FALL 2009
Business Solutions
Conference, An Accelerated Performance!
Accelerating a collision center’s performance and
succeeding in today’s business climate takes more
than a good game plan. It takes leadership and the
knowledge of how to turn the plan into action—with
flawless execution. That’s what MVP’s fall conference was all about. With guidance from guest experts in leadership and performance training, and
the MVP Business Solutions team, PPG clients
gained valuable insight into how to plan, communicate and execute their critical objectives.
PPG hosted
the MVP
Business
Solutions
Conference
from September 13 to
15 at the
world renown
Opryland
Conference
Center in Nashville, TN. Over 200 of PPG’s top
performing business partners, both owners and
managers, from across North America were together for facilitated workshops plus guest speakers. Key messaging from the conference included:
 An execution model with the imperative importance of a ―Debrief‖ according to guest Speaker
Jim ―Murph‖ Murphy, Afterburner Inc.
 Strategic Marketing for operations in today’s
competitive collision industry
 Bridging the Communication Gap according to
guest speaker Rex C. Houze
 Extensive knowledge of the collision industry with
regard to effective shop marketing by guest
speaker Scott Shriber
 Patrick Graupp, senior master trainer, TWI Institute, presented ―To Japan and Back, Insights on
my Lean Journey,‖ an exploration of the techniques used to train and improve some of the
best companies in the world
 Increasing Sales through Strategic Sales and
Marketing Systems
 Introduction to Situational Leadership®
 Leadership: Workers of the Next Generation
 Goal-setting and Execution
 Understanding and Meeting the Expectations of
Your Workforce
Opryland Hotel" accommodations, I would have to
rate this conference a definite A+! Thank you
PPG.‖ Larry Wallbrech, Manager, Performance
Collision Center, Ohio, USA
―I really appreciate the new direction PPG is taking
with its training. I personally found it very beneficial. The guest speakers were excellent, they were
extremely positive, informative as well as very entertaining. The location and facility were excellent.
Once again, the PPG Management Team provided
great leadership.‖ Derrick Ryan, Owner/Operator,
Garland autobody Ltd., Newfoundland, Canada
PPG is proud to announce the next MVP Business
Solutions Conference on March 28-30 in San
Diego, CA. More details will follow at
www.ppgmvp.com.
―As a newcomer to the PPG Family, I continue to be
impressed with each event I attend, each PPG staff
member I meet, and overall, the PPG ―way of doing
things.‖ This conference was no exception. It was
absolutely First Class from top to bottom. The
guest speakers, the seminars, and the discussion
groups were all spot on. I garnered enough ideas
to keep me busy until the MVP Spring 2010 Business Solutions Conference! Factor in the "Gaylord
held March 28-30 in San Diego, CA. We will be
lining up another strong program for you to benefit
from.
Business Solutions Conference, An
Accelerated Performance
Fourth Quarter MVP Green Belt Training Schedule
Gas Efficiency
I-CAR Training Link
Selling Customers on Paid Repairs
Jim Berkey
Director
MVP Business Solutions
I want to first take a moment and thank all of the
participants at our Fall MVP Business Solutions
Conference that took place September 13-15 in
Nashville, TN. Not only was it a great program but
it was another great opportunity to see firsthand
the confidence and enthusiasm within our customer base as we work together on business performance. For those of you who missed it…the
next MVP Business Solutions Conference will be
We have just rolled out the first phase of our new
and improved website, www.ppgmvp.com. As we
continue to work on developing and maintaining
the strongest portfolio of programs and services, it
is important to us that we continue to provide the
appropriate information to our collision center customers, distributors and sales force. I think you will
find the new website achieves this in a clean and
easy format. Please visit the new website, provide
your feedback, and we look forward to seeing you
in San Diego.
Enjoy this month’s edition of the MVP Business
Solutions News!
Job Methods
Boyd Autobody & Glass Donation
Class Announcements
Visit our new website, and register
others to receive the MVP e-Newsletter
www.ppgmvp.com
1
FALL 2009
Fourth Quarter Schedule for
MVP Green Belt Training
fortunate to have been at the forefront in successfully training our shops and working with them
through implementation challenges.‖
 Simulation games to learn Lean Six Sigma
fundamentals and what cycle time reduction
means to the collision repair processes.
