Ensuring quality in the paint shop is crucial if you want to capture more business. Adhering to quality control measures will make each job a quality job.

The collision repair industry is a highly competitive field. Claims volume has declined steadily during the past few years, due in part to the increase in quality in the construction of the modern automobile. Larger groups have entered the picture and have pushed the envelope regarding techniques to capture business. Today’s vehicle owner is savvy and looking for the best value for his or her dollar.

The most effective way to capture business, and maintain your current customer base, is through a quality repair.

Quality doesn’t just happen. You can hire the best techs in the country, and pay them the highest wage, but you still won’t guarantee a quality product. Quality is created through the joint effort of your staff and a well planned-out quality control and training regimen. Each facet of the collision repair process must have specific programs designed for that particular operation.

And one area of particular importance is the one the customer sees first—the paint job.

Housekeeping

Housekeeping is the easiest but most often overlooked aspect of increasing quality. You cannot produce a high-quality product in a dirty, unorganized environment in the paint shop. Your equipment must be kept clean at all times in order to keep it operating at optimum levels. Your spray booth should be cleaned daily and the walls treated with spray-on, peel-off booth coating. This material is clear, and it can be peeled off in sheets after application, thus keeping your booth walls clean and looking new. I suggest this coating be done weekly. Your booth and prep station filters should also be changed at regular intervals. The equipment manufacturer will have a recommended timetable for this operation, and you should consult them for the proper regimen. Your painters should be clean and neat, and should always wear a protective suit in the booth. Prep stations and booth fans should be lubricated and cleaned frequently. Mixing rooms and mixing equipment should be spotless, and as difficult as it sounds, they should be kept almost as clean as a hospital. Proper mixing conditions can dramatically affect paint formula/match. Have your booth and preps looked at by a professional maintenance company at least twice a year. This process must be a group effort, with every paint shop employee doing his or her fair share in maintaining this environment. Not only will your repair quality go up with great housekeeping, so will the quality of life for all of your paint shop employees. It’s much nicer working in a clean environment as opposed to a filthy one. Look around your paint shop with fresh eyes—you will see many areas that can be improved upon.

Chemistry

Make sure that all the products you use in your paint shop are being used in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions. Each paint product you use in your shop has undergone extensive testing by its developer. These chemists spend years perfecting a product and testing its use before releasing it to the public. As much as they want to think so, your painters are not chemists, and they are not qualified to alter formulas for products like some mad scientist mixing the Dr. Jekyll formula. Adding additional hardener or reducer can have adverse affects on a product’s long-term durability and gloss retention. Changing time between re-coats and rushing a product can have devastating results. Always follow the paint product manufacturer’s recommendations for mixing and application.

Inventory and product control

You should make an effort to standardize your inventory. By inventory, I mean everything: sandpaper, caulking, primers and paint products. Your jobber can help you with this process. Go through all of the products you use and produce lists with your jobber that will help when ordering product. Limit the people in your shop who have the ability to order product. Do not allow any product to be ordered that is not on these lists. Consult the manufacturer of all your product/paint regarding the use and preparation of the surface for painting. Stock the items needed to perform the proper repair sequence as suggested by the manufacturer. Doing so will help keep all of your techs following a universal process, helping to ensure quality.

Training and certification

Make it a priority to get all of your paint shop employees into every class that you can. I-CAR, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and certification programs offered by your paint supplier are great ways for your staff to stay on the cutting edge. The Automotive Management Institute (AMi) and Masters School of Autobody Management are examples of professional training schools that have paint shop programs available. Use all the help your suppliers and jobbers are willing to provide—you can never get too much training.

And most all paint companies have technical training centers. Look into sending your paint shop employees to the training courses offered by your paint company. Many manufacturers will offer training at your facility by their field reps. Use this resource whenever you can.

Training should not be limited just to your hands-on repair staff, either. Your manager, production managers and estimators should also attend. It is just as important for your supervisory people to keep up with training as it is for your techs. As an additional resource, all of the manufacturers have Web sites that you can access for paint variation information, formulas and technical support in general. Check with your jobber for the paint manufacturer’s Web site information. Remember, any costs you incur in training your employees will be returned to you many times over in increased quality and efficiency. Keep in mind that poor quality costs everyone.

