Technology In The Shop
By Jim Skeans
When we changed the term "mechanics" to "technicians," we should have also started calling the shop the technology department. With terms like SPG, LTG, ERO, and SDS, it's getting harder and harder to understand the technology available to the modern service department and body shop. The following are the top questions asked by dealers regarding their technology in the shop.
What is the difference between service pricing guides and labor time guides?
Service pricing guides provide total sales amounts for parts and labor and are usually used to price estimates for retail sales. Labor time guides provide the operation code and the allotted flat rate time for a repair.
How much does each of them cost?
Service pricing guides are much more expensive (two to four times more) than labor time guides. The cost for service pricing guides is broken down into a database price that is usually over $200 a month and a monthly facility fee at approximately half the database fee. In addition, there is a monthly update fee which varies depending on the manufacturer and is often a quarter of the price of the facility fee. Labor time guides are priced at somewhat less than the monthly facility fee for the pricing guides with the monthly manufacturer update costing in the $80 -$100 range. With both types of services there are usually shipping charges and sometimes media (tape or CD) charges involved with the updates.
Would I need both LTG and SPG?
Yes, usually. The intent of the pricing guides is to provide a quick and accurate estimate that includes parts and labor for a given repair. The time guides are usually necessary and facilitate reimbursement for warranty repairs. The users create their own operation codes and times for retail repairs. An example of a user created code would be something like LOF (oil change).
Who provides these guides? Are they dependent on the franchises or geographical area?
The major computer vendors provide automated time guides, and most have pricing guides as well. The computer vendors obtain the labor time guide information from the vehicle manufacturers and then provide the data in a mostly automatic way through their own proprietary applications. These are usually the same code and FRH (flat rate hour) amount regardless of the market or area. The dealers' individual warranty labor rate would make the calculated sale amount unique and, of course, that varies from place to place. Other products, such as the Warranty Wizard, are stand-alone applications designed to not only provide code and FRH information, but also make the selection process quicker and more accurate. The computer vendors also provide the pricing guides, which are mostly franchise specific. These pricing guides are wonderful tools for streamlining the process for retail estimates. Being fully integrated with the appointment and invoicing applications, they make the estimating process quicker and more accurate. The latest releases are very mature and have been on the market for some time. For instance, ADP purchased Hayes-Ligon, and Reynolds & Reynolds purchased the Pioneer Systems, Inc. These were two already mature applications they simply integrated into their existing applications. The estimate amounts are somewhat unique for each dealer as the parts prices are usually predicated on the individual dealers pricing matrix structure.
Should a service department use dispatching software?
Dispatching applications are wonderful productivity enhancement tools when they are set up correctly and the staff is fully trained. Dispatching software keeps the work organized and dispatches the jobs in an objective manner that I have never seen in a manual system. Bottom line, it supports the technicians better by keeping them working more and waiting less for decisions and information. But the caveat is that bad set-ups and/or poorly trained staff can actually cost production. It's also difficult to use. One new Windows product, Scheduling and Dispatching from EDS, overcomes this difficulty. It looks just like a dispatch routing pad showing the status of the jobs and availability of technicians with bright colors.
How can you tell if the dispatching software is being used effectively?
Simple. There should be very little manual intervention by the dispatcher. If the dispatcher has to manually tell the system when or who does what work then it's just not working. I would say a couple of manual adjustments a week is about all I would want to see.
What about handheld service write-up tools like Super Service Advisor from ADP, Handheld Repair Order (HRO) from UCS and Hand Held PCs from R+R?
Using a remote handheld write-up device is one solution to the morning rush problem. Although I prefer using the automated appointment system to solve that one. It is also a big help if you have a logistics problem - like the greeting area is too small or not close enough to the computer terminals. Many of the handheld service write-up systems are pretty expensive, and I recommend that care be taken when implementing them. Be sure that a handheld service write-up system is the best solution for your particular challenge. What we want is to trade the time usually spent typing into the computer with time spent communicating with the customer. That's how handheld service write-up will more than pay for itself by helping to add an hour or so to each RO.
Body shop software-what types are there and what does each do?
Body shop software is typically very different from mechanical repair shop software. In the body shop there are more stages to a repair and more individuals involved in the repair of a given vehicle than there are in the mechanical repair. Also, the pricing and authorization comes from the insurance companies instead of the customer. So body shop software tends to specialize more in tracking the individual stages of repair and on-line integration with the insurance companies and estimating services. Some companies, such as Mitchell's, specializes in body shop software, and ADP has a PC-based system just for body shops as well as ShopLink for their Elite systems. Reynolds certifies other companies for two-way integration with their ERA system using their Performance Path solution. CCC Information Services is using it's subsidiary, DriveLogic, to automate claim processing via the Internet.
Regardless of what technology you choose, the objective should always be increased profits by better management of the repair stages and parts procurement.
Jim Skeans is the senior consultant for Jeff Sacks & Associates and has been in the automobile business for more than 25 years. Jim has served in all of the traditional dealership management positions and is a former fixed operations manager for a large dealership group. jskeans@dealeronline.com
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