PPG Automotive Refinish
released its 2009 fourthquarter MVP Green Belt
Training schedule. The
training, an exclusive,
four-day, intensive learning event, is intended for
collision center owners
and managers. It teaches
the practical applications of Lean Six Sigma techniques to boost quality, speed, cost performance
and competitiveness at repair facilities.
MVP Green Belt Training was introduced in 2006.
The program evolved from four years of extensive
research and development by a team of Master
Black Belt Lean Six Sigma experts and MVP collision center consultants. To date, more than 650
owners and managers from across North America
have experienced the program's unique ongoing
education and execution support.
 Practical application of Lean Six Sigma principles through X-Ray Repair Planning™ and
fundamentals such as 5S and Workplace Organization.
The training will be offered
November 16 – 20 in Eagan, Minnesota
December 7 – 10 in Los Angeles, California
According to Jim Berkey, director, MVP Business
Solutions Group, ―Today’s performance challenge
in our industry requires that collision center operators simultaneously improve quality, speed and
cost. We have seen the interest in applying the
Lean Six Sigma approach to collision work grow
exponentially over the last few years, and we’re
Gas Efficiency
10 Ways To Save Money On Gas
1. Check Your Air Filter
Nearly one in four cars needs an air filter replacement. A clean air filter can improve gas mileage
by as much as 10%.
2. Straighten Up
Poor alignment not only causes tires to wear out
more quickly, but also forces your engine to work
harder. Align your tires, and save up to 10%.
3. Tune Up
When was your last tune up? A properly maintained engine can improve mileage by up to 4%.
4. Pump 'em Up
More than one-quarter of vehicles are driving on
deflated tires. The average under-inflation of 7.5
pounds causes a loss of 2.8% in fuel efficiency.
5. Check Your Gas Cap
Believe it or not, it's been estimated that nearly
17% of cars on the road have broken or missing
gas caps. What's the big deal? Escaping fumes
not only hurt fuel economy but release smogcausing compounds into the air. Avoid air pollution
and improving fuel mileage is as easy as replacing
a bad gas cap.
6. Slow Down
For every 5 mph you reduce highway speed, you
can reduce fuel consumption by 7%.
―The demand for Green Belt has been growing
each year as collision center owners and managers are feeling more and more pressure to improve their business and process performance,‖
said Rich Altieri, senior manager, MVP Business
Solutions. ―They’re recognizing that a strong competitive advantage today and in the future, lies with
those shops that can deliver and differentiate on
process performance. That’s where Green Belt
Training comes in.‖
Key Green Belt Training program elements include:
 Success factors that enable organizations to
thrive in rapidly changing environments.
7. Drive More Smoothly
Avoiding jack-rabbit starts and stops, and herky
-jerky driving will improve fuel economy. Don't
believe it? Lousy driving on the highway can
add as much as one-third to your gas bill.
8. Lay Off The Brakes
Riding with your foot on the brake pedal will not
only wear out brake pads (which will cost you at
the maintenance shop) but can also increase
gas consumption by as much as 35%.
9. Lighten Up
For every 100 extra pounds carried around,
your vehicle loses 1 to 2% in fuel efficiency.
Don't drive around with too much junk in the
trunk.
10. Don't Idle
Besides causing pollution, idling wastes gas. If
stopped for more than 30 seconds, turn off the
engine, and don't bother to "warm up" your car
before driving -- it is not necessary.
 Leadership and implementation modules that
address the need for everyone in an organization to participate in building stronger processes and a process improvement culture.
 Shop tours and assignments to reinforce the
understanding and confidence critical to successful implementation.
MVP Green Belt Training is available to collision
repair centers using PPG Refinish products. Advanced registration is required and class size is
limited.
For more information or to register for an upcoming session, contact your PPG Territory Manager
or PPG distributor, call MVP Business Solutions at
440-572-6149, e-mail [email protected], or
visit http://www.ppgmvp.com/.
