Why is time study information designated as proprietary? Have you wondered how they come up with those labor times? Wouldn't you like to meet the eight-handed magician who can work that fast? Time studies seem to be the greatest mystery of the information providers. What do they study? How do they do it? How does that develop into the labor we see on their estimates?
Let's start with the basics. All three major information providers have time study programs. As you might expect with any competing companies, they each have a different take on it. As an analogy, Chevrolets and BMWs both provide private transportation vehicles. Both have research programs, design teams and production processes. Both certainly go about it differently and both end up with different final products. Both have the same basic purpose and function. However, both must compete in the marketplace by satisfying their customers' needs. As they see these needs differently, they end up with different end products.
Time studies are an important part of information providers' research to satisfy their customers' needs as well. The resulting raw data and conclusions belong to them (proprietary information). All we see are the results on our estimates. This is similar to soft drink companies who also do research and have their own proprietary results and use of it. All we experience is the final product.
Time studies are done in production collision repair shops with real repairs and under actual conditions. In contrast, manufacturers can do time studies in their own laboratories with their own dedicated technicians because they have a different purpose; warranty labor. Here, their definition includes factory-trained technicians working with appropriate special tools and repetitive operations.
In the real world of collision repair, this doesn't happen. Labor allowances must factor in multiple variables, including technician experience, tools and shop environment. Resulting labor allowances attempt to approximate an "average" technician working with "commonly available" tools in a "typical" repair shop. You can see there are a few assumptions involved here and each information provider must make their own.
Each information provider must also decide which operations to observe. Count all the replaceable parts on a vehicle, then consider all the possible combinations for replacing multiple parts. Multiply that by the number of vehicle models. Keep in mind that most models change every year and new ones are constantly introduced. If you think about all the variables possible in collision repair, you'll quickly conclude that not every operation on every vehicle can be observed individually.
Instead, time studies focus on a particular procedure or a certain model. There may be a question that needs this type of research, such as salvage door replacement procedures. There may be a new procedure to investigate, such as a boron steel radiator support. There may be new technologies to address, such as hybrid vehicles. When these are targeted, a plan of research is developed. This may be with in-house employees or contracted with an outside research company.
The next challenge is finding the target work actually being done. Of course, that is hard to predict in our fast-paced collision repair environment.
Let's say the target is SMC quarter panel replacements. Locating one of these jobs would be hard enough, but then getting an observer there at the right time, and for the duration of the repair, makes it even more difficult.
Through local contacts, collision repair business networks or local and national associations, the target work is located in an area where an observer can be there at the right time. Sometimes an observer may have multiple targets of interest and mostly work with a few shops in a local area.
Next time, we'll look at what happens when an observer observes and what happens with the information collected.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
— Benjamin Franklin
Bruce Burrow, AAM started writing estimates over 30 years ago, has worked for most of the information providers, and, as an independent instructor for the last 10 years, has trained estimators all across North America. He is ASE Master certified and an instructor for the Automotive Management Institute. Send questions, ideas, and comments that you would like to see addressed here to [email protected] and stay tuned.
