Editor's Note: This article was orginally published Oct. 7, 2011. Some of the information may no longer be relevant, so please use it at your discretion.
Improving throughput and cycle times can be critical for shops in an increasingly competitive market, particularly since most direct repair programs (DRPs) emphasize these key performance measures. One way to help push more vehicles through a shop is to use blueprinting: shops tear down the vehicle prior to the repair in order to generate a complete estimate and parts list, and avoid costly and time-consuming supplements.
In his Friday morning session, "Blueprinting Basics," Bernie Blickenstaff of Pro FinishesPLUS outlined the fundamental components of blueprinting.
"Shops have to reduce cycle time, and to do that you have to pre-manage the repairs," Blickenstaff said. "Blueprinting is an important piece of doing that, because it eliminates two big barriers to improving cycle time: supplements and parts issues."
According to Blickenstaff, there are several key components and process steps to a successful blueprinting program:
- The initial estimate
- The pre- repair inspection
- Vehicle mark-up and communication
- Disassembly
- Storage of old parts
- A two or three- party review of the repair and needed parts
"You don't just have the writer look at the estimate," Blickenstaff said. "Maybe you get the technician and another person to go over it, depending on the complexity of your parts needs."
This process generates a complete damage report, with everything written and documented. After that, the shop obtains all needed parts, then mirror matches those parts and tests the repair.
"The key is to be much more detailed and thorough in what we do," Blickenstaff said.
There are some challenges and obstacles to implementing a blueprinting process. For one, some DRP programs may work better in this environment than others. "The other thing that gets in the way is cultural," Blickenstaff said. "There's been this perception in a lot of shops that it doesn't matter what you do, you're going to have to write a supplement anyway. The job of the writer or the customer service rep is also one of the most dynamic in the industry. That position of writing the damage estimate is continually changing."
Shops also have to determine who is going to perform the tear downs, and where the parts will be stored. "Do you have the technician who will do the repair do that tear down, or will you have a dedicated tear down group?" Blickenstaff said. "There's no one way to do it."
Although every shop takes a different approach, Blickenstaff said that the tear down area optimally should be close to the parts department. "I may tear down the car in the stall where it's going to be repaired, in hopes that I can just continue the repair process if I can get the parts quickly," Blickenstaff said. "If it's a more complex repair, then I'd prefer to tear it down in a separate area where we could store the parts. Then when you receive the parts, somebody mirror matches them at that point.
"All of these variables will change form one collision center to another," Blickenstaff added. "Not every component of this process is going to fit with every shop in the same way."
