Those of you who enjoy reality TV with a business twist probably are familiar with programs like "Restaurant Rescue," "Bar Rescue" and "Gym Rescue." These shows share a similar format. Industry experts visit a struggling small business, spot its weaknesses and within a week institute changes that turn its fortunes around.
A similar show targeting failing shops could be illuminating but probably not tenable. Shops that struggle badly usually have a host of serious problems that can't be fixed in a month, much less a week.
A more appropriate and realistic target for a short-term business makeover would be a specific operational areas, such as your paint department. Paint departments are great targets for improvement because relatively minor modifications can have big payoffs in terms of added revenue and cost savings. In fact, even if your paint numbers are good, there's a terrific chance they can be improved noticeably with, at the least, some minor tweaks. These same changes can carry significant benefits in the safety and well-being of your employees.
Here's what a rescue of your paint department might look like.
Dress for success
When your painters performed their work today they probably were wearing safety glasses, respirators and painting suits. The first two are required by OSHA for spraying finish. The third is a great option since it helps protect clothing and covers shop clothes that might carry dirt and grime into a spray booth. In fact, you should mandate the use of lint-free suits since they prevent contamination of booths and make sure they are stored in protected areas to prevent contact with contaminants.
While that coverage may seem sufficient, PPG Application Specialist Chris Springer says many painters eschew one of their most necessary pieces of protection -- gloves.
"The industry tends to emphasize the use of safety glasses while forgetting about gloves," he says. "They forget the amount of dangerous solvents are absorbed through the skin, particularly through your hands."
Springer explains that painters often go without gloves because they find them uncomfortable, usually too tight or hot. That latter complaint, Springer says, explains why some painters prefer to work without a suit.
"I worked in Houston for years and it seemed like no one there ever wore a suit. It was just too hot," he says.
Springer notes that there is a solution for both of these issues. The shop supply market offers a wide array of gloves, suits, safety glasses and other protective equipment that can meet the comfort needs of nearly any painter. The challenge here is pairing the right equipment for each employee.
Springer says plenty of help is available from vendors. He suggests repairers speak to their uniform suppliers since those companies often have division specializing in work protection. Painters should be given the chance to try out an assortment of gear to find products that offer them comfort and convenience to see what best suits them. From there, it's up to a shop's owner and management to ensure they stock these supplies and keep up with the latest product offerings.
Paint companies like PPG often keep inventories of gloves and other protection apparel that can be ordered along with finishing products.
Air it out
ABRN recently covered best practices for spray booth use and maintenance (see xxxx). At the core of those is cleanliness and producing optimal airflow through scheduled cleanings, restricting the glow of particulates into the booth and maintaining the booth filters. Spring says shops can address cleanliness the moment a vehicle passes through their doors by washing it.
Many shops have adopted such a policy since it helps them identify damage during the estimate. It's also a great opportunity to remove dust and grime that collected on a vehicle during the accident and earlier, while it was being driven. During this wash, repairers should take a little extra time to scrub under a vehicle and remove any dirt before it is moved into a spray booth.
Springer explains the extra cleaning is necessary because of the growing use of waterborne finishes. "They require extra circulation in the booth, very often from fans," he says. "You can't have particulates in the booth with all the air that's being blown around since there's a better chance they'll end up on the finish."
The increased use of waterbornes also emphasizes the need for proper air movement throughout the booth. Springer notes that impeded airflow creates "all sorts of performance problems" for finishes -- both water and solvent-based -- that affects their quality.
He says one of the best ways to produce proper airflow is through regular filter replacement. Springer says shops need to determine a replacement schedule using input from multiple sources, namely the booth manufacturer, paint company rep and the filter vendor. These sources will need information such as work volume, finish products and paint department goals to help them make recommendations.
Along with the airflow and vehicle, Springer says shops can address booth cleanliness using new dirt control products that can be sprayed on the booth floor. These products prevent dirt from "kicking up" and landing on wet finishes.
Springer says dedicating a little extra time for these all these tasks at the front of a paint job prevents the expensive problems that must be attended to at the back end during polishing.
Equipment updates
When it comes to cutting waste, Springer notes that the two biggest sources of finish material waste are over mixing and inefficient spray guns.
In the first case, Springer notes that painters frequently over mix because they are unaware of the consequences. "They might have a formula that calls for 6 oz. of product, and they use 8 or 10 oz.," he says. "The excess seems small, so they don't think about it."
Shops end up paying twice for these oversights. "You're spending top dollar for the product and top dollar to dispose of it," says Springer. All these wasted ounces of product add up quickly.
Springer says this problem is exacerbated by the detachable cups used by many paint guns. He explains that painters are more inclined to ignore the excess product that remains in these cups since they can simply allow it to harden and treat it and the cup as solid waste.
Shops can address over mixing with a variety of tools, such as the computerized mixing scales offered by paint vendors. Springer says PPG also offers a tool called an adjustable volume estimator. This technology records the average volume of material a painter uses on different sections of a vehicle. When the painter prepares to work on those sections again, he selects them on the estimator, which then determines the most effective amount of product to spray.
The advantage of this technology is that it takes into consideration the fact that every painter sprays a bit differently. It's personalized. Springer says ultimately shops need to help their painters understand how much money they're throwing away.
If the technology doesn't sway them, shops can take other actions. Shops can make their painters responsible for purchasing their own materials. "If the money is coming out of the painter's pocket, he's not going to waste anything," says Springer.
A painter also is going to cut costs by upgrading to a newer, more efficient spray gun. Painters and shops often balk at this change because (1) many painters prefer to stick with equipment they've used for years and (2) shops don't see the investment as necessary.
Springer says that's a big mistake. Newer guns provide superior atomization and produce better finishes. The cost (usually no more than $1,000) can be quickly offset by savings in materials and time and increases in productivity and revenue. A spray gun is the main tool a painter uses, says Springer. It makes no sense to invest thousands of dollars in body repair equipment to keep a shop current while ignoring the most significant tool in the paint department.
Springer suggests shops make a point of asking industry reps to demo new guns for them in-house at least once a year or when the next generation of spray guns becomes available. This gives painters the chance to try out new technology, and shops the opportunity to discover, first hand, the potential returns on a very modest investment.
Organize for efficiency
If someone asked you right now for an accurate list of your paint department inventory -- that includes tape, masking paper, sheeting and all your other prep and finish products -- could you provide one?
If your answer is no, you're one of many shops struggling with that same issue. There's a pretty good chance you don't order materials until someone reports that they're almost out or completely gone. The problem with operating this way is eventually you're going to run out of some item(s), which will slow your production until your inventory is restocked. Over time, these slowdowns and work stoppages can cost a lot of money.
Springer says shops need to create systems to help them track their inventory. Shops need to know what items have been brought in and checked out to ensure they always have sufficient materials to do their work. Springer recommends shops work with vendors who can help them develop an inventory schedule.
He notes that this problem is part of a larger issue -- the flow of work throughout a shop. This includes the efficient flow of parts, materials and other items to the paint department.
"Shops need to consider how their painters are, for example, getting the parts they need to paint," he says. "Are they dropped off at the department? Does the painter have to go and get them?"
Inefficient flow slows down work and impedes productivity. Shops, including your competitors, increasingly are turning to vendors like PPG who offer programs for instituting better flow. Springer says the results are well worth a shop's investment.
These programs, like the other recommendations included here, help you make relative mild changes that provide big results. Once you buy into the value of regular change and the importance of addressing details, then you can consider your paint department rescued.
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