Supply chain issues: Creativity is the answer
There is a real need to think outside the box to ensure supply chain issues do not affect key-to-key times on the workshop floor
Published: 22 May, 2023
By Martin Pinnell-Brown, Director, Repairify Innovations
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 12 to 18 months, you will have noticed that numerous industries are dealing with shortages and issues due to the ongoing global supply chain issues, and the automotive sector is no different.
In the automotive sector, parts are key to any repair, but with an acute shortage of components, ranging from semi-conductors to the raw materials that are required to make them, has led to issues that businesses are now having to deal with on a daily basis. An example is a part that would normally take a few days to arrive can now lead to months of waiting or in some cases they are simply unavailable until more can be manufactured.
The delays are leading to vehicles either being written off rather than repaired because of two monetary related reasons. The first is the overall cost of the ‘delayed’ repair can end up being more than the car is worth. The second is the overall cost of the loan vehicle for the duration of time it would take the repair to be completed and the potential for the customer to have it for an undetermined amount of time.
To combat the supply chain issues, businesses are having to get creative to stop delays leading them to work smarter, not harder. The way this is achieved is by technicians reviewing work ahead of time with the help of Repairify’s products and services and then ordering in the relevant part. This is because they know that the item will potentially be delayed in transit, so the more lead time they have before the job the better. It also means the technicians can manage the workflow of the workshop, so vehicles waiting for repairs do not need to be sent into storage that in turn will drive up the price of the repair.
Moving forward, the supply chain issues will not stop anytime soon, so it is important that businesses think creatively to ensure repairs are completed and the key-to-key times for jobs are not affected, so cars are off the road for the least time possible.
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- Calibrations: All about live data
Live data ensures calibrations are done correctly, but what we are seeing is a growth in the collection of the data from vehicles, whether they are single or multi-site operations. The data is accessed via the SRS module and once it has been harvested it becomes an asset to the business. The reason it is an asset is simple. It is because the data helps the business reduce key-to-key times for calibrations, while also enabling them to identify systems that need calibrating after a collision.
An example of this is when a technician uses the live data from a vehicle on the workshop floor to see the forces put on the car pre-and-post-collision. Once this data is reviewed, it enables the technician to understand where the forces have gone through the car easily. The next stage of the process is for the technician to check and carry out specific calibrations such as the radar at the front of the vehicle alongside any calibrations that are required at the rear to complete the job.
Live data also provides the technician with a safety blanket to ensure that the areas of the vehicle that have been worked on are checked and calibrated correctly before the vehicle goes back on the road.
So, live data helps on the workshop floor, but there are also other potential uses for it by insurers, who would use the data differently from the way the technicians on the workshop floor use it. Insurers would want to read and review the live data straight away from the vehicle that had a collision. Once this has been done and based on what they have seen, they could potentially write off the vehicle there and then rather than having a vehicle assessment done. This would be a cost-saving measure for them as they would not have to pay out for any work done.
We know live data is here to stay because ADAS systems are becoming common place on the newer models of car that are coming off the production line. This means that it is important that the people reading and reviewing the live data have the necessary knowledge and training to understand what they are looking at and the ways the data can help them complete jobs more efficiently and benefit their business.
