Scientific Motor Body Works
AWARDS 2006 AAMI
AAMI/AP&P AUTOBODY REPAIRER OF THE YEAR REGIONAL WINNER (LARGE SHOP) NSW &ACT
Scientific Motor Body Works
With 93 people on staff, Scientific Motor Body Works is easily Australia's biggest single body shop. At that size, the profit rewards can be high, but it takes special skills in management to make it all work. Chains of command, never contemplated by small shops, have to be established at Scientific.
Not content being Australia's largest single shop, Mick and Daniel Zammit are about to open a second shop in the Sydney suburb of Matraville ‘ with an anticipated 50 more staff. Currently, son Daniel is running the Broadway shop while father Mick supervises the building of the new one.
Two years ago Daniel Zammit took a bold management step. Rather than trying to direct so many individual technicians to so many job operations, he broke the two main production areas of the shop into teams: nine in the panel shop and two in the paint shop. Each team has between three and five in it, supervised by a team leader. There are targets and incentives for each team.
The painters operate out of six booths ‘ which currently double as prep bays. They are overseen by a paintshop manager. In the panel shop, the teams also operate under a manager, but their hands-on work is under a team leader. This system generates extraordinary energy in the whole facility. Nobody is idle and nobody shops work to chat. The prospect of a bonus and the feeling of belonging to a team puts an edge on performance.
The team system has been computerised by DNS ‘ which supplies Scientific's computer management system. Quoting, however, is done on a system developed by Daniel Zammit in house.
In addition to the teams, there are separate technicians for plastic repair, paintless dent removal, polishing and detailing,
Since the shop has been operating for many years, its equipment ranges over generations. Among several olde benches are the latest Italian Jolly speed benches with 10 tonne pulling from SAPE. There are several more on order. Measuring is done on the electronic Najar system and Wiedlander + Schill has the lion's share of the welders.
Scientific repairs mostly prestige cars and is a recommended repairer for BMW, Lexus, Jaguar, Volvo, Subaru - to name a few. When the Matraville shops is fully operational it will handle the more basic makes, leaving Broadway to concentrate on prestige.
At that point Broadway will undergo some updating like the addition of prep bays and painted floors.
Scientific's location on trhe edsge of the CBD is the envy of many competitors, since is pulls work from the wealth eastern suburbs as well as city and inner west. However, the downside is that council regulatiosn only allow it tdo work from 7 am to 6 pm weekdays and 8 am to 12 pm on Saturdays.
POWELL'S COMMENT
In a huge shop like this the team structure is essential and works well. Suppliers to Scientific have to be prepared to have their equipment well used because this is one busy shop. Repair levels are realistic.
