A mobile parts cart brings parts to a vehicle when they are ready to be installed. (Photos courtesy of James E. Guyette)
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Of all the buzzwords that get passed along in the collision repair industry, lean production just might be the most popular.
Little wonder. This innovative system has some shops raving as they point to hundreds of thousands of additional dollars generated
each month. Other shops aren't sold on the notion. Still others say they have "gone lean" with no increase in revenue. Critics
say those shops haven't fully adopted true lean methods. Let's take a look at lean along with some other steps shops can take
to cut the fat out of their operations.
The lean story
Michael Giarrizzo Jr is widely viewed as the guru of lean production, an efficient method of collision repair utilizing teams
of workers concentrating on a vehicle as it moves through the process. With ceiling- and floor-mounted rails moving the cars,
parts and tools, these highly effective techniques from his DCR Systems may seem overly elaborate – yet shop owners can implement
at least some of these strategies by making design improvements within their existing operations.
A Jaguar on a lean production rail system, which utilizes ceiling- and floor-mounted rails moving the cars, parts and tools.
(Photos courtesy of James E. Guyette)
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A pure DCR conversion in an existing building involves gutting the structure and making alterations exceeding the $1 million
mark, according to Giarrizzo. There are electrical requirements and ceiling weight-bearing standards that need to be met.
"Typically the floor comes out because you're putting 100 feet of rail system into the building," he says.
"It's a major renovation, but you don't have to do all that for a lean approach," which Giarrizzo calls a "radically different"
thought process than what the overall collision repair industry is accustomed to. "It's a huge change in our thinking; everybody
is aligned around the customer," he points out. "This is all about a cultural change, and it starts – if you'll pardon the
pun – from the ground up," says Giarrizzo, but he does go on to note how "there are different phases of renovation" that can
be applied throughout the collision repair segment.
"The more flexible you can make your shop, the better," says planner Ann Salazar at BASF's VisionPLUS Facility Services. "Layout
is really important," she stresses, but first you need to "clean house so you can see what you have to work with; you're in
there day-in and day-out, so you may not see everything."
Remove from the premises any equipment that you're not really using, suggests Salazar, and then you survey what adjustments
are practical within your space.
BASF design client Armen Besnelian, with expert assistance from Salazar, cast his eyes upward for possible solutions as he
contemplated the renovation of his Oxnard Collision Center in Van Nuys, Calif. The air lines and electrical fixtures are now
affixed to the ceiling.
"There are no air hoses on the floor anymore," says Besnelian. "We had two compressors running (inside) and there was a lot
of noise" and consequently the air source units were shifted to a shed in the parking lot.
"It's quieter to work and more comfortable for the technicians," he reports. "We don't want any clutter on the floor," Besnelian
adds, which was facilitated by moving tables and tool cupboards to the sides of the shop.
