
ever in terms of output and profit. Debono said: "When I sat down towards the end of August and looked at what we had achieved, I couldn't believe it. Half the staff off and yet we still got through more work than ever and it seemed like we were cruising."
Debono attributes the increase in vol- ume to a combination of all the procedures they have initiated and starting to use the clocking on and off feature of iBodyshop. iBodyshop's Steve O'Brien often laments that a number of his customers don't use it for numerous reasons, they might be afraid of upsetting staff or are unwilling to police it. Debono says: "It's hard to tell someone to