[LOCAL] NEWS
by Alana Quartuccio Bonillo
Strength, Momentum and Power: AASP/MA Gets Repairers Behind Legislation and Optimizing Labor Whoever coined the term “strength in numbers” must have had AASP/MA in mind. On March 30, AASP/MA closed out the first quarter of the year with such a well-attended General Membership meeting that additional seats were brought into an already jam-packed room at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough. It was a night for education and dedication as collision repairers gathered to receive information and resources to help better the industry as a whole, as well as learning how to improve functionality and profitability on their own shop floors by way of the featured presentation “Optimizing Your Labor,” given by Lee V. Rush of Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, event sponsor. “Three people won’t move the State House, but 30 to 40 people reaching out to members of the State House can really make a difference,” suggested AASP/MA Lobbyist Guy Glodis, who also reminded them to “be polite and be professional, and it will fall on good ears.” His remarks opened the meeting as he and AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg updated a room filled with eager and hopeful shop owners on the push behind making change at the legislative level for proper labor reimbursement and to move the ADALB away from the clutches of the Division of Insurance to the Division of Occupational Licensure. To help drive home the message that collision repairers will no longer stand for a $40 per hour labor reimbursement rate, AASP/MA armed everyone in attendance with a stack of postcards to be shared with their technicians, customers or anyone in the industry, with the recommendation that they mail them to their local legislators. “Take a bunch of them tonight, fill them out, have your technicians fill them out, send two this week and more the following,” advised Papageorg. “Talk to your customers about how the Labor Rate is not high enough to be able to do the job. I know many of you balance bill. Tell consumers they can help themselves to avoid paying a balance to a shop if the minimum is raised to something fair and equitable. This bill will keep the rate from becoming stagnant.” Papageorg also relayed updates on the most recent Labor Rate Study Commission hearings, the planned launch of a local TV show to educate the public about auto body repair and the association’s plans
to stir things up at the Capitol with a rally planned for mid-May. He also walked repairers through a series of templates created to effectively write complaints to the ADALB. As for the legislation behind moving the ADALB, Papagoerg stressed, “That move has to happen. When we ask you to call about HB 4242, please follow through.” Once the association’s business portion of the program was complete, it was time to dive into Rush’s presentation, designed to get shop owners to reconsider the traditional way of doing things and opt for methods that better align with the issues of today. There was not a shop owner in the house who didn’t agree when Rush reminded them of the struggles the industry faces due to the inability to find qualified skilled technicians. “This is a real issue. That is why you have to focus on optimizing your labor,” he encouraged, asking them to “open your mind to some opportunities,” including technology that can help with organization and communication, as well as improving processes on the shop floor. In an industry where many skilled technicians are from the Baby Boomer generation and on their way to retirement, if not already there - something Rush said was accelerated even further by the pandemic the only solution to making things better is to “focus on the best use of skilled labor.” Improving touch time by just one hour per technician can amount to $8,500, leading to an additional $40,000 per month. Rush pointed to tons of examples of how skilled technicians are not being used effectively. Every time a skilled technician is not touching metal, his or her efficiency is at level zero. Anything that interferes with production is what Rush called “a waste;” therefore, shops should be looking at improving a technician’s efficiency by improving the repair process overall. This can lie in everything from making sure blueprinting is complete, restructuring bays, setting up the repair plan and the parts near the vehicle to making sure the technician isn’t distracted by “de-skilled duties” that can be done by other staff members so the technician’s time is solely dedicated to working on the vehicle. “It doesn’t make sense having a brain surgeon prep for surgery,” Rush used the analogy to drive home his point.
continued on pg. 30
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14 May 2022
New England Automotive Report
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