An Extra Hour in the DaySaving Time by Enabling EmployeesHow can tech fix inefficiencies that are slowing down the vehicle repair industry?

The bodyshop and vehicle repair industry is going through one of the most

significant periods of transformation since the surge of

cars hitting the roads in the 1960s. Over time, the industry has adapted to

this change by altering repair processes and increasing staff knowledge of the latest repair methods.

The rapid development of technology has now created the current wave of industry wide digital transformation. This has come to fruition in various ways, from the technology integrated in today’s vehicles such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), to the altered customer expectations which have developed from the transparent and fast delivery of goods we have all now come to expect, in today’s Amazon market.

As the market continues to digitise to remain competitive, one of the most important areas to focus on when getting digital transformation right is enabling employees. The employees in each and every bodyshop and repair business

are rightly the lifeblood of the business and it is vital that they are well equipped and able to drive the business forward, with the right skills. Just as it was required back in the transformational 1960s.

The impact technology is having on businesses in the sector when achieving their objectives has been analysed by Audatex in its An Extra Hour in the Day research. Four key areas were unearthed through the findings as vital ways to fix inefficiencies and free up time to work on repairs: streamlining processes, enabling employees, retaining customers and building better supplier relationships.

This Insight Paper, the second in the four part series will focus on how employees can be better enabled and ultimately save an extra hour in every day.

The power of empowering employees

The research of 250 independent and franchised bodyshops across the UK, found that managing technician inefficiency is the number one challenge faced by UK bodyshops (58%) – above estimations, parts procurement, invoicing or planning.

With bodyshops and repair centres increasing their adoption of operational and strategic technology, ensuring staff have the right skills to maximise efficiency becomes a necessity. However, combined workplace inefficiencies are now costing UK bodyshops on average one hour per day per employee. With budget restraints, an increasingly competitive market and

more pressure than ever before from consumers to receive transparency throughout their repairs, there is no doubt that every business in the sector would benefit from claiming this hour back by providing staff with the know-how to use new solutions quickly and effectively.

The number one challenge faced by UK bodyshops

today What are the top 3 challenges you face in your job?

20% Invoicing

20% Workshop

task planning

18% Managing

courtesy cars

16% CRM

44% Parts

procurement

46% Assessment/ Estimating

58% Managing technician efficiency

Despite the benefits that an automated process can bring to job allocation, such as reduced scope for human error and time saving, the majority of job allocation in the bodyshop (56%) and technicians (60%) is still being done manually:

How do you allocate jobs in your bodyshop and how do you allocate the segment of the job to the relevant technicians

Manually Workshop software T-Cards56% 34% 32%60% 28% 30%

Jobs Technicians

Deloitte1 believes that there are three key reasons why the workforce of today has

transformed and why issues may occur. The first being the

aging workforce, as the baby boomers continue to retire, they are

taking key knowledge with them, increasing the need to capture their knowledge earlier. Second is information overload; information is still growing at exponential rates and employees can’t find what they need, even with technology advances. Finally the need for speed, with the rapid pace of today’s work environment, employees increasingly need to work faster and collaborate more effectively to get their jobs done.

These three factors ring very true in the bodyshop industry and all contribute to the management of technician efficiency. By ensuring employees have the skills they require and intelligent systems which can streamline operations, this will result in the removal of the current huge pain point managing efficiency is creating.

Investment in human resources via recruitment and training to bridge the skills gap is a further strategic business move which should be considered in order to improve efficiency. The good news is that the industry is starting to recognise this. Our previous ‘New Rules of the Road’ research found that more than half (52%) of all bodyshops are enhancing training for existing staff, through the allocation of training materials and shared knowledge.

1. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/mx/Documents/human-capital/The_digital_workplace.pdf

Increasing employee efficiency

Better enabling employeesAlong with training on the latest repair methods, it is also possible to better enable employees by ensuring that they are provided with the tools they need to get cars back on the road efficiently and quickly.

Manual processing of tasks such as job allocation drains valuable time away from repairs and also involves a high risk of human error. These errors could easily be overcome by using an effective Bodyshop Management Solution (BMS) as changes to the job scheduling are undertaken automatically and with less margin for inconsistency. The system can also ensure that small jobs are also stored securely on a system and don’t get forgotten or overlooked. In order to improve efficiency even further it is possible to perform a quick analysis of resources before allocating a job e.g. technicians’ performance, skills, experience and availability. Jobs are allocated without bias or emotion so that the right person is assigned the right job.

Solutions such as bodyshop management, invoicing, vehicle damage assessment software and ordering systems can free up ample amounts of time for employees within the repair sector, ultimately streamlining the claims process and reducing key to key times for customers. Combining this with enhanced and dedicated training will ensure that businesses in the sector are meeting customer needs and remaining competitive.

Audatex’s An Extra Hour in the Day research was conducted by Coleman Parkes in 2018 with 250 independent and franchised bodyshops across the UK. The research delves into the changing nature of the vehicle repair industry and the impact technology is having on businesses achieving their goals.

© 2018 Audatex (UK) Limited, A Solera Company. 22/11/2018 – v1

www.audatex.co.uk