Continuous Improvement

I probably read the best quote in a while about Continuous Improvement (Lean) on Don Sweigart’s twitter page @donsweigart where he said “If it doesn’t solve a problem, you don’t need it.”  Think about that quote and then look around your shop and see how much you are holding onto or check out a process that you work through everyday just because…..you have always done it that way.  I think you will find there are tasks being accomplished that do not really serve a purpose or more importantly they mask a process that is not being followed.  To have true continuous improvement each task must stand on its own merit.  Each process should have a Quality-In standard as well as a Quality-Out standard.  Those two standards set the expectations of what comes out of a process as well as what is sent to the next process.  Without measuring those expectations you pass problems downstream until either somebody stops and corrects the defect or the defect stops production.  Either way time is lost correcting the defect.  Look around and if it doesn’t solve a problem, you don’t need it, it is time to get rid of it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  As I look in the mirror and reflect over the last year I have found many things to be thankful for, most of all I appreciate those that read my blog.  I work to document things that have moved forward in my mind that I think others can learn from, that is the goal of JSE Consulting LLC, to help others grow.  I am thankful that I am in a position to use my company as a tool to make the collision industry better, one person or shop at a time.  Thanks for reading and I hope you find many things to be thankful for in your mirror too. 

The SEMA Report - Final Chapter

SEMA Final Chapter

Today I saved for my day at SEMA.  I used the time to see things I had to walk by throughout the week because I was on a mission heading to the next meeting or a class.  I was actually able to stop and look at  some cars. 

Welding Equipment

After attending the class on the “new” metal yesterday I thought I would spend the morning looking at a few welders.  There were about five different spot welders at the show and in talking to the different vendors I found that the Car-O-Liner CTR 12000 was among the best available.  This is a fully automatic process-regulated welder that recognizes total sheet thickness via a Pulse-Sonar-System.  I saw a demonstration that showed the welder going from two sheets of metal to four sheets of metal without changing any settings.   I talked with Tim Curran who told me that one of the highlights of the machine was that it required a minimum of training.  We all remember when spot welders first came around and the amount of training was necessary for the technicians to become proficient.  The CTR 12000 has a card type training system attached so a technician could review the process and begin welding without specialized training.  To me that was a bonus, a welder that would meet the need of a collision center that did not require specialized training.  With all the training technicians require to stay certified it is a true benefit to have a piece of equipment that does not add another training requirement.  In my discussion with Tim I learned that most of the OE’s have endorsed the CTR 12000 with Volkswagen being the most recent.  After understanding that a weld could make a difference in air bag deployment in yesterday’s class, I know I will check the shop that repairs my vehicle a little bit closer.

AutoMobile Technologies

I met Mike Fischer, another of my LinkedIn contacts today and we discussed his company’s products.  The one I like the most is CollisionNotes™ a software program that works with a PDA or Tablet PC that will allow you to quickly inspect and collect vehicle data, digitally and error free.  Once the inspection is complete, all the information including photos and voice notes are wirelessly transmitted and integrated with your estimating and management system.  You really need to follow the link above to appreciate all this program does, it is amazing.  I knew something like this had to be out there somewhere, now I know where.  That is just one of their software programs, they have software solutions for Reconditioning Companies, Dealership Service Departments, Used Car Reconditioning Departments as well as the Collision department as mentioned above.  Check out the links, I got started looking at one and ending up spending about thirty minutes looking at all the different software programs.