The document outlines best practices for service department management, focusing on facility maintenance, safety procedures, and equipment management. It details the establishment of maintenance schedules, organization of tools and records, and effective information storage strategies. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of employee safety protocols and systematic record-keeping for better operational efficiency.

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Service Development Program - Module 1
Continued …

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DOS (Dealer Operating Standards)

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Facility Planning
Facility Housekeeping
 Establish and maintain a facility maintenance schedule for the service department.
 For each item on the schedule, identify the maintenance interval and the person responsible for making
sure the maintenance is performed.
 The items on the maintenance schedule are fairly universal include & not limited to:
1. Lighting: inspection and replacement of interior and exterior bulbs and lamps.
2. Signage: regular inspection, cleaning, repair, and replacement as necessary.
3. Building: inspection of roof, walls, foundation, and drainage.
4. Painted surfaces, interior and exterior: inspection for necessary minor touch-ups and signs that
major repainting is required.
5. Mechanical systems: inspection and maintenance of heating, air conditioning, plumbing, alarm,
and electrical systems.
6. Parking lots: inspection of striping, sealant, curbs, and drainage; provision for snow removal in
colder climates.
7. Landscaping: maintenance, repair, improvement (revise schedule for seasonal activities)

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Safety and Emergency Procedures
 As part of your overall facility maintenance requirements, establish employee safety and emergency
procedures that become part of each new employee’s orientation process.
 Everyone should know how to respond to medical emergencies, fire, hazardous material spills, or other
types of emergencies that can occur in a dealership environment.
 The dealership’s insurance carriers are an excellent source of assistance in identifying safety and
emergency requirements.
 Work with them to develop the appropriate procedures. These procedures should be conspicuously
posted for employees, along with emergency telephone numbers.

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Managing Tools and Equipment
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK
Equipment maintenance and inventory are monitored regularly
 The department’s special tools and equipment are a considerable cumulative investment.
A few simple things you can do will ensure that the department obtains the best possible
return on this investment.
Organize Tools and Equipment Maintenance
 Every piece of equipment and many special tools have manufacturer-recommended
maintenance schedules.
 Simplify keeping track of these schedules by transferring the individual maintenance
information to a master schedule.
 This is a good application for a personal computer using a simple data base program.

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1. Whether using a computer or a form, record the following information:
• The name of the tool or piece of equipment and its purchase date.
• The type of service required (adjust, check, lubricate, calibrate, etc.).
• The frequency of the maintenance intervals.
2. List all maintenance requirements for each tool. Some pieces of equipment need multiple services, each
service with a different interval.
3. Once a year, and whenever a new piece of equipment is purchased, transfer the information from the
master maintenance schedule to a standard desk or wall calendar. Review the calendar daily.
4. When the maintenance is completed, make a notation on the calendar next to the scheduled service
date.

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Keep Records of Tool and Equipment Repairs
 Tracking tool and equipment repairs is important.
 Collecting repair and cost histories on a log simplifies replacement decisions.
 A quick review of the repair history will identify items that require too many repairs or repairs that are
too expensive.
 This is a good application for a personal computer using a simple data base program.
1. Whether using a computer or a form, record the following information:
• Date: the date the item was found to need repairs.
• Date out: the date the item was sent out for repair or assigned to a technician for repair, or the date
a service call was placed to the manufacturer.
• Date in: the date the item was returned to service.
• Repair cost: all associated repair expenses, including shipping costs, travel time, and other such
expenses.
2. Monitor the time between the date an item is found to need repair and the date the repair process is
initiated.
3. Monitor the duration of repairs. This information about "down-time" helps you determine the indirect
costs—loss of use—of equipment repairs.

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Organize the Special Tools
 Set up a simple check-out system, and take inventory every six months.
 Avoid using complicated controls; they only waste time.
1. Select a central, easily accessible location for the tool storage area. It should be lockable and within easy
view of key personnel and technicians during normal working hours.
2. Store tools on tool boards, either supplied by the division or of your own design. The tool boards need
to clearly identify the proper location of each tool.
3. When you’ve got a special component repair area, store appropriate tools in the area where they are
used most. Use storage cabinets for all precision and delicate tools.
4. Use a simple and effective tool check-out system. One system that works well is to provide each
technician with a number of sturdy tags bearing his or her name or employee number. The technician
replaces a tool with a tag and reclaims the tag when the tool is returned.
 In large service departments, a tool crib—a tool room with an attendant—may work very well. Between
check-out and check-in tasks, the attendant’s time can be used to repair and maintain special tools and
shop equipment. A partially retired or disabled technician often makes an effective, knowledgeable
attendant.