I-CAR Training Links
PPG Refinish has put a link on its website, under
Industry Certification Programs, to the I-CAR
website. PPG and Nexa courses can be found on
the I-CAR website by scrolling down the left side
of the page and clicking on either PPG Automotive Refinish or Nexa Autocolor.
―I-CAR recognizes the importance of lowering
VOC emissions in an effort to help the environment,‖ says John Edelen, President and CEO of I
-CAR. ―PPG classes are among many excellent
solutions available for training in waterborne technology, and we’re pleased that individuals taking
them can apply for I-CAR points through this
partnership between PPG and I-CAR.‖
For more information, please visit the links section of www.ppgrefinish.com.
https://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/Refinish/
PPGRefinish/5-0-Training/5-6-Links/EN
Green Belt training has taught me to map a practical approach to tackling my production constraints while providing
me with the first set of footprints to follow "one car at a
time". Through the training, I have learned how to apply
certain internal metrics to areas in which I need to focus on
at my shop to gain control.
Josh Strong, Project Manager
Concordia Carstar Collision West
Ottawa, ON
2
FALL 2009
to change oil or suggesting other maintenance work.
The same system could be accessed to send a direct
mailer to all leased vehicle customers with messages
about the collision repair center. The messages can
range from coupons or incentives to get the customer
We must become better sales people
to visit for an estimate to precision timed notices inviting the customer in for a pre-lease return inspection.
Jane looks at her watch—she’s late—again! Quickly
Simple data mining in the dealerships existing cusshe grabs her purse, her keys, and the box of supplies
tomer list provides the basis for an infinite number of
for her meeting and rushes to the car. After tossing
marketing campaigns. Independent repair shops
the box into the back seat, she hops in and fires the
aren’t excluded
engine. Rapidly attaching her seat belt, she drops the
from this market,
car into reverse and backs out of the driveway.
through cooperaWham! It turns out her neighbor John was backing out
tive marketing
of his driveway at the same time and they met in the
with a dealership
middle. Inspecting the damage to their cars, they
the message
realize that they both forgot to look before backing up
could easily be
and agree to take care of their own cars. Unfortupushed out to the
nately, neither one of them ever gets their cars fixed.
lease return
customers.
Incidents like that of Jane and John happen every day,
and the non-repair outcome seems to be more comUpselling Repairs
mon than ever. What are we talking about? Next time
To reach the upsale repair market, shop salespersons
you are at a stoplight, look around you at the cars
must always have their eyes open and be sure to look
visible from where you sit. What you will see is a
at the whole vehicle. Most shops do an excellent job
combination of minor and major damage on almost
of inspecting the vehicle when it is dropped off for
every vehicle around you.
repairs, but this is often used as a means of proving
the shop didn’t cause damage. Estimating sales staff
People have learned to live with minor damage to
must take this opportunity to inspect vehicles carefully
their automobiles often with multiple points of damage on the same car! The damage will remain on the to fully understand the repair opportunities available to
them.
vehicle until the car is either traded in, returned on
Selling Customers on
Paid Repairs
lease, or is involved in a more serious traffic incident.
These vehicles represent missed repair opportunities!
The market opportunity is quite large, but hard to
quantify. Why you ask? If the damage is never reported and never repaired, it will never be quantified
for use in statistics we get to see. We could only estimate the size of the market, but it is enormous. The
reality is fewer cars for collision repair shops to work
on.
Marketing your Business
While quantifying the market opportunity is difficult,
getting the work into your shop is a matter of marketing your business. To get consumers like Jane and
John to your shop, we must understand their needs. It
turns out, Jane’s car is a leased vehicle. When she
turned her car into the dealership at the end of the
lease term, she got hit again—this time by a $1,300
damage fee assessed at the return inspection. On top
of that, she had to look at the damage and drove with
a broken tail light for 16 months. John, on the other
hand, was side swiped four months later in another
accident. When he went to the collision repair shop to
get the side fixed, the shop did a check in worksheet
noting the prior damage, but did not up-sell the work.
