Analysis will lead management towards areas that can improve within their facility. But, this incremental improvement is only part of the overall picture. Redesigning workflow in the facility, coupled with changes in the way labor is organized and performed, stand to improve overall productivity and profitability the most. This is the first action item for shops looking to increase their facility utilization. With drivable vehicles, those that the customer continues to drive while parts are ordered, management can and should create schedules using this work to fill out their production schedule around the non-driving repair work.
Every facility has only so many body or paint production hours at their disposal.
For example, ten body technicians who spend 7.5 hours of working time at an average 150 percent efficiency will produce 112.5 flat rate hours per day. Filling this time, while taking into account the production capacity of the paint shop is critical. Each day, the paint shop will also need a specific number of repair hours to fill their schedule. In competitive markets or in DRP environments, however, many shop operators complain that this is often not possible. But, the actual repair work on these vehicles should be scheduled carefully according to parts availability and production capacity.