[LOCAL] NEWS
by Alana Quartuccio Bonillo
Opening Doors in 2022: AASP/MA Presents “Your Key to Success: Optimize Your Labor” Working to make sure its members have access to the best resources and tools needed to help keep their body shop businesses afloat during these stormy times, AASP/MA has put together a program for its first general membership meeting of the year that is guaranteed to give repairers an open door to success. AASP/MA will host an in-person gathering March 30 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough. The event sets out to cover various topics from legislative efforts, Labor Rate Study Commission hearing updates and preparing ADALB complaints which will all be followed by the featured presentation, “Your Key to Success: Optimize Your Labor,” delivered by Lee V. Rush of Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes. Dinner and networking will also be part of the event. “We’re really excited to have Lee Rush here in person,” states AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg who recalls the great reception Rush received last June when he presented a virtual estimating seminar for Massachusetts repairers. “He’ll address how to optimize the technology that is out there right now to help shops be more efficient and be able to properly repair today’s vehicles in a more expedient fashion,” adds Papageorg. “New technicians are not entering the industry because the work is seen as chaotic and labor intensive,” reported Rush in a
statement. “Of 18-24 year olds considering a skilled trade, collision repair had the second lowest consideration. In an industry where vehicle complexity is increasing and repair cycle times are increasing with an industry average touch time of 2.6 labor hours per day, labor improvement is our greatest opportunity – an opportunity not just for profitability but the quality of life that comes with it.” In an industry of constant and unpredictable change, a more productive business model will be necessary in order to thrive. Rush’s presentation will arm participants with the ability to increase technician labor utilization, improve shop touch time, increase vehicle throughput, drive production efficiencies and improve customer satisfaction. “Utilizing labor correctly is essential to being truly agile and profitably sustainable in the collision repair industry,” Rush emphasized. “Labor undoubtedly creates the biggest potential profit, typically returning a 62 percent margin. A full parking lot without the available labor to complete the work on-time (meet cycle time goals) or a depleted parking lot with unsold labor are both undesirable situations for any collision center.” Rush is an accredited speaker who regularly presents at the NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show and SEMA. He has an extensive background in managing collision centers, independents, dealers and MSOs, and he possesses an extensive amount of expertise in business center expansion. “We also plan to give attendees a report on how well we are doing with our legislative initiatives and what the plan is moving forward to continue that momentum,” Papageorg encourages collision repair professionals not to miss this meeting. There are also plans to discuss the Labor Rate Study Commission hearings, and attendees will receive templates to be used to help ensure written complaints to the ADALB are thorough so they will move forward based on their merits. Registration is underway at aaspma.org. PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND THE COLLISION INDUSTRY
MASSACHUSETTS
10 March 2022
New England Automotive Report