The rear bumper on John’s car still wears the scars
from his encounter with Jane.
the work repaired, but live with some minor scuffs or
scratches that are related. Examples can include a
scratch on a wheel, a scratch on a tail light lens, or
some minor molding damage. These items are handled exactly like an appearance allowance, however,
the salesperson must review these as ―options‖ for the
prospect to consider. Utilize repair procedures in lieu
of replacing when possible. This can save the customer money and could help keep your technicians
busy if you are slow. Paintless dent repair is another
money saving option that still provides a profitable
repair for the shop. One final note—never compromise the safety of the repair. If the customer wants
you to make an unsafe repair, tell them why it is unsafe and encourage them not do ask anyone to complete the job in an unsafe manner.
Costs can represent a serious objection
The customer may not have the money for the repair
or be afraid of paying the entire amount at once. Financing options do exist in the form of the – GE Car
Care One card or offer to take a deposit now and get
the balance when the job is repaired at the scheduled
appointment time. Of course, credit cards are an easy
way for the customer to self finance the job or to provide the deposit.
Sale Props
These can be extremely useful when working with any
customer—including the lease return and self pay
markets. What better way to understand what hood
chips look like repaired properly, painted over, and just
Understanding the needs of the self pay customer is
touched up will look like than to have an actual hood
an important step to capturing their business. Some of leading edge with three sections of repairs as dethe work needed represents a mere nuisance or eyescribed right in the sales office? We have all heard of
sore to the prospective customer and they may be
the paint around the light switch or picture in the office
able to forgo having any work done at all. Other times as a way to demonstrate R&I versus masking—you
safety may be a valid concern. Either way, the proscould also have a small section of a door that has
pect is concerned more than ever with quality, speed been painted before the handle was removed to show
and cost. Each of these represents future objections
the result. Props are a way of showing where just
if not handled well during the sales process.
telling someone falls short.
1. Quality
Beginning with quality, find out how long the customer
keeps their vehicle. If they trade it every two years or
are returning it on lease, they are not as concerned
with a lifetime warranty. However, if they plan to drive
the vehicle long term, a warrantable repair is an important consideration you cannot overlook. A lease return
customer may be satisfied with a solvent blend where
the long term owner will want full panel clearcoat. The
shop must establish its boundaries regarding compromise on quality to gain additional sales. Use the props
already on your counter to sell the customer on warranty, color match, and the quality philosophy of the
business.
In today’s market, we cannot miss any opportunities to
sell more repairs. We must become better sales people. Two markets are presented in the cases of Jane
and John. Jane’s market is the ―lease return‖ market.
John’s market is ―upselling additional repairs‖ during
the repair process for another claim. While there are
certainly other markets and means of getting to the
work than these two, they represent prospective work
we must seek out and capture.
2. Speed
In relation to the speed of repairs, what is the customer’s situation? Ask probing questions to find out if
they need transportation while their car is in the shop.
You may learn they are leaving town for a few days
and it is not a problem. If time is an issue, consider
ways to reduce the lead time of the repair. By preordering and pre-painting parts the car could be turned
on the same day depending upon the damage. If you
are pre-ordering or pre-painting parts, ask the customer for a deposit for this service to cover your costs
should they decide later not to complete the repair.
Lease Returns
The lease return market is a simple one if your business is part of a car dealership. Dealerships regularly
send out mailers to customers to remind them it is time
3. Costs
When considering the costs of the repair, it is important to learn what the customer would like to have
done to the vehicle. They may be willing to get part of
Negotiating price doesn’t have to occur.
Customers want to feel like they are getting a deal, so
present your offer in a manner that shows how you
have saved them money. For example, highlight the
appearance allowance, discuss the cost difference of
PDR versus a traditional repair, show them how the
recycled part being installed is good for them and the
environment. Finally, if needed provide a small discount off the labor rate, but be extremely careful as
this can cost more than it appears. Customers paying
by credit cards are going to cost your business an
additional percentage (2%-5%) and if the labor rate is
cut to the insurance DRP rate, the customer actually
gets a better deal than your preferred business partners. Start with your retail door rate (often 10%-20%
higher than the best DRP rate) and offer a 5% labor
rate discount if it is necessary to close the sale.
