OSHA: When Safety is a 4-Letter Word
An OSHA inspector recently showed up to perform a ‘random’ inspection. He noted two minor violations and complimented us on our compliance, saying the average body shop has 12 violations. Because he said his report would reflect favorably on us, we mistakenly thought our fines would only be a few hundred bucks.
Proprietary Repairs
“Do you think that in the near future, other car manufacturers will follow Jaguar’s lead and require repair shops to be ‘certified’ to fix their vehicles?”
Achieving Consistent Volume
“With 21 DRPs, we still see peaks and valleys. What’s the best approach to having a consistent flow of work?”
Success is No Clich
One of our primary contributing editors, John Sweigart, recently provided us with some thoughtful input. He said that shops “need to start fixing the business process that fixes cars.” That struck a chord with me. Other contributing editors chimed in on this topic as well, and when you read over the collective diatribe, you find
Know Who You Are to Maximize Profits
Pretty much in every aspect of our economy today, you can find examples of high-volume production services mixed with lower-volume custom services to meet the varying needs of end-users and consumers across the country. When it comes to consumable goods, Wal-Mart sets the standard for high-volume, mass consumerism. Yet, their mega-store, hyper-mart approach is offset
Plan for the New Year: Launching the New Business Plan
Well, it’s the start of another “new” year, and as such, a time for some brief reflection on, or review of, last year’s performance — and then on to launching the new business plan. After all, haste makes waste and, by the time you read this, we’re well into the new year already. So, it’s
Re-Thinking the Shop Manager Role
In ‘lean’ organizations, the process itself is the ‘manager,’ freeing up your actual shop manager to be a leader instead — someone focused not on problem solving and putting out fires, but on building a better business.
A Few Good Techs
Is there really a technician shortage or just a misappropriation of qualified techs? Is the pool of technicians shrinking faster than the collision repair market?
Will the end result be higher door rates?
Is It Possible to Run a Body Shop Without Lying, Cheating and Stealing?
Point CounterPoint
Sexual Harassment 101
When one of my employees sued my shop manager for sexual harassment — along with me for not putting a stop to it — I was sure I’d done nothing wrong. Little did I know that my almost nonexistent company policy on harassment was about to be put to the test — and fail miserably.
An Incident at the Courthouse
Eighteen years ago, this stay-at-home mom got an auto body shop in her divorce settlement. Today, the story seems funny. Back then, not so much.
The Body Shop According to Jack
If you’re going to hire a consultant, make sure he’s got collision repair industry experience. If not, you’ll end up with Jack #@*!.