Myself and Managing Editor Hannah Schiffman got out of the office recently and visited DCR Systems in Mentor, Ohio. Initially, DCR offered turnkey collision repair outsourcing to dealerships nationwide, operating six repair centers in three states. However, DCR recently allied with Toyota Motor Sales USA to offer its patent-pending, lean-based operating model exclusively to Toyota dealerships for the next five years.
I initially visited DCR two years ago and walked away just as impressed this second time. If you haven't visited this collision repair facility yet, I highly recommend that you do. The place is immaculate. You could eat off the floors. Everything is organized, color-coded and easily accessible, an anal retentive person's dream. I asked CEO Michael Giarrizzo if this anal retentiveness for him spills over at home, and he said no, but one employee modeled his method of cleaning dishes after the way they keep the shop clean. Talk about an employee "buying in" to the company philosophy.
I'll be honest – if I were opening a body shop tomorrow, I'd model it just like this facility. I'd copy the heck out of it. I think others have had the same idea, which is why DCR decided not too long ago to launch a new company, DCR Intellectual Property Company, that will license the lean production system used in DCR facilities. After all, Giarrizzo put a lot of hard work into creating his own unique system and has every right to protect it.
Let's face it, those who cling to the "old way" will most likely disappear as costs continue to go up, vehicles become more complicated to repair and consumer/insurer demands multiply. It's been said so much I'm sick of it, but the definition of insanity is doing things the same over and over and expecting different results. When you scrutinize certain aspects of the "old way," you realize they defy logic and make no sense. But some repairers are so busy they never have the time to think about doing things differently.
At DCR, there's a logical flow to things. It's a car repair factory, if you will, an assembly line that ensures ultimate efficiency. Rarely is there a stoppage of work. The goal is to get consistent, predictable results in an unpredictable environment because the whole model is based on predictability. Without predictability, everything falls apart. The other key is discipline to make sure that posted standard operating procedures or "SOPs" are strictly and consistently adhered to.
There's always a better way. There were two machines at DCR that created inefficiency because they were in separate places, and someone thought to ask the manufacturer if it could customize a cart for the two machines to fit into and thus be together. And the manufacturer did this. All it took was someone to think logically and sensibly and figure out a better way. We just don't do that enough it seems.