As our name implies, Express Autobody is committed to maintaining the best cycle time ratio in our industry.

 One of the major advantages the customers who trade with Express Autobody will enjoy is this company’s commitment to short cycle times for the repairs they do. While our competitors often pay lip service to this aspect of the repair process, they’re seldom able to implement any effective measures to improve the amount of time it takes them to repair a vehicle. Express Autobody’s goal is to enjoy an average cycle time of between 4.0 to 5.0 billable labor units per day.

How can Express Autobody achieve these impressive cycle times?

For Express Autobody to offer our customers significantly reduced cycle times we’ve had to take a hard look at the repair process starting when the first damage estimate is written, to when the vehicle is being cleaned up for delivery. In this assessment we’ve discovered numerous areas where improvements can be implemented. These are, but are not limited to; Estimates vs. damage reports, Repair scheduling, Parts, and Supplements.

Estimates vs. Damage Reports

 Most collision repair facilities today offer “Free Estimates” to any potential customer. This used to be an effective way of starting the repair process, thirty years ago. The problem is that automobiles and light trucks are a lot more complicated and expensive today than they were back then when this practice became widely accepted. Because of this the repairs that are necessary when these newer vehicles get damaged have also increased in complexity and cost.

The way today’s average estimator deals with this additional complexity is with supplements to the original estimate. When this happens the cycle time is dramatically effected. One repair process evolves into two or three repair processes. Parts are ordered two or three times for a single repair, and the repair itself is often put on hold two or three times. The vehicle being supplemented sits idle waiting for parts, supplemental approval, or just for the repair technician to find the time to get back to the repair itself.

 At Express Autobody we’d prefer not to give our customers estimates. Instead, we’d like to perform a comprehensive damage report, a blueprint for the repair process, in other words, a complete repair plan. This damage report won’t be created while the damaged vehicle sits in the parking lot with the owner waiting in our customer lounge. Instead, the vehicle will go into our assessment bay where it’ll be driven up on a platform so the underside of the vehicle can be studied. Access panels will be removed for inspection and re-installed. Measurements will be taken with our “Laser Quick Check System.” Pictures will be taken and all of the necessary identification information will be noted including the VIN #, any trim codes, the color code, and the production date. The parts necessary for the repair will be itemized and the availability of these parts will be checked before the repair is scheduled. If any of these parts are not readily available then they will be ordered in advance. When we order these parts we’ll not only supply the vendor with all of the pertinent information about the vehicle, we’ll give them pictures so they can be certain to get the correct parts the first time. If possible, insurance approval will be done in advance.

 By working from a comprehensive damage report we can eliminate the time spent writing supplements, waiting for additional parts, waiting for additional insurance approval, waiting for the paint department to “cut in” or paint the additional parts, and waiting for the technician to get back to the repair.

Repair scheduling

 There’s no point in having a vehicle at a repair shop if there’s nobody there to work on it. Better repair shops actually make an effort to schedule repairs, but they seem to be stuck on a “get it in on Monday and deliver it on Friday,” cycle. If the repairs aren’t finished by Friday, it may be the middle of the next week before they are done. Often the techs are rushed on Thursdays and Fridays to get the vehicles out by the weekend. This often results in poor quality repairs and expensive comebacks.

 Because we at Express Autobody use comprehensive damage reports, and because we know what our present cycle time average is, we’ll be able to accurately determine how long it should take to repair a vehicle. We’ll not bring the vehicle in until we’re ready to work on it. Because of our Preferred Vendor Program we’ll know that the vehicle won’t have to sit waiting for parts, and because we’ve taken the extra effort to write a complete repair plan we’ll know that the technician won’t have to interrupt the actual repairs to wait for additional parts or insurance approval. We’ll schedule at 80% capacity to allow extra time for unforeseen issues and to allow vehicles that are not drivable to get repaired in a timely fashion. If this 20% cushion is inadequate for the commitments we’ve made we’ll work overtime in order to keep our promises.