A technician is only as good as his tools. This is why taking proper care of the equipment you rely on in your shop is so important. Proper care and maintenance can greatly impact your shop and business as a whole. Take a look at the top 4 reasons you need to ensure your equipment is well cared for.
Proper care can change the culture of your shop
We’ve heard it time and time again from maintenance technicians: the majority of shop technicians’ main focus is to repair cars and not to maintain the equipment being used properly. If a maintenance program is not being used or proper procedures are not followed, the shop’s equipment begins to have larger problems. This snowball effect grows, and many shop technicians fail to report damaged or failing equipment in fears of being punished. Now the maintenance tech is scheduling reactive maintenance when the equipment is needed to finish a job. This makes the jobs of the maintenance techs even harder, but the truth is, even more so makes the shop tech’s jobs harder.
When a shop prioritizes maintenance and care of its equipment, it can totally change the culture of your shop. By implementing a preventive maintenance program, you are instilling responsibility in your technicians. You are also showing the technicians you care about the large investments you have made for the shop. This also takes away the fears of techs reporting problems with the welder. If a service is already scheduled in the near future, many of the shop technicians’ issues can be addressed directly to the maintenance provider. This helps eliminate large issues with the welder and ensures proper stock of consumables which will help cycle times on vehicle repairs. The faster the cars are repaired, the happier the technicians and shop owners will be.
Proper care saves you money on big repairs or replacements
Anyone in the automotive industry will tell you how important regularly servicing your vehicle is. So why don’t we say the same about the equipment we use to repair vehicles? The equipment in your shop is your lifeline. If a piece you need is out of commission, that’s a service you can no longer provide, meaning damaged, faulty, or broken equipment will lose you business.
More than that, we all know that small maintenance costs much less than a full-on replacement. Training your techs to schedule maintenance regularly and report the first signs of potential malfunctions is the best way to ensure all your equipment is in working order and ready for the job. When your equipment does need repair or servicing, calling in repair techs right away will save you big and prevent you from having to replace costly equipment.
Proper care means you can serve your customers better
When your customer’s vehicle isn’t working, that means big stress for them. So when someone trusts their vehicle to you, it’s a big deal. That customer relies on you to fix their vehicle so they can get back on the road and back on with life. But if the equipment you need to fix their vehicle also isn’t working properly, that customer will find someone else to do that job.
By properly maintaining your equipment, you’ll be ready for any job that walks through your door, which is a recipe for a very satisfied customer. So not only will your shop save their day, but that customer is far more likely to recommend you to their friends and family when they’re in a pinch themselves.
Proper care allows a higher resale value
The goal of every business is to thrive and grow into a larger and better organization. As your business grows, the kind of equipment you need will also expand and change. This means you may need to sell off some old equipment to make room for new equipment. And if your old equipment was well maintained, that will be much easier.
Equipment that doesn’t need drastic refurbishment or repair will sell quicker. Whether you’re selling it directly to a smaller shop or a second-hand equipment dealer, both will look to get the most bang for their buck. If your equipment has been well maintained and kept in great shape, not only are the folks you sell it to going to be more inclined to purchase, but you’ll be able to sell it for a higher amount, which in turn means more to spend on the new equipment your shop needs.
Did you know that SCCE offers maintenance on several of the pieces of equipment we offer? Not only do we sell the equipment you need, but we can also help you extend the life of that equipment to serve you and your shop for years to come.
So at the first sign of trouble, give SCCE a call! We’re here to repair and maintain your equipment so you can get back to business and stay in business.
If your equipment needs servicing, get in touch for pricing.