Here’s some of the freshest thinking available about getting the most out of your service bays. Maybe you have a limited amount of space. Maybe you’re adding a couple of new bays. Either way, wasted steps are out, effective use of space is in.

With each new generation of equipment and people who count every ‘process step’ your techs are taking, we’re getting closer to turning the tire service bay into the moneymaker it’s supposed to be.

Here’s an example. How many steps did your techs take to get around an alignment machine 10 years ago? The best estimation is eight, but new technology has cut that to three.

This dramatic reduction occurred because a team of engineers went to work on reducing the number of steps your alignment techs take per job. Other aspects of this work is even more remarkable. Hunter Engineering says it has reduced the amount of time a vehicle spends in a service bay by half, and that’s huge.

From a short chat with Hunter, it’s easy to understand why tire service gets so much attention. At one time, the main focus was placed on accuracy, and each generation of equipment was more accurate. Next came on-board training using PCs loaded with information to help the tech. Newly arrived is the study of ‘process steps.’

This concept takes into account everything that surrounds the actual work area, the part of the job that isn’t billable. It plays a large role in the efficiency of your techs and helps shrink the amount of time a vehicle is going to spend in your store. These time-study exercises have significantly reduced the amount of non-billable setup and tear-down steps.

The emphasis at Hunter is to learn everything there is to know about a vehicle. A department of six specialists devotes its day’s work to noting the idiosyncrasies of aligning all vehicles, new and old. This information comes up on a screen for the tech to see. All he or she needs to do is follow the alignment steps as outlined by constantly updated software. It’s an important step in helping to move jobs in and out of a service bay more quickly.

Why? There is no way a single tech can know all the small variances in vehicle and vehicle alignment, so the supplier has taken the role of tutor. There can no longer be any doubt about the proper steps to take. In an express alignment, the software indicates which axle needs work, what adjustments are needed and whether or not a ride-height adjustment is required. All this comes up on a screen, in the order in which the work must be performed – another big time saver.

Lights are mounted underneath alignment machines, and they turn off automatically as the rack is lowered. At the same time, a wireless speed alignment service allows the operator to perform rolling compensation when the console is out of view. Another mechanism automatically pins slip plates and turnplates in the event the tech forgets to do so. In this way, all plate damage is eliminated.

Shop Efficiency Programs

How much do you know about SADE? It’s another aftermarket acronym that stands for “speed, accuracy, durability and ease of use.” It’s not so much about how fast a process can be performed as it is about the consistency with which it is performed. Manufacturers who have put SADE into their production processes have prospered.

The basic principle of SADE is worth considering in tire and service bays. It has more to do with eliminating process steps; it is definitely not about stopwatch speed. This is all about ease of use – from bead loosening, to removal, to mounting a new tire, to bead reseating, to the inflation process.

Important here is your ‘value stream.’ From where do you collect your money? Call them outputs if you will; they hinge on tire service, alignment, brakes and underhood work, to name a few. If you are an expert in categorizing your value stream, you already know how to minimize time-wasting steps and collect your money in a timely manner.

Put your fastest-moving tire sizes in the tire storage area closest to the tire bay and the changer. Don’t forget that your customers don’t like to wait, so your service bay layout must offer the best capability to deliver what the customer wants.

Another manufacturing program – 5S – stands for “housekeeping, workplace organization, cleanup, cleanliness and discipline.” Translation: Separate needed items from unneeded items. Keep only what is immediately necessary on the shop floor.

Organize the workplace so that needed items can be quickly accessed. Remember the old adage: “There is a place for everything, and everything in its place.” Sweeping, washing and cleaning everything around the work area should be done immediately after a job is performed. Keep everything clean for a constant state of readiness. Finally, everyone in the loop must understand and practice the rule of value stream.

In a word, 5S is all about efficiency.

Speaking to the subject of value stream, you need to do nothing more than learn how best to implement your business plan as it applies to your service bays. This type of study is always in a state of flux, as new technology challenges our ability to change service-bay processes as they apply to such things as TPMS and larger wheels and tires.

Real-World Bays

Drew Dawson and Tom White, co-owners of the Tire Source in Akron, Ohio, talk freely about their successes and mistakes in putting together eight service bays in a severely limited space. Four service bays were reserved for box vans and light trucks, while the other four were for passenger cars.

Both Dawson and White taped and re-taped the floor of their new service-bay area and counted the number of process steps their techs would be taking. They studied tire equipment placement. Both agreed they would like more room and wider and longer service bays.

Their plight was lessened by some sturdy thinking. The eight bays are open at all times to all kinds of service – oil changes, alignment, underhood and tire changes. Even though the two men agree that mistakes were made along the way, both knew they had to keep the bays open for uninterrupted work.

They moved their brake lathe from the tire storage room to the bay area and back to the tire storage room. As brake rotors become less expensive, there is less reason to turn a rotor, so the decision was made to get it out of the way in favor of maximizing the service bay.

Likewise, roll-around tool units, such as flush machines, a strut compressor and tool carts, were stored out of the way until needed. No sense in blocking valuable space.

To that end, waste oil was thoughtfully plumbed and pumped into the scrap tire room, a holding area for scrap tires, scrap metal and, now, used oil. The access door is outside and far away from the service bays.

The bulk-oil supplier pumps oil into the compressor room through a small, stainless-steel door that looks like a bank’s night deposit box. Instead of shutting down a bay or two while oil is pumped in, the delivery comes and goes, almost without notice.

One mistake the owners admitted to has to do with the way the fluorescent lights are positioned in the ceiling of the tire storage room. They are not perpendicular to the racks, making it a bit dim for tire changers looking for a certain size. But, it’s a fixable problem.

To help their techs, air, fluids and liquids are available via retractable hoses. There is a wall-mounted unit, not unlike a beer-keg tap, that allows techs easy access to transmission fluid and coolant.

There is even a room where technicians can go online to talk with parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers or customers. And, the tire storage room is replenished from the outside via a large double door. At no time are tires rolled across the service bay area unless they are about to be put on a vehicle.

The lesson in this story is to keep service bays working efficiently by keeping support functions and equipment out of the way. That is the goal. Talk to your equipment and tire suppliers and fellow dealers about setting up the perfect – or near perfect – service bay. A new reality in efficiency is well within reach, and it’s all about time.