Leveraging Technology for Accurate Estimates

Production and management systems can help shop owners streamline operations and increase productivity. Furthermore, these systems ensure all the data necessary for completing a project is gathered so over and under billing are less likely to occur; ultimately improving billing accuracy.

5 Star Paint and Body Collision repair center uses the industry standard in estimating and repair services. We utilize technology to provide accurate and efficient repairs.

Estimating

Estimating involves approximating values using existing knowledge and information. We all rely on estimates every day without realizing it. Our estimate writers will visually inspect your vehcile and give an estimate based on obvious damage. Once the vehcile repair is started the vehcile will be torn down and additional hidden damage will likely be revealed.

An accurate project estimate helps prevent costly project rework and scope changes, and ensures our team understands your approach is realistic and thorough. Utilizing WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) as a project management method is one way to assist with more precise estimates by breaking tasks down into more manageable parts.

With all team members viewing estimates from one centralized platform, giving input and making corrections is easier for everyone involved – leading to more competitive bids with lower costs overruns and less unexpected cost overruns.

Parts Inventory

To reduce costs, repair managers must accurately classify, categorize and locate their inventory items. That means scanning every part to collect information such as their cost, where it was purchased from and whether or not it’s on order. Furthermore, tracking how parts were utilized is also vital: whether new or used parts were substituted and which manufacturer it came from along with its model number.

An organized parts warehouse for any collision center should include a well maintained parts area and slot numbers to allow personnel to quickly find what they need, cutting down time spent searching and waiting for items in the warehouse.

Parts managers can enhance decision-making by factoring repair Bills of Materials to estimate parts needs and analyzing forecasts to establish optimal inventory replenishment policies. Furthermore, they should monitor “true” inventory turns (calculated by dividing annualized parts sales by total parts inventory) to detect issues like too frequent ordering and missed volume purchase discounts.

Repair Order Management

Repair Trackers allow you to efficiently manage repair requests in a centralized manner. Once submitted, these trackers generate work orders containing all of the information technicians or maintenance staff require in order to process it.

Repair orders provide collision repair professionals with an outline of all of the steps required to return damaged vehicles back to pre-accident condition. They record essential details about the time and materials consumed during each repair procedure.

Our repair management system offers custom field support makes which makes it simple to add any relevant details, like customer names, device or part numbers, macros and defaulting rules are available to automate repetitive business processes by inputting the same information every time – thus streamlining repair operations by eliminating manual entry and errors.  Rules also help automate values like repair queues, owners and priorities into repair orders automatically.

Service Writing

Customer service skills will only go so far if your team does not understand the technology being used, such as when working with technicians or reviewing complex tech documents.

An efficient system that enables technicians to list parts they require can significantly cut costs and time wasted by staff on ordering unnecessary components. Furthermore, having clear communication methods in place so technicians can communicate clearly with customers is crucial to producing accurate estimates.

Qualifying to become a service writer at 5 Star Autoplex requires possessing extensive mechanical knowledge of automobiles, basic business, excellent customer communication abilities and taking courses on automotive repair.  Business and customer service at trade or technical schools can all help prepare individuals to fill this position.

By choosing Five Star Body and Paint you get the best repairs while saving up to $1000 on your deductible. Call today to schedule your free estimate.