Craig Hall Bodyworks
Awards 2002AAMI Autobody Repairer of the Year (Large Shop): NSW & ACT
Craig Hall is already a winner this year, having scooped the PSC International Diamond Business Award recently. There's good reason for his success.
Craig Hall has been in the collision repair business for many years. Like everyone else, he has watched as the business of repairing cars has altered dramatically. Unlike the majority of bodyshop owners out there, he has reacted to those changes and implemented some significant changes in his business too.
He decided to open a new facility in Canberra several years ago and enlisted the help of some experts to design the most efficient shop possible.
The panel shop has one Globaljig Quickbench and one Globaljig Rotax. Hall chose the Rotax after seeing it in operation in Adelaide. "I was very impressed with the fact that you are able to repair the chassis and the body at the same time. At the time, there was nothing else like it in the market and I still don't believe there is," he said. Each panel technician has two bays to work in, one each of these bays has a scissor lift for ease of access. "I first bought a scissor-lift for quoting and underbody work, but after starting work with the PSC International system, one of the guys kept working on it and got great results because as an older bloke, it was much easier for him to use. I have since gone ahead and bought one for each of the staff now because of the increased productivity levels," said Hall.
With the help and support of Goran Andersson at Inhab Australia, and refinish brand Glasurit, Hall and Andersson have created what Andersson feels is one of the best paint shops in the country. The six-bay prep area and two booths are fully equipped with infra-red dryers (both booths have IR curing arches) and all bays have overhead dust extraction. "A conventional paint shop would cost my painters 30 to 35 per cent efficiency," said Hall.
Craig Hall Bodyworks started working with PSC International late last year and productivity within the shop has grown enormously since then. So much so that PSC International director Kevin Mark believes Craig Hall Bodyworks is one of the most efficient shops in Australia. This claim is backed up by the results the shop is enjoying at the moment.
From an 86 per cent efficient shop in August 2001, Craig Hall Bodyworks is now a world-class 145 per cent efficient. The shop averages 4.1 productive hours per day per vehicle, up from 2.6 hours last year, against an industry average of about two hours. Although the shop employs five less productive staff, it now produces 33 per cent more work. Turnover has grown by 27 per cent.
Craig Hall installed the BMS bar code system to track and pay staff and shortly afterwards set up the PSC International planning system in the workshop. The board allows the foreman to allocate jobs for every productive staff member for the week ahead. If a job drops out, he is able to rearrange the board to accommodate this. Hall calls every customer on Friday afternoon to ensure cars are in the workshop at start of business on Monday morning. The shop's loading system now centres around pre-set completion dates and daily invoice targets. All repair work is controlled on the basis of the number of hours available, rather than the number of vehicles the shop can handle. Admin staff and the foreman can track work-in-progress in real time and schedule jobs to meet clearly defined targets.
"At the end of the day, a panel shop's a panel shop," Hall said. "You can have a flash storage system or a shiny new piece of equipment but if it doesn't equate to better efficiencies, it means nothing. You always have to look at the things that will add to your bottom line and if you find that they're not beneficial to efficiency levels, then don't buy 'em," he added.
Who: Craig Hall
What: 6 admin staff, 3 paint tradesmen, 2 apprentices, 6 panel tradesmen, 2 apprentices, 1 detailer, 1 foreman
1770 sq m workshop (incl. mechanical shop)
2 x Inhab booths, both with IR curing arch
BMS, PSC, Glasurit
Globaljig
Where: Philip, Canberra
When: Opened, May 2000