Closing the sale is the last, and certainly an important
step. Many collision salespeople simply fail to ask for
the sale. So, an important step is to let the customer
know you really want their business and to attempt to
close the sale by asking to schedule the job. At this
point, if any objections remain, do not give up.
David Knapp
Senior Manager
MVP Business Solutions
3
FALL 2009
Job Methods
Finding the Improvements You Can’t See!
Many improvements to a job or process are easy to spot. However, often
the improvements are quickly acted
upon only to discover they have actually created waste somewhere else in
the system. Has this ever happened to
you?
time trying to make improvements to details only to
find it is not necessary to do those details at all.
Continuing with this systematic approach, we turn
our attention to necessary details, focusing on finding the best place, best time, best person, and best
way for each of the necessary details. Many times
these details can be combined, rearranged and/or
simplified to make them easier to do. At the same
time we need to also question materials, equipment, tools, work area layout and safety.
If there is a way to avoid these types of mistakes,
while at the same time finding improvements that
are not easy to spot and are commonly missed by
many people? Would you want to know about it?
Let me introduce you to the MVP Job Methods
Improvement Plan. This plan will give you the
ability to produce greater quantities of quality repairs, in less time, by making the best use of the
manpower, equipment, and materials currently
The objective here is not to make improvements by
throwing additional money at the situation. Anybody
in the collision repair business today knows that
adding cost is not an option. So focusing our efforts
on making improvements that are targeted at quality, speed and lower operational cost, by utilizing
the currently available resources, becomes a high
priority. Making improvements using the Job Methods Improvement Plan does just that, by helping
you find the improvements you can’t see.
Breaking down the job or process by listing ALL the
details will often uncover the opportunity for big
improvements. And the amount of time spent listing
all the details is minimal when compared to the
results of the improvement. (Details mean every
single movement that is done). Therefore, material
handling, machine work, and hand work are all part
of the details, as well as inspection and delays.
Once we have recorded all the details, we must
systematically and critically question each detail in
a way that generates improvement ideas. Using the
Job Methods systematic approach, we first concentrate on finding the unnecessary details in a job or
process. Once found, it gives us the ability to
quickly eliminate many of the activities that are nonvalue added. This prevents us from wasting our
Boyd Autobody & Glass
Donates 16 TVs to Local
Hospital
In following this approach, no worker should ever
be sped-up as a result of an improvement developed by the use of the Job Methods plan. The Job
Method plan stresses that working faster will cause
more mistakes and should always be avoided.
Finally, this course will teach participants how to
review ideas with other people and write up a proposal for their proposed new method. Once we
have gained the approvals necessary from all concerned, we need to apply the new method by putting it to work and use the new method until a new
and better method is developed.
It does not matter how many times a job or process
is studied and revised. Conditions are always
changing so jobs and processes need to be approached from a continuous improvement point of
view on a daily basis. Every employee, especially
those in a leadership role, should be able to critically understand and improve their work.
Does this sound like Kaizen? It should, because it
is. Kaizen is continuous improvement, and steady
progress with continuous improvement depends on
effectively incorporating improvements into stan-
The televisions were purchased with the proceeds
from the company's 11th annual Father's Day Car
Show, held June 2009 in downtown Kelowna. The
TVs donated are enough to provide one for each
bed in the South
ward.
You can never have too many TVs, and the children
that have to visit Kelowna General Hospital's (KGH)
Boyd owner Gordie
4-South ward can thank Boyd’s Autobody & Glass
Abougoush, whose
for their donation.
company has previously donated other
On August 27, 2009, Boyd Autobody & Glass of
equipment to the
Kelowna, BC, Canada, delivered 16 televisions,
children's ward,
some with built in DVD players, and ancillary equipsays he came up
ment for the children's ward at KGH.
with the idea when
dard work. Once a new method is developed, documented, and approved, using the Job Methods
Improvement Plan, the newly documented method
becomes the standard work.
Once the 4-Step method of the Job Methods Improvement Plan is learned, practiced, and becomes
engrained in every employee, it just becomes how
people function everyday.
