Best New Bodyshop: Silverwater Smash Repairs

Happy coincidence allowed Stuart McDonald and his management team the opportunity to build one of the most efficient shops in the industry. An old truck workshop provided what McDonald believes are the ideal dimensions: two areas, each 18 metres wide, providing seven metre workbays either side and a four metre laneway in between. "If we were to have purpose-built it, this is what we would have built anyway," says McDonald.
The business has been using BMS (Bodyshop Management System) since last November when it moved into the new shop and McDonald says although they are still in the early stages of implementing the system, it has helped improve efficiencies even further. Management is able to see exactly what is happening on the floor, and because of the efficient layout, cars are able to be moved in and out of the storage yard without fuss, and employees are directed to where the work is. "Efficiency is working on two jobs at once for instance, we didn't have the ability to see immediately where people were idling and where work was before."
Each employee has his own account where everything down to sandpaper usage is logged. "I aim eventually to award the top three cost-saving employees. If you have a 'must save' attitude instead of a 'who gives a' attitude, it makes all the difference," says McDonald.
While influenced by the RACV ARCs in Melbourne, McDonald has added a few touches to improve workflow himself. A purpose-built dividing wall down the middle of the panel area means each bay backs onto a wall, allowing for tools and services to be placed within or by the wall, keeping everything easily accessible yet out of the way. Large, wheeled parts bins can be easily accessed by all employees.
Seven curtained prep bays face two Zhongda drive-through booths. A lot of panels are painted off the car in the oversize booths allowing for extra efficiency in the paint shop, which flows through to the fitting shop. "Each section of the business drives the next one," says McDonald. Finished panels are stored out of harm's way in a separate room off the five-bay fitting shop.
The shop was not opened as a result of the need for extra space -- the new shop is smaller than the old one around the corner -- but because of the need for more efficient space. "The old shop was essentially four buildings in one, with different floor levels and we realised we needed to move if we were to become more efficient," says McDonald. The business now has one shop manager to the old shop's three.

Who: Stuart McDonald
What: 2280 sq m workshop
26 employees
60 cars repaired/week
BMS, AutoRobot
PPG, Zhongda
Where: Silverwater, Sydney
When: opened November, 2000