Benchmarking and measuring performance

All aspects of your paint shop operation can—and should—be measured. Once measured, you can compare yourself with industry standards to see where you may need improvement. The amount of detail you want to go into for this step is up to you. Each process can be broken down and dissected in detail. For most situations, the following key areas should be looked at:

Comebacks or return work: What percentage of your comebacks is related to problems with paint?

Cycle time: From body completion back to body re-assemble—where are the slowdowns in your paint shop?

Mixing problems: Use your scale’s mixing records for this.

Material cost vs. sales

Deficiencies in all of these basic areas will lead you back to the base problem and on the path to a solution. Again, check with your paint manufacturer. Many will do in-house benchmarking audits that will help you pinpoint specific key performance indicators (KPIs) while helping you learn to measure them yourself and correct any deficiencies.

QC process guidelines/repair process guidelines

These two go hand in hand; you cannot draw up quality control (QC) guidelines without first determining repair-process guidelines. Once repair guidelines are determined, QC guidelines can be formulated based on the repair processes.

In order to achieve a quality finish, it is imperative to follow specific guidelines throughout the refinish process. These guidelines must be made public knowledge throughout your shop, and supported and mandated by your supervisory personnel. In other words, develop a specific QC policy, train your staff in it and enforce its use.

There are many different schools of thought on the one “correct” process we should all follow. I believe there isn’t just one. There are too many different paint manufacturers producing product today, with many different formulations and application guidelines. My suggestion is to get together with your jobber and set up guidelines specific to your paint line.

Whichever guidelines you follow, they should be very detailed, indicating what grit paper should be used for final sanding on plastic fillers, to dry times between primer and top coats. This information is basically the same from manufacturer to manufacturer, but it is not exact or specific to your shop flow, level of technical competency or product line. Involve your jobber and manufacturer’s technical representative—that’s what they are there for.

Each department should use a similar sheet. It can be as detailed as you want, depending on your individual process. These sheets should be signed by all involved personnel throughout the repair and placed in the vehicle as it moves through the shop. When it is done, all the completed sheets go in the file, with all the other paperwork. If a defect is discovered by any department as the process moves, you will be able to go back to the individual who signed off on the sheet to address the problem. The vehicle should not advance to the next department until the sheet is signed.  

Communication

It is imperative that great communication be developed between your paint shop staff and managers. Meeting daily and constantly keeping the communication lines open will eliminate many problems.

Clear-cut responsibilities and job descriptions

Develop concise and detailed job descriptions for your paint shop personnel (and while you’re at it, do one for all shop and management personnel). Your personnel will do their jobs much better if they know what they are expected to do. Do not assume that all the people in your shop know what is expected of them in their positions—make sure they do, and they will do what you ask; it’s human nature.

Putting it all together

Now you have all the tools assembled and you are ready to implement the QC process. Each tool needs to be used as it was meant to be used. You will need to set up a process and mandate it be adhered to. Any program can be designed and implemented, but no program will work without proper follow through.

Remember:

• Make certain that your QC program includes the nine steps I have just mentioned and that all your shop personnel commit to involvement and follow through.
•  Someone in the shop has to become the “policeman” who makes certain that criterion is followed. Usually this is the owner or manager.
• Follow up, follow up, follow up and then follow up some more. Once the process is repeated enough, it will become—and must become—part of a daily routine.
• Encourage open communication and empower employees to stop the process when quality issues arise.
• Resolve any quality issues immediately after they are found.
• Do not make the quality corrections a punitive action. By this I mean try not to lay blame. We all make mistakes; the idea is to just get them fixed. However, track the person/department that caused the problem and work toward resolving the root cause so that it does not happen continually.
• Once team bonds are formed, if you have a player on the team who does not cooperate, follow progressive discipline to either gain conformity or let them go. This process is definitely a “team” process.

As stated earlier in this article, quality does not just happen. You have to make it happen by taking direct action and becoming involved in the process. Moreover, you have to ensure your entire staff is on the same page with you. They must be an intregal component of your quality control regimen. If you truly want to increase your bottom line, and keep and gain customers, start with quality. It’s timeless.