Efficiency Improvement Strategies:

Lone Star Auto Action

Detail Department
By: Brady Shiplet
MGMT 5305 – LU01
November 16, 2009

Efficiency Improvement Strategies: Lone Star Auto Action, Detail Department

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
A. Company Background
B. Process overview
II. Efficiency Measure
A. Defining Efficiency
i. Maintaining quality
ii. Decreasing overall cycle time

III. Strategies for Improving Efficiency

A.
Process improvement through better lighting in detail bays
B.
Team building strategies to improve experience and working relationships
C.
Cultivation of knowledge through continuous employee training
D.
Employee motivation techniques to decrease turnover rate
E.
Other process improvement strategies to reduce cycle time
IV. Conclusion
Lone Star Auto Action Efficiency Improvement Strategies: Detail Department
By Brady Shiplet

The detail department of Lone Star Auto Auction employs 17 workers and two supervisors.
Auto detailing is the performance of an extremely thorough cleaning, polishing and waxing of an
automobile, both inside and out, to produce a show-quality level of detail. Besides improving the
appearance of vehicles, detailing helps to preserve the car, and thus, increases resale value. Our
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facility houses five bays: three for detailing the interior of the car, one for thoroughly washing the car,
and one final prep/buff bay for cleaning the exterior of the vehicle.
The department offers a variety of service packages including wash/wipe with tire shine,
wash/vac with tire shine, maintenance detail, and a restoration detail. The pricing of services is based
on wholesale and retail vehicles. The bulk of sales come from wholesale details. Wholesale customers
range from banks selling repos and dealerships selling vehicles through the auction service.
Every Wednesday the company holds its auto auction. Sales representatives bring in vehicles
throughout the week to be detailed before the sale. The number of vehicles to be detailed varies from
week to week, but is usually above 100. A proper efficiency measure needs be defined in order to
accomplish tasks in a timely manner, thus leading to a decrease in the overall cost structure. As famed
management theorist Peter Drucker puts it, “What gets measured gets managed.”
After we find the proper efficiency measure, five strategies will be presented in order to
increase both efficiency and effectiveness in the detail department.
Efficiency Measure
Efficiency refers to the amount of resources used to achieve the organization’s goals. It is
based on the quantity of raw materials, money, and employees necessary to produce a given level of
output. In the department, the overreaching goal is to provide a superior detail service. Being the
number one detail shop within a 500 mile area, it is important to consistently produce better quality
product than our competitors. However, as the company continues to grow, our service volume grows
as well. Therefore our measure consists of quality and average overall cycle time for each vehicle. In
order to be effective, the average overall average cycle time of a single vehicle needs to decrease, while
quality remains at an average grade of A.
Our objective in this case is not a quest to find absolute efficiency; rather it is an incentive, a
framework to help get your wheels spinning. There are two truisms that we should keep in mind when
measuring efficiency:
1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important. [2]

In this case we are measuring the cycle time of each vehicle against the quality of the detail in
that time. Five strategies, presented below, will help to improve overall efficiency. By implementing
these strategies a better quality car will be produced in less time, thus increasing efficiency.
Strategies for Improving Efficiency
The strategies for improving efficiency are:
1. Process improvement through better lighting in detail bays
2. Team building strategies to improve experience and working relationships
3. Cultivation of knowledge through continuous employee training
4. Employee motivation techniques to decrease turnover rate
5. Other process improvement strategies to reduce cycle time

