Page 50 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2019

Bodyshop Processes
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PAINT&PANEL NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019
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DURING THE 2019 AWARDS JUDGING, EDITOR SAM STREET IMPRESSED TO SEE THE DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY TWO BUSINESSES HAD TAKEN OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS.
DESPITE BEING SEPARATED BY OVER
1700 kilometres, Brighton Panel Works in Melbourne and Gold Coast Collision Centre in South East Queensland faced the same challenges felt across the wider collision repair industry – how to make a decent profit for the hard work they put in. Both have managed to find answers by working with PPG’s MVP Business Solutions pro- gram which is included as part of the com- pany’s support service for customers. Julie Numanoglu at Brighton Panel Works real- ised it was time to start taking advantage of what MVP Business Solutions could offer.
“I had just taken over the business from my dad, Alan Pettett, and I looked at run- ning a business very differently to him. We really needed to look at the way the shop was presented and work on maximising ef- ficiency. When I watched the workshop, I
often saw staff having to walk around look- ing for things. I felt like we were letting them down by not providing an efficient workshop. Mindy Roberts (MVP Business Solutions Manager VIC / TAS) suggested a whole shop audit to figure out exactly what needed fixing. When she showed me the results, I thought ‘oh my God, is that my shop’? From there it was literally out with the old and in with the new.”
It was a similar story at Gold Coast Colli- sion Centre, where a massive growth spurt was the driver behind the move to begin working with MVP Business Solutions, says Megan Leishman, who owns the busi- ness with husband, Dan.
“We were in need of some help because our business exploded – our volume tripled but our processes had not changed. Ben Doughty (MVP Business Solutions Manag- er QLD) explained the different things the program could help us with, if we were in- terested. We started with a shop audit and he put all the results into a booklet, along with ‘before’ photos. That really put every- thing into perspective. It highlighted all the things you should know but, until someone points it out, you don’t necessarily see be-
cause you are caught up in the day-to-day focus of get- ting jobs out the door. Ben
also gave us an ‘action plan’ that we used to start making improvements. Once we did a little bit and saw the benefits, we wanted more and we have just continued on that way trying to learn and absorb as much as wecan.”
Both organisations began by implement- ing 5S methodologies which is basically about cleaning and removing clutter from the workshop and ensuring there is a place for everything. Afterwards, a set of best practice processes, combined with appro- priate product technologies, were imple- mented to cover every workshop operation. This was backed up with comprehensive PPG training for staff. Interestingly, the big- gest challenge for both organisations was in changing the mindset of workshop staff. Specially targeted MVP Business Solutions training sessions have helped staff under- stand the need for change,.
“In the past, everyone had a particular way of wanting to do things but that doesn’t help with efficiency and consistency. It has been great to implement processes for eve- rything but you have to keep everybody on the same page, pulling in the same direc- tion. Ultimately, these improvements are for them, just as much as for the business. The difference in having a place for every- thing, step-by-step processes for everyone to follow and just being organised, is huge.”
The MVP Business Solutions program is delivered by a team of seven MVP Business Solutions Managers Its focus is on helping customers to improve perfor- mance across the full spectrum of busi- ness activities, in order to enhance prof- itability. For more information, contact your PPG Representative.
TOP: Gold Coast Collision Centre, panel shop.
TOP LEFT: If you can’t find it at Brighton Panel Works then you didn’t put it away in the right place.
LEFT: Julie Numanoglu