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Scheduling & Booking In
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An important aspect of WebTRIM Professional is its ability to understand the needs of a progressive repair facility. One such need is the process of booking-in and scheduling work.
Developing a booking-in and scheduling facility is by no means an easy feat. The fundamental problem revolves around the fact that there are so many variables in the repair process. Unlike manufacturing, we can not predict that a process will take a set amount of time to complete – so how is it possible to produce a reliable booking-in and scheduling facility?
The success in such a facility relies on its ability to be flexible and easily changed. Taking onboard the pros and cons of manual planning boards, diary systems, complex equations and the skills of successful operators – we have been able to develop a solution that meets the needs of a continually changing environment.
We have also taken into account that there is no standard across the industry when it comes to booking-in and scheduling work. In terms of booking-in, some operators will have a set number of vehicles that are either due in, or due out per day. Other operators adopt a capacity based approach, and will split up a job into its base components (ie. Paint and Panel), and then fill up each day to a pre-defined capacity level.
Scheduling, as per booking-in is varied from one shop to another. Certain operators prefer a more structured approach, whereby you decide what stage each vehicle needs to be up to by the end of the day, and then either allocate the work out to each individual, or into a pool of tasks that need to be done that day. This method is then often modified. For example – some operators will allocate work using a timeline for each worker, so that they are aware of the sequence in which work should be done. Others may further extend this allocation beyond one day, and allocate work to either a pool of tasks to be done, or even produce a timeline for each employee for the next two weeks!
There is of course an alternative to the above mentioned method of scheduling. We like to call this the ‘seat of your pants’ method. It is a scary combination of changing priorities based upon which clients call the most, getting as much strip and repair completed on a Monday morning so that the Painters aren’t sitting around doing nothing, and then a mad rush at the end of the week when you find that some vehicles in the back of the parking lot have only been stripped and require at least two days of repair work - not to mention another day or so in the booth, and of course, the paint will need to dry at some stage!
With all of the complexities and varying methods in use, the question remains – why even attempt to provide an electronic solution, and moreover, can it be done successfully?
At WebTRIM, we strongly believe that there is a direct correlation between information flow and success. The burden on an owner or operations manager to remember all of this information in their head not only causes undue stress, but inhibits the business from growing.
- What vehicle needs to be worked on next?
- This customer is on the phone, can they pick up their vehicle a day earlier?
- We found another couple of hours repair under the Quarter Panel, what do you want me to do?
- Should we call the customer and advise that their vehicle will be delivered later?
- What is the impact on my cycle times with that Insurer if I do that?
- If my tech works on that vehicle, we will have to bump that Toyota to be repaired tomorrow.
- And so on, and so on.
This barrage of questions all have to be answered by the person in charge of scheduling. And what happens when the person in charge of scheduling takes a day off, or needs a long overdue holiday?
An electronic based booking-in and scheduling system provides a multitude of benefits to the business through an increase in information flow and knowledge sharing. At any stage, a worker is able to see what they have been allocated for the day, and in what sequence they are meant to do the work. Reception can clearly and easily identify when to next book in a vehicle. Supervisors, workers and managers all have a clear picture of what needs to be completed by the end of the day, allowing all staff to work towards the same set of goals. Customer service staff can pre-empt when a vehicle is simply not going to make the delivery date, and remedy the situation prior to causing the customer to become irate. All of this and more is achieved by providing a clear and simple electronic method of booking-in and scheduling.
Our booking-in and scheduling system does not force you to change your practices. If you choose to book-in work based on numbers of jobs per day, or based on capacities per department – we cater for this also. If you prefer to schedule a set amount of work to a department for a particular day, or allocate work to each worker on a time line – we cater for this need. No matter what method you choose, we have the tools already in place for you to make use of immediately. With the ability to access WebTRIM from anywhere that has an internet connection, you can even allocate the next days activities from home!
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