1
Dedicate (at least) one
bay to diagnostics
Due to the advanced technology found
on most Class 8 trucks today, it's
impossible for a tech to truly know the
extent of a repair he's been tasked with
fi xing until he's checked it out with a
diagnostic tool.
But if said tool has to be passed
from bay-to-bay throughout your shop
when it's used, or sits unused when a
customer arrives on site because you
don't have a tech free to use it, that's a
signifi cant problem.
Customers don't want to sit and
twiddle their thumbs when their
truck is down. They want to know
what's wrong immediately, and if you
can fi x it.
Dedicating a bay to diagnostics is the
best way to address that need.
At Frame Service, President Barry
Ernst says his company transitioned
one of its bays to a diagnostic-only area
a few years ago and noticed an immedi-
ate throughput boost.
Frame Service's diagnostic bay
opens before the rest of its facility, and
customers regularly bring trucks to the
shop at the crack of dawn for testing.
"The big advantage is just getting
that head start to see what we're dealing
with each day," Ernst says. "Then we can
schedule our jobs for the rest of the day."
12
Cover Story
T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | A p r i l 2 0 1 5
By Lucas Deal, Editor
lucasdeal@randallreilly.com
Six tips for
designing a more
effective service facility
A Six
Pack for
Success
O
ne of the biggest obstacles
in improving service
shop productivity is
building design.
Bad processes can be written and
improved but expanding a tiny shop
is a much more challenging (and
expensive) task.
Which means for service
providers looking to improve the
functionality of an existing location,
you have to look inward.
Here are six tips for improving
the space and organization of an
existing service facility to improve
shop productivity and profi tability.
