Detect and resolve issues immediately, save time, and uplevel your standards with staff-performed location checks. The automotive industry shows you how.
Staff-performed location checks are used in many industries and with many purposes.
In the automotive industry, it’s used to prepare workshops for annual environmental checks. Amongst other things, this makes fines easier to avoid.
However, the automotive industry daily also uses location checks that managers and employees perform. When done right, it can be a tool to save time and raise the standard in workshops.
Niels-Jørgen Munk is a former Field Service Supervisor. He used to work in a chain comprising 28 full-service car workshops in Denmark with over 155 trained mechanics, tire fitters, and apprentices.
In other words, he needed a good system to ensure all workshops had the same high standard. In this case study, you get an insight into Niels-Jørgen Munk’s experiences with high-quality staff-performed location checks.
Challenge: Do things get done?
“It’s difficult to control whether our workshops do things how we want them to – and whether they do it at all. That’s why we long wanted to use self-inspection to follow-ups in our workshops.”
Objective: Easy, reliable, and flexible
“We wanted the individual workshops to make daily reports to the management by answering questions based on the company’s goals – questions regarding how things look and how employees do certain things.
We also wanted detailed reports with visuals of workshops and the work processes.
At first, we prepared forms and surveys ourselves, but it turned out that making effective surveys isn’t always easy.
I tested different systems. In one system, the reporting didn’t work. Another was too heavy to work in. And a third crashed when I had to activate the survey.
After the failed trials, we concluded that the system had to be easy, reliable, and flexible to match our needs and requirements.”
Solution: Issues are resolved immediately
“It turned out that Instore Excellence’s app matched our needs and requirements perfectly. The workshops and the Field Service Supervisors use the system successfully.”
How the workshops use the system:
“Daily and weekly, each workshop carries out a staff-performed location check, where they register, e.g., what works and what doesn’t. An example:
A question in our surveys is, ‘Does the TV work?’ The system automatically emails our IT manager if the employee answers ‘no’ in the survey.
In this way, an issue is immediately turned into a task, which rests with the person responsible for specific support. I think this kind of task management is super brilliant!”
How the Field Service Supervisors use the system:
“I supervise eight workshops, and it’s my responsibility to help them perform at their best. My biggest motivation is to see that my work makes a positive difference.
A successful day is when I see a workshop making positive progress. It can be in terms of numbers, tidiness, the workshop’s appearance, and their ability to corporate.
We use the Instore Excellence app for reporting when visiting the workshops. Here the system is a fantastic tool. An example:
If I see a torn-up flag during a visit, I can report it and immediately make it a to-do.”
Result: Saved time and higher standards
“We save much time by using staff-performed location checks, and we have raised our standard in many ways. Our marketing material is always up-to-date, and we have achieved much higher tidiness and cleanliness in our workshops.
We also use the staff-performed location checks to ensure that the workshops follow specific guidelines regarding work processes – based on management requirements and norms. It’s a great way to create accountability in each workshop.
In a workshop’s weekly report, we can see what tasks have been carried out and which haven’t and hold them accountable.
For example, if the workshop states in a survey that they have gotten rid of their scrap iron, and I, during the following visit, see a big pile of iron materials inside the workshop, I have something specific to point at.
This way, we use staff-performed location checks for daily optimization and efficiency. The Field Service Supervisors all agree; the system is genius!”
The collaboration with Instore Excellence
“I have had confidence in the team behind Instore Excellence since the beginning. They set everything up quickly, and the Field Service Supervisors have had no problems integrating the system.
Instore Excellence is always on standby if we need help with the system. I missed that when working with other systems where the support was limited. I am very confident in Morten and Stig; they are always incredibly helpful.
Their flexibility has also been a significant advantage for us. If new needs or challenges arise, they are good at fixing things immediately.
Morten always returns with a solution if I have specific requests that weren’t already part of the system.”
See more case studies on staff-performed location checks here.
“An issue is immediately turned into a task, which rests with the person responsible for specific support. I think this kind of task management is super brilliant!”
“We save much time by using staff-performed location checks, and we have raised our standard in many ways. Our marketing material is always up-to-date, and we have achieved much higher tidiness and cleanliness in our workshops.”
“The Field Service Supervisors all agree; the system is genius!”
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Book a non-binding meeting with our expert, Morten Munch-Andersen, at +45 2162 3159 or mma@instoreexcellence.com. You can also check out our FREE trial here.