Process improvement through better lighting in detail bays

Lighting is one major concern that is directly related to quality. The dim lighting in the detail
bays impedes satisfactory work. Paint and body work shops have figured out this fact. Their workspace
is brilliantly lit up in order to see any flaws in the work, such as drips and runs in the paint. Currently,
in the interior (as in interior of the vehicle) detail bay a car will look spotless in the shanty lighting but
once pulled outside sunlight reveals a poorer quality product. In the bay, detailing becomes a guessing
game and time is wasted each time a vehicle is checked and rechecked in proper lighting. Innovative,
cost efficient lighting solutions need to be brainstormed and then put into action. Bulbs used should use
a low amount of energy but produce a bright light. A few ideas include fluorescent wall mounted lights,
halogen light stands with multiple swiveling light heads, and individual flashlights for each employee.
Further the color of the walls of the bay should be painted a bright white in order to help reflect light.
Cultivation of knowledge through employee training
As soon as a new employee is hired into the department training should begin. Currently there
is no set training regimen or guideline. A new hire is thrown into the mix without any real knowledge
of the service process or any detailing techniques. An orientation period needs to be in place. This
serves the purpose of familiarizing new-hires with their new work environment. They should train for
small, specified periods of time in each of the three divisions, starting in the wash bay, then move to the
interior bay, and finally into the final prep/ buff bay. The employees will now have experience in every
skill area and is thus more flexible.
After orientation the employee can be placed in any division that is short-handed or in one in
which the employee proved to be the most beneficial. Once placed in a specialized area, training should
continue. Experience and repetition is key to the detailing profession. More knowledge and information
will be shared when placed under the wing of seasoned professionals and observe their working
behavior, listen and learn tips and tricks of the profession, and develop their own style and
understanding of the service.

Team building strategies to improve experience and working relationships

Restructuring for restructuring’s sake is not always beneficial to working behavior. The
constant moving of employees decreases efficiency. Humans are dominant and protective of space by
nature. This should be utilized as a positive trait. Once an employee has a space that they make their
own, they will be more loyal to the company and show more pride in their work. They develop a
routine and have a spatial reflexive knowledge to their workspace that makes them more efficient than
the same person in a new place. This can also be applied to working relationships. Employees get to
know one another through daily interaction. A team mindset should be developed on a micro level
within the department, as well as on a macro level. In each bay, two to three people work on a vehicle
at the same time. It may be hard to have three consistent employees in a bay, but at least two employees
should be “given” a bay to make their own. While this goes hand in hand with the concept of bay
leaders, having two permanent employees in each bay will increase knowledge sharing and efficiency
through an experienced working relationship. This will leave a free third position in which newer
employees can be rotated through for training purposes. Further, through first hand interaction I have
witnessed a positive marginal increase in service efficiency per vehicle when relate to experienced
working relationships. Each employee develops their own cleaning system but also must rely on other
employees to successfully complete the job. Each employee begins to learn the routines of immediate
employees. Small seemingly indefinable inefficiencies are eliminated through learned behavior. Each
time an employee is moved from a positive working relationship new inefficiencies are created and the
learning process begins again. If one team excels over the others, restructuring is not the answer to
bring up the median performance level. Rather, rotate in different employees into the team for
experience training. Help to cultivate a good culture rather than tear it down.

Employee motivation to decrease turnover rate

Currently in the department, employee evaluations and feedback only concerns the negative
aspects of employee performance, but completely ignores positive employee attributes. Managers
should use motivation to improve employee retention and decrease the employee turnover rate.
Knowledge and training is wasted every time an employee is fired. Employees will be much more
productive when they work in a positive, supportive environment and not one that is always threatening
punishment. Incentives, awards, and recognition should be used to motivate and increase employee
moral. Examples of incentives would be holiday bonuses or holiday paid-time-off, a set promotion
structure, and/or raises for acquiring different skill sets, such as after passing a test certifying their
ability to train other employees. The more skills an employee has, the more far-reaching their impact is
within the company. Awards can be given to employees who display superior service. These can even
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be minor things such as gift cards, a free lunch, or a rotational reserved parking space. Public
recognition is also an excellent motivator. Any outstanding performance by an employee can be
recognized during group meetings. The goal is for the employee to pride and gain satisfaction from
their work.
UPS has good example of an awards program that helped to promote safety, reduce employee
turnover, and decrease tardiness. Other members of the Safety Committee and I devised a raffle
drawing for a new DeWalt construction-grade portable radio. However, obtaining a ticket into the
drawing came with conditions.
1. The employee must not be late, or miss any scheduled days of work in the month
2. The employee must not have any safety infractions for the month
3. Only after the above two conditions are met does the employee’s name go into the
drawing.
After the contest was in place, we advertised the contest around the workplace by posting signs and by
reminding employees during meetings. The contest proved to be successful in all three categories. We
decreased safety infractions, reduced turnover, and showed that more employees had a perfect
attendance record.

