Beginning of the day checklist....

[breathe72]

Ok, does anyone use a checklist for their guys to go over before they start their day, sort of a 'lets make sure we have everything' type of list?

Something to give the guys that would make sure they arent leaving half cocked in the AM?

I have one full time guy who is very competent and he cares very much about his professionalism and this craft. He has a helper; they go out together when I cannot be on the truck.

Competent as he is however, there is always SOMETHING forgotten.

Its small stuff, but I am training someone to do this right and am a believer in putting a system in place that gets followed till its a habit. Performance based, even?

It seems silly to offer a bonus based on not screwing-up, but at the same time it seems like i'd be buying peace of mind. (i know this aspect was covered in a recent thread)

Just wondering what has worked for those of you who have one or more full time employees, before I set out to hang the giant dry-eraser board in the shop.

Anyone have a copy of thier morning checklist I could look at, borrow-from or outright steal?

Thanks

 

[breathe72]

Oh yeah, what about an "End of the Day" checklist as well?

equally if not more important

 

[SRI Cleaning]

Hey Chris, A guy at our local jon don gave me a very basic checklist that he used to use when he had his company. I have to see what i did with it, but if you want to pm me your fax number i can send it out. Its basic but it could be a starting point that yopu can change as necessary. i was gonna do the same thing but i havent gotten around to it yet. i think checklists are a great idea.

 

[Ron Lippold]

go to sfs and you will have procedures for doing everything, what else are you leaving behind, I would be willing to say $$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[breathe72]

thanks ron, not sure what you mean but will pm you

 

[Mikey P]

Here's ours.

AM Checklist

· Teflon - Water & Solvent based

· Prosolve Gel

· Hydrogen Peroxide (9% & 3%)

· Ammonia

· Booties

· Pre-Spray Powders

· Plastic Tabs & Foam Blocks

· Clean Towels

· Empty Hamper/Laundry

· Bonnets & Pads.

· Free Spotter Bottles

· Invoices

. Check Water Softener

 

[Noidios]

The problem I see with a performance based checklist is that your tech might be less likely to come back to the shop for something that he forgot. Instead of picking up the "fill in the blank" he might just skip it instead of having it cost him his bonus and the end result will be a poorer job for the customer.

 

[breathe72]

This was actually a question I posed for those have employees, Odin.

please refer to Havamal #27 in your poetic edda'

then change your name to Loki

 

[Steve Toburen]

The problem with ANY checklist or procedure (yes, even the ones from SFS) is after awhile employees just start checking off the items without really checking to see if they are there. We dealt with this in several ways:

1. I agree with Steve. Do it at night. The crew/ employee at the end of the day was responsible for restocking all items used during the day. We kept a note pad glued to the dash and asked our people to write down all things that needed to be restocked or replaced during the day so that they had their own 'custom check list" when they pulled in that evening. They did this ... sometimes.

2. Quite a few of our larger SFS members use the system in #1 but instead of asking their already whipped techs to do the restock and cleanup they hire a high school kid to come in at night and do everything on the vans. Clean them, restock and fix minor items. The note on the dash serves as a starter on the obvious things that need to be loaded. This system has the advantage of bringing fresh blood in to do something that all techs hate and helps you avoid paying overtime.

3. We used square clear bottles in our racks for all chemicals which allowed a visual inspection without removing each bottle.

4. Maybe one of the most important things is to make everything easy to restock. (Ron, did you get sick of me drilling "make it easier to do it right than do it wrong" into your head last week?) Have your chemical resupply shelves close to the vans and remember to have an inventory system for reordering.

Steve Toburen
Director of Training
Jon-Don's Strategies for Success

PS Single best tip I can give is that if anyone removes (or breaks) any standard article (scrub wand, upholstery tool, solution line, etc.) from a van they MUST wire a red hang tag on to the steering wheel with the missing or broken item noted. This saved us a lot of grief.

 

[The Great Oz]

Everything has a place and everything in that place. Glance in the truck and anything low or missing is immediately obvious. It might seem goofy to have a set place or to build a holder for every item, but missing items becomes rare, and the tech knows we can't make it any easier for him.

PS: One of our guys used to work for an electrical contractor as a deliveryman. He spent the entire day driving to job sites to deliver tools and parts the crews forgot to re-stock. To me, that's goofy.

 

[Ron Lippold]

Steve I just have to say thanks it was a fantastic course, well put together, great food and the girls were awesome, Nick is one hell of a guy, you can tell he still likes the industry. Some of the best money A guy can spend if you are willing to put it together.

Thanks again