What’s the benefits of using a workflow system?
Keeping tabs on everything going on in a busy workshop is pretty much essential if you want to stay on top of things, and more importantly, keep those customers happy. CVW hears from Marshalls about its deployment of a web-based workflow system to manage all the challenges of day-to-day working.
Marshall Mercedes Truck and Van is one of the largest commercial dealers in the country and provides servicing for many transport companies across the south. Like any operation it’s all about keeping the client’s fleet on the road by ensuring that vehicles are maintained to the highest standards.
Managing a busy vehicle workshop is always a challenge. With hourly updates to the schedule and changing priorities, it can really feel like spinning plates for staff. In addition to an ever-increasing workload, it is essential to have up-to-date information about what is happening in the workshop. In this environment, it is vital that key staff can make informed and quick decisions. To achieve this they need the right tools, enabling staff to work as productively as possible and minimise waste.
Work smarter
Gareth Downs, head of aftermarket at Marshalls looks after four service departments: Southampton, Andover, Fareham and Croydon. When Gareth moved to Marshalls, one of his first tasks was to look for a way of improving the way workload was managed. “We needed a system that we could manage ourselves with our changing needs. It also had to be easily rolled out to other sites. When we tried T Cards Online, we found it required little training, and was easy to use for our staff. This was an essential element. Any system must be there for you and not the other way around. The system is unique as it allows all users to see the workflow at once and updates are immediate with every change and actions logged in the T Card log history. Having the ability to visually see the status of work in progress in real time gives us the information we need, when we need it,’ he explains.
“There are many other options available, but we have found T Cards Online the easiest to use and most costeffective tool. It allows you to quickly customise to your requirements with the support team at T Cards Online, who are friendly and always eager to help achieve what we want. It really is true value for money. No other option on the market allows us, as the user, to tailor the board layout and T Card field data as quickly and easily as T Cards Online, and the management tool ensures users only have the fields they need to view,” adds Gareth.
According to Gareth, before the arrival of T Cards Online, information was lost at shift handovers, there were inconsistent handwritten notes, and delays in providing customers accurate updates. With the CV workshop, it is essential no vehicle leaves with safety-related defects, so the system has ensured a robust quality control approach to sign off all work prior to release. All customer updates are logged onto the system so all staff can make sure customers are well informed.
Added value
Since implementation in 2022 there have been some notable outcomes – repair quality and customer experience have dramatically improved with the aid of the software. Gareth has also seen some other interesting improvements: “We have seen staff more confident on the phone with customers when they have all the information to hand. Management of timesensitive bookings and breakdowns are well managed thanks to the alarm system. All staff updating at one central point, so information is not stored in various formats around the business is a godsend! It is a great system to have at all the sites, all of whom are now comfortable and reliant on the same software.”
Gareth boils down the benefits of T Cards into three areas; the clear display, the simple mobile app and the general ease of use. In addition, the system is capable of dealing with slightly different requirements from different sites. It can have variations to the design to suit individual workshop needs but still enables workload in general to be monitored and analysed across the group.
Marshall Mercedes Truck and Van is just one of many companies that seems to be achieving significant improvements in workflow and productivity using this simple-to-implement and simple-to-use tool.
