DealersEdge Professional Forums

Does anyone use parts runners or have the part counterpeople take the parts directly to the Tech in the shop?
We use electronic parts requests and realize the Tech's need to come to back parts counter to look at screen and determine what to order ...but I'll see one Tech come in and then another and another etc
What should be generally a 2 min order and go , constantly turns into 5-10 watercooler chat over and over all day , every day ...totally waste of productivity for the store and the Tech.
We are a union store with a guarantee so that may be some of the issue ...but looking for anyone willing to share in what they may have found to expedite this process

The previous service manager's hot button was this and we tried a few different things:

- Using the program Sticky Notes in Windows 7/10. Techs could forward 'sticky notes' to a particular terminal (service or parts) to request parts cost, availability, etc. It would tag where it came from so we could easily reply.

- Put a tote in each tech's bay with their name on it. All parts were dropped in the tote along with the parts RO copy. We did this because techs were complaining parts were not being delivered to the same specific area each time and they had to hunt for parts in their bay.

Then techs complained about having a tote in their bay and complained about having to take the extra steps of using Sticky Notes and SM caved. So we ended up going back to the old way, we can't even get all the techs to use SPG.

Sticky Notes would probably work best if you have an SM that could enforce using it.

Thanks for the reply TheEd ....We do use SPG as we are on Reynolds .....The more I think about this ,the more frustrated I get ...I mean the Tech's themselfs should know this "lost time " is costing them $$$
We have posted productivity charts on the wall ...hoping any guys on the bottom tier would look for any and all ways to move up .....May be I should conduct a study and time each tech's time spent at the back counter for a week etc,
and do some math with each minute used after say the 2 minutes needed to order parts ...calulate this wasted time based on their wages and multiply that to a years time .....wow what a number that will be
The Tech's are highly trained people that need to spend more of their time doing what they trained for ...not wasting this time in parts
I not trying to re invent the wheel but their has to be better ways for this process to work

I understand the constraints of a union shop but where's the service manager in this? If he's being held to a certain standard of proficiency in the shop I would think he would be screaming.

GMparts wrote:Thanks for the reply TheEd ....We do use SPG as we are on Reynolds .....The more I think about this ,the more frustrated I get ...I mean the Tech's themselfs should know this "lost time " is costing them $$$
We have posted productivity charts on the wall ...hoping any guys on the bottom tier would look for any and all ways to move up .....May be I should conduct a study and time each tech's time spent at the back counter for a week etc,
and do some math with each minute used after say the 2 minutes needed to order parts ...calulate this wasted time based on their wages and multiply that to a years time .....wow what a number that will be
The Tech's are highly trained people that need to spend more of their time doing what they trained for ...not wasting this time in parts
I not trying to re invent the wheel but their has to be better ways for this process to work

The NCM Institute classes we go to always have us calculate technician time/gross wasted. If you cut out the wasted time, how many more labor hours could you generate per day? Based on your effective labor rate, how much more gross is that per day? Per week? Per month? Per year?

And for the parts side, on average, every labor dollar is 50 cents parts, so there is a benefit for both sides for the technician to be more productive.

BURTPPM wrote:NO MATTER HOW YOU DO IT WHEN OR WHERE , BLAME IT ON PARTS THAT'S HOW IT IS AND THATS HOW IT ALWAYS WILL BE AS LONG AS THERE IS A
SERVICE DEPT !

I've been in this business 32 years and it's always been parts fault! But we are always the goto dept when no one know how to give directions, use a feature in a new vehicle etc etc etc........

If they are lingering, tell them to scram or step aside. I try not to be a "chatty Kathy" with a tech. Once in a while is fine, but I have sh!t to do. A tech told me, only yesterday, that sometimes he just needs to get away from the project for a few minutes to regain his composure or come back with a fresh look at things. Whether for productivity or profit; technicians will always need to double-check things, or parts people will need to verify and specify. It is why we're all here.