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5. Make cleaning shop tools and equipment after each use the responsibility of the technicians.
Managing Information Storage and Access
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK
Product, customer, and employment information is up to date and available
 How well you organize information storage and arrange access to the information influences
every activity in the department in some way.
 The job is made simpler when you think about the information in terms of three
fundamental categories:
• Vehicle: vehicle history, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of owners.
• Product: features, technical specifications, repair procedures.
• Employee: benefits, training, personnel records.

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Organize Vehicle Information
 The largest category of information is vehicle information.
 It’s a big job because there’s a steady stream of new customers added each month, and every customer
visit adds more information to the records on file.
 It’s called vehicle information, however, because the secret to accurately organizing this data base is
sorting it by vehicle identification number (VIN).
 Advantages of VIN filing include the hereafter:
• Records are comprehensive because the same file is used even when the vehicle is brought in by
different members of a family, various employees of a firm, or a new owner.
• Targeting specific customers for service promotions is easier because files are automatically sorted by
model year and model.
• Files of repair order hard copies are organized consistently with every computerized system. (It makes
no sense to have different filing systems for parallel electronic and paper records).
1. If such a system is not already in place, begin storing hard copies of vehicle history records according to
VINs. Provide the cabinet space and necessary dividers, and have employees begin filing under the new
system. Don’t bother trying to refile all past records at once. Simply pull files from the old system as
customers come in, and refile under the new system.

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2. If the dealership does not yet store vehicle histories on computer, use a card file (any office supply store
has good ones), arranged alphabetically by customer name, to cross-reference the customer name to
the VIN. Keep the customer name card file near the vehicle history files.
3. Locate the file cabinets used for the vehicle history files centrally near the service consultants’
workstations. This is absolutely essential if the files are not computerized—file access has to be easy and
practical for every transaction. Make sure the files are in lockable cabinets or a room that can be locked.
4. Make sure that refiling is completed daily. Thus, files that may be needed for the next day’s work are
where they should be and can be found.
5. Once a month, have the vehicle files checked for inactive customers. (A customer is usually considered
inactive when he or she has not visited the dealership for 18 months.) Have the inactive files removed
from the file cabinets. It’s a sound practice to contact the inactive customers before archiving the files.
6. Keep the archived files organized in the same VIN sequence. Store them on site, if possible, so you can
get to the occasional old file you may need to review.

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Organize Product Information
 Access to product information must be straightforward and simple.
 The technical information be easy to find and easy to keep in order.
 Even if the dealership has a computerized system, a technical reference library is still useful.
 Many people prefer printed references for individual study, in-dealership training, and on-the-job
reference.
 Additionally, printed references will continue to be provided by equipment and accessories suppliers
and vendors of independent repair manuals.
1. If the dealership has a computerized system, provide technicians with training on locating and printing
the information stored in the systems.
2. When printed technical and product bulletins are received, distribute copies to all technicians so that
each is aware of the latest developments. At a minimum, post these documents in an internal employee
area.
3. Provide an area near the workshop to house the technical information library. It should contain copies
of all shop manuals, technical bulletins, product specifications, and training videos. Locate the area
where it is easily accessible to technicians. When feasible, have this area where it can also be seen by
customers.
4. Store operating instructions for all shop equipment and precision instruments in your office (or in the
shop foreman’s, if you have one, or in the parts department). Organize the file alphabetically by product
name.

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Organize Employment Information
 As service manager, you are responsible for what is probably the largest group of employees in the
dealership.
 It is particularly important to have an organized approach to maintaining the personnel records in your
care.
 you need to systematically arrange employment information so that it is readily accessible to all
employees.
1. Establish a file in your office for generic employment information—topics that are pertinent for all
employees. Organize the file by subject:
• Employee handbooks.
• Dealership newsletter.
• Blank forms for health insurance claims, suggestions, and so on.
• Employee benefits announcements, statements, and reports.
• Employee benefits brochures.
• Health and safety information.
• Job applications.
• Job descriptions.
• Recognition programs.
• Training schedules and background information.

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• "Right-to-know" information (information available to employees on a "right-to-know" basis,
including but not limited to the employee’s personnel file and health and safety issues). Check with
your local trade association and law firm for additional information on this topic.
2. When printed materials about employment or employee topics are received (whether they are
internally developed, received from suppliers), provide a copy to all employees. Retain at least a single
file copy of every document and file it with your other employment information according to subject.
3. Maintain a suitable supply of benefits information brochures and application forms for medical and
other benefits in an internal employee area. Employees should have access to these items without
having to ask anyone.

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See you in Resources next Part

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Thank You
Mohamed Shehata
www.linkedin.com/in/mohamedshehata
Auto Business way
Autobway@gmail.com