Other process improvement strategies to reduce cycle time

Battery Booster Packs
There is currently a problem with moving vehicles that have dead batteries. If a car starts out
dead in the beginning of the process then it has to be boosted throughout the entire process, six times
total. Now multiply that by the number of dead cars. Clearly there is a time-consuming inefficiency
here. Every bay should have its own booster pack or at least two for sharing among bays. This should
prove to reduce cycle time and increase efficiency.

New Microfiber Rags

Rags are most likely the most important piece of equipment a detailer uses. They are used to
bring windows to a streak free shine, wipe water off a newly washed car, and for many other tasks.
Most of the rags we currently use are old and have lost most of their absorption. These rags only pile
up in the workspace. The outdated rags need to be recycled. They may be useful in the mechanic shop.
In their place new rags need to be issued on a regular basis. This will help to increase work speed,
quality, and efficiency.

New Way to Apply Tire Shine Product

This product is applied on tires, plastic door handles, grill, windshield wipers, and can also be
used on interiors. It is a glossy, greasy product. It is currently applied through the use of spray bottles.
However, this method is inefficient because once the product is on a vehicle it is hard to take off. It is
especially troublesome when polishing the body and windows of the vehicle. It usually leaves a
noticeable greasy sheen over windows, even after a thorough cleaning. Wherever possible an
application sponge pad should be used instead of a spray bottle. Overspray is a bad thing and leads to
reduced quality and an increase in time per vehicle.

Conclusion
The topic discussed is five strategies to improve efficiency in the detail department at Lone
Star Auto Auction, in Lubbock, Texas. The department offers a variety of service options for both
wholesale and retail customers. The company is famed for its auto auction service, which is held every
Wednesday.
 In order to be effective in this department, the average overall average cycle time of a single
vehicle needs to decrease, while quality remains at an average grade of A. Five strategies are presented
to help decrease the cycle time of each, improve quality, and thus efficiency.
The five strategies outlined to improving efficiency are:
1. Process improvement through better lighting in detail bays. Examples to increase lighting are
fluorescent wall mounted lights; halogen light stands with multiple swiveling light heads, individual
flashlights for each employee, and painting the walls of the bays a bright white.
2. Cultivation of knowledge through continuous employee training. A comprehensive employee
training program needs to be installed, which includes an orientation period and the ability gain
advanced trade knowledge.
3. Team building strategies to improve experience and working relationships. The constant moving of
employees decreases efficiency. Having two permanent employees in each bay will increase
knowledge sharing and efficiency through an experienced working relationship. This will leave a free
third position in which newer employees can be rotated through for training purposes. Small seemingly
indefinable inefficiencies are eliminated through learned behavior. Each time an employee is moved
from a positive working relationship new inefficiencies are created and the learning process begins
again.
4. Employee motivation techniques to decrease turnover rate. Currently, employee evaluations and
feedback only concerns the negative aspects of employee performance, but completely ignores positive
employee attributes. Managers should use motivation to improve employee retention and decrease the
employee turnover rate.
5. Other process improvement strategies to reduce cycle time.
Three other, process improvements strategies were presented.
A. Battery Booster Packs will decrease cycle time by decreasing the lead time for dead
vehicles.
B. New Microfiber Rags will help to increase work speed, quality, and efficiency.
C. A New Way to Apply Tire shine through the use of an application sponge instead using a
spray bottle will help to increase efficiency.
Our objective in this case was not a quest to find absolute efficiency; rather it was a
framework. Through the application of this paper and its strategies, Lone Star Auto Auction should see
increased efficiency in the detail department. Also remember these two truisms when measuring
efficiency:
1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.

Works Cited
1. Auto detailing. Wikipedia. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_detailing>.
2. Ferriss, Timothy. The 4-Hour Workweek Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.
New York: Crown, 2007. Print.
3. How to Increase employee motivation. Web. 20 Dec. 2009. <http://www.life123.com/career-
money/career-development/motivating-employees/employee-motivation-strategies.p2.shtml>.