Using this approach, the opportunities for improvements you can’t see become very easy to find and
implement. Imagine your organization functioning in
a cycle of continuous improvement on a daily basis,
ideas are being generated by everyone, improvements are easily being made and your organization
is achieving extraordinary results. You have truly
reached the level of a Kaizen culture.
How Can I Learn More?
―The new 'Training Within Industry' (TWI) has answers for these concerns and more. Utilizing the
amazing simple and easy to learn techniques of
TWI will take your shop to the next level in service,
profitability and stress free operating. Change is
GOOD if you are prepared for it. TWI prepares.‖
Tom Bissonnette, Parr Auto Body, Saskatchewan,
Canada
TWI for Collision training programs are scheduled
as participants indicate interest and join the prospect list for each course. Once we have a group of
10 participants who demonstrate interest, we will
schedule the course.
Therefore, in order to help us determine the optimal
date and location for each program, please complete the survey via the link provided below.
Through this survey, we will determine where and
when TWI for Collision training programs are offered.
Please use the link below to complete your survey
that helps us understand your interest and needs or
visit http://www.ppgmvp.com/ for more information.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?
sm=aR4oFFTd9nBkILmVkOR_2fBw_3d_3d
Mike Gunnells
Manager
MVP Business Solutions
he recently took a walk through 4-South. "It brought
to my attention that almost every TV and DVD
player was not in working order," Abougoush says,
so his company did something about it. The company also donated an electronic scale and a few
stethoscopes to the ward.
Boyd Autobody estimates that it has raised more
than $200,000 for Kelowna charities through its
ongoing community rewards program.
Below is a link to video coverage of this event.
http://www.bcdailybuzz.com/media/3935/
Gift_of_16_TVs_to_KGH/
4
FALL 2009
TITLE
MVP Advanced Collision Estimating Skills
MVP Advanced Collision Estimating Skills
MVP Art of Communication
MVP Business in the 21st Century
MVP Collision Center Marketing
MVP Collision Center Marketing
MVP Collision Center Marketing
MVP Collision Center Marketing
MVP Collision Repair Sales & Customer Service
MVP ESTIMATE PLUS
MVP Green Belt
MVP Green Belt
MVP Green Belt
MVP Job Instruction (JI)
MVP Job Relations (JR)
MVP Job Relations (JR)
MVP Job Relations (JR)
MVP Leading Change
MVP Organizational Management
MVP Production and Cycle Time Management
MVP Production and Cycle Time Management
MVP Production and Cycle Time Management
Training for CE Instructors
Training for CE Instructors
START DATE
09/29/2009
12/15/2009
11/19/2009
11/03/2009
10/20/2009
10/20/2009
10/20/2009
12/01/2009
10/22/2009
10/13/2009
10/26/2009
11/16/2009
12/07/2009
10/20/2009
10/20/2009
11/09/2009
11/17/2009
11/10/2009
10/20/2009
10/14/2009
11/03/2009
11/10/2009
10/20/2009
11/12/2009
END DATE
09/30/2009
12/16/2009
11/20/2009
11/04/2009
10/21/2009
10/21/2009
10/21/2009
12/01/2009
10/22/2009
10/13/2009
10/29/2009
11/19/2009
12/10/2009
10/22/2009
10/22/2009
11/11/2009
11/19/2009
11/11/2009
10/21/2009
10/15/2009
11/04/2009
11/11/2009
10/21/2009
11/13/2009
CITY
Edmonton
Kissimmee
Burnaby
Columbus
Wixom
Naperville
Glen Burnie
Windsor Locks
Glen Burnie
Jackson
Dartmouth
Eagan
Duarte
Duarte
Chattanooga
Mississauga
Windsor Locks
Rapid City
Jackson
Mississauga
Nashville
Mooresville
Cranberry Township
STATE COUNTRY
AB
Canada
FL
USA
BC
Canada
OH
USA
MI
USA
IL
USA
MD
USA
CT
USA
MD
USA
MS
USA
NS
Canada
MN
USA
CA
USA
CA
USA
TN
USA
ON
Canada
XX
USA
CT
USA
SD
USA
MS
USA
ON
Canada
TN
USA
NC
USA
PA
USA
5