Planning Plus pays off in Mount Druitt
Steve Popovic runs a busy smash repair shop in Mount Druitt, NSW. He has 50 jobs awaiting repair at any one time, and a team of contractors snapping at his heels for the next job.
Since installing Planning Plus in July, he estimates the program has freed up three to four hours of his day – previously spent on workshop planning – that he can now spend on growing his business.
How it works
The computer program synchronises with Auto-Quote. Double click on a job, and up come the labour values which are broken down into target hours. One of the clever bits of this program is that when a job is assigned to an employee, it knows what the skills level of that worker is and how fast they can carry out the task.
Bring up the colour-coded planning board and you have an instant visual overview of the day’s jobs. The employee simply marks their task on their own terminal when it is completed. Gaps in any worker’s day show up as blank spaces on the program just waiting to be productively filled.
How it works in practice
Popovic told us: “It has made a huge difference. It saves so much time. Before this I spent up to five hours a day just planning the workload and laboriously writing it all out and walking all through the shop to look at which cars needed what. Still, the boys were coming and asking ‘what’s next?’.
You have to move on and use technology. Now I can plan the whole day in an hour the night before.
“In a panel shop it’s hard to measure whether you have enough work and who can take the next job on. It always meant walking through the shop. Now, as soon as the jobs come in they are allocated through the computer. The pictures are all loaded onto the system so the guys can see exactly what they need to do.
”If there is a problem with a part turning up, it can split a task and allocate it to the day the part will arrive.”
“With this program I can see how well the guys are performing. Also, I knew what I needed to earn before but I just couldn’t measure it – now I can.”
So what do the staff think of the new system? “When you want to change something it’s always a drama at first,” said Popovic. “A couple of the older employees have had some trouble as they aren’t computer users, so the foreman marks their jobs off.
“The guys are happier now because they aren’t losing money while they wait around for the next job. I’m happier and less stressed because they aren’t always hassling me.
“Planning Plus is affordable – it gives fantastic support and I just wish this was around years ago. We can also give feedback on the program, so we’ve asked them to add detailing, so we can include that in the day planner.”
Gavin McGahey of Autobody Shop is the brains behind Planning Plus. An ex-panel beater, he also worked at Auto-Quote for eight years. “This program is all about building efficiency, reducing cycle time and increasing profits,” he said. “With this system you don’t have to have so many cars on site. It’s totally flexible and it’s really easy to change things around. It also allows you to know exactly when a job will be ready if the insurance company or customer phones.”
Planning Plus is up and running in a number of workshops throughout Australia and New Zealand. It costs $1195 plus GST, and the licensing is from $50 per week. For more details visit www.abc.com.au or phone 0409 152 314.
One of Druitt Smash Repairs’ painters using Planning Plus
Left: Program creator Gavin McGahey, right Steve Popovic.I knew what I needed to earn before, but I just couldn’t measure it. Now I can.