DCR Systems has introduced a new product for the collision repair industry, the DCR Systems Inventory Table. It was created by the DCR Systems team to make the repair planning process, and ultimately, the reassembly process, more effective. The table was engineered and built by Symach and DCR Systems, who received a patent for the table’s unique structure in January.

“The product was developed as a result of a challenge that occurs in many body shops across the country,” said Michael Giarrizzo, CEO of DCR Systems’ dealer-based collision centers.

The problem, according to Giarrizzo, is that much of the hardware, fasteners and clips needed to reassemble a vehicle correctly are often damaged, missing or deemed one-time use by the manufacturers as a result of an accident.

“Gone are the days of utilizing the ‘MacGyver bucket’ of leftover hardware for today’s complex vehicle systems,” said Giarrizzo.

DCR challenged its team to come up with a better way to identify, organize and make sound decisions on all of the materials, fasteners, clips and hardware required to repair the vehicle properly.

“Our team put their heads together and created a solution with regards to the complex fastener and hardware requirements of today’s advanced vehicles,” said Giarrizzo. “We’ve devised a simple and easy system for collision repairers, which helps with accuracy and efficiency during the repair planning and reassembly process.”

Giarrizzo said fastener systems are an integral part of the reconstruction of today’s automobiles.

“The inventory table gives shops the ability to organize all of the hardware pieces so they can be easily identified, correctly sourced and organized so the vehicle can be reassembled without interruption,” he said.

The two-layer table has multiple compartments that correspond to the different parts of the automobile and utilizes colored sticker systems to make it easy to match fasteners and hardware with the associated part of the vehicle. In addition, there are drawers and shelves to store tools and accessory products.

The DCR Systems team’s first attempt involved using a dry-erase table with a checkerboard grid and writing down the type of hardware used on each of the squares. The hardware was then bagged and labeled for later use. Over time, this method evolved, and a color-coded folding table was used to organize all of the hardware.

“We found the labeling was more precise, but there was still some confusion during reassembly trying to figure out where each of the pieces went,” said Giarrizzo.

They altered their strategy and started color-coding both the table and the bags to simplify the labeling. After several modifications, they found an efficient process and filed a patent in December 2017 for the following: A system and method for repairing collision damage or servicing a motor vehicle that involves managing and organizing a plurality of parts that have been removed from the motor vehicle during the repair or service process.

This is the third patent DCR Systems has received. The prior two are based on the unique design of DCR Systems’ body shop layout.

After the new table and process were created, the company reached out to Symach to reengineer the table and begin producing it for the collision repair industry.

Nearly two years ago, DCR Systems formed a strategic partnership with Symach. Since then, the companies have worked together to build “body shops of the future” based on DCR Systems’ process-based production system and Symach’s FixLine repair process.

In addition to setting up body shops across the country, DCR Systems is working with Symach to create “cool tools” and systems for the industry based on the experience of their technicians, such as repair planning stations, mobile tools boards and quality control indicators.

“It is amazing what happens when we engage the creativity of our people,” said Giarrizzo. “Because they are the ones attached to the work and doing it every day, they are the ones most equipped to come up with the next evolution of tools and processes.”

To learn more about the DCR Systems Inventory Table, click here. Complimentary shipping is available when purchasing online.

For more information about DCR Systems, visit dcrsystems.com.