The vast majority of the industry has feared it and the collision world is watching it: the long-awaited 'supershop' Q-Plus opened its doors in Sydney's Riverwood in April.
Q-Plus production is mind bogglingly enormous. When Paint & Panel's Sam Street went ot visit the facility in Riverwood, Sydney, it had been open for just 10 weeks and had already set the industry rumour mill into overdrive.
Q-Plus is the brainchild of 35-year-old, second generation Sydney repairer Daniel Zammit. The idea for this supershop had been germinating in Daniel's mind for around eight years.
"When Suncorp and AAMI merged and they toured their repairer informaiton roadshow, they made it very clear what direction they were travelling in and that they were open to new ideas and new ways of repairing cars," Daniel said.
Daniel took his business plan to Suncorp four years ago and the joint venture to create Q-Plus ('Quality Plus'), a specially deisnged non-drive smash repair business, was born.
With over 12 years' experience running a large, high volume repair shop, Daniel had thought to himself that there had to be an easier way of repairing cars. His solution was this repair factory on a site larger than a football field.
While Q-Plus is a joint venture with Suncorp, it is Zammit who runs the business, who has employed all of the staff, designed the workshop, selected the equipment and chosen the paint suppliers. Suncorp Group brings capital, governance and customer service expertise to the joint venture, while Q-Plus' processes are integrated into Suncorp's ClaimCentre system.
Impressive Equipment
You probably won't see as many pieces of Car-O-Liner equipment under one roof outside of its factory in Sweden. The four spray booths installed are Lowbake and there are another four on their way. Zammit also designed the larger than average parts carts and, as he demonstrated with some pride, custom-made, neat golf buggy-sized car movers.
The entire operation is divided into two teams - the red team and the blue team. Each has a number of vehicle brands assigned to them, the idea being that staff remain on the same teams to increase their levels of expertise on the vehicle makes they repair.
When the new spray booths go in, the blue team will use PPG paints and the red team will use Glasurit. The teams are totally central to the way the business operates. The smart Q-Plus uniform has red or blue elements to identify the teams, even the equipment is marked red or blue like the two Hawkeye wheel alignment machine.
Not only do the two teams make it easier to measure the business' performance, but also encourages competition between the staff.
Daniel is pleased with how the shop is operating after all the years of planning: "It's now about tweaking it to get it just right," he said.
"This industry has changed so much in such a short space of time. Cars are becoming more complex and more difficult to repair and their owners more demanding. There has been such a fundamental shift that new approaches are needed to achieve what is expected by dirvers and insurance companies.
"Q-Plus repairs cars to a standard, and we aim to set that industry standard."
Walking into the naturally lit shop, there is a sense of order and calm. Cars in bays stretch out as far as the eye can see. The experienced workforce go about their business aided by the latest equipment, in clean conditions.
What does stand out is the rare bodyshop sight of all staff wearing the appropriate safety equipment at all times from the right masks to ear defenders: "We supply all the PPE gear to staff up front," Daniel said.
Repair processes
Every step in the repair process is reported and documented on the Webtrim system.
Q-Plus is a one-stop shop with mechanics and auto electricians on staff and just the glass fitting being contracted out, but still performed on site.
At the end of the repair, a comprehensive list of work undertaken on each vehicle is available for inspection.
Once repairs are complete, customers can have their car delivered to their home or workplace.
The shop is so large, with so many staff, that Daniel uses a five way walkie talkie to keep in touch with everyone, as well as being able to monitor the shop floor on his iPhone thanks to strategically placed cameras.
Apprentice central
Once Q-Plus reaches full capacity, it will employ more than 50 apprentices. Q-Plus aims to be the largest training facility for smash repair apprentices in the country.
It will feature a dedicated apprentice mentoring program, integrating classroom learning in the workplace through one-on-one training.
Other apprentices are being developed through a special schools program whereby Year 11 and Year 12 students combine their apprenticeship with their HSC, accelerating the time it takes to become fully qualified in the industry by up to two years.
Q-Plus is also working to create a program to provide work experience and apprentice opportunities for disadvantaged youth in partnership with the Youth Off The Streets charity.
Saving Resources
Daniel summed up the environmental policy at Q-Plus:
"Absolutely everything is recycled, from water to office paper".
Energy consumption is monitored and the latest energy efficient equipment installed. Environmentally friendly cleaning agents are in use and paint is waterborne.
To Daniel, Q-Plus was the next logical step in running an efficient, profitable repair shop. It's early days at the Riverwood facility, but so far so good, says Daniel, and invited Paint and Panel to come back in a few months time to see what progress has been made.