Chapter 2:

Physical Resources
Service Operations

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Facilities
Although the automotive technician is an essential part of
any automotive repair shop, building and maintaining a
successful repair operation requires a far more complex mix
of resources and assets

Physical facilities, service equipment, tools etc.

Because of the nature and complexity of the automotive

service business, the investment required to provide these
physical resources is substantial

Physical Facilities
The land and building that provide a suitable physical environment
to conduct business

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Facilities

General Facility Guidelines:

Address all criteria but do not overdo

Is large enough to handle an average days business

Is visible and easily accessible to customers
Has adequate external space for customer parking and vehicle storage
Has adequate space for repair support services (write-up area, locker
rooms, parts storage, business office, equipment storage)
Has adequate space for customer services (customer entrances, a
waiting area, restrooms)
Provides a neat, clean, and professional customer friendly environment
Fixed assets are very difficult to change or dispose of rapidly
As a result, they continue to be an expense whether the business is
good or bad or even when the shop is not open

Keep in mind!
~Provide facility for efficient operation but keep fixed expenses
minimum~
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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Facility Needs
Repair Space

Repair Stalls

Storage Space

Drainage

Support Space

Customer Space

Customer Entrances and

Write-Up Area

Customer Waiting Area

Tools and Equipment

Employee Facilities

Tools

Parking Lots

Equipment

Detailing/Wash Rack

Administrative Area

Parts Sales and Storage

Area

Parts Inventory
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Communications
Equipment
Computing Equipment

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Repair Space
Repair Stalls

Majority of facility space are repair stalls

Each stall must provide room for the car and a reasonable
workspace surrounding it so that the technicians has
sufficient space to easily access all the cars systems

Standard midsized cars measure 6x16, the average size of

repair stall is 12x25 (300 sqft)
Smaller import vehicles/sports cars can reduce the stall size to
10x20 (200sqft)
SUV s need a more spacious and flexible 12x22 stall

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Repair Space
Repair Stalls
Stall access is often provided by means of two overhead
doors and a large drive-through aisle that runs the entire
length of the shop (common where seasons change
dramatically)

The aisle must be long enough to provide access to each stall

yet wide enough to allow vehicles to be turned and driven in and
out of the stalls
The two overhead doors provide adequate access for vehicles
while limiting entry to the facility - increase building security and
reduces the direct effects of weather inside the shop

Straight Drive-Thru Layout Drive-In Bay Layout L-Shaped Layout

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Repair Space
Repair Stalls
In milder climates, individual overhead doors lead directly
into each repair stall

This layout reduces the total square footage required under the
roof
Ads to the risk of theft and increases wear and tear on the
building (often in the form of frequent door repairs)

The mildest climates, often feature open-air facilities housed

under roofs suspended over concrete slabs

Must deal with extreme heat and dust storms

Repair Stalls
The physical space, each stall typically measuring 12 x 25, that is
set aside to provide adequate room to repair an automobile

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Repair Space
Storage Space
To house equipments and tools shared by technicians (e.g.:
brake lathe, wheel balancer, valve grinder etc.)

Must be easily accessible from any part of the shop

Must provide adequate security to prevent loss/damage to these
expensive tools

The shop layout must also allow sufficient room for each
technicians toolbox

Large rolling toolboxes (small 26x19 box for entry-level

technicians and more extensive and specialized sets up to 6 x
2)
Locating storage space for toolboxes close to repair stalls
Storage Space
provides technicians with easy access to essential hand tools
The physical space required to house equipment, tools, and
supplies

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Repair Space
Drainage
An important, but often overlooked, point to provide
adequate drainage
Essential for cleanliness and safety

Hundreds of cars drive in and out everyday causing an

accumulation of road grime
Incidental fluid leakage or spills involving antifreeze, oil, and
other fluids contribute to dirty, slippery, and unsafe floors

Two common methods:

1.
2.

Sloping the entire floor toward a central floor drain trough

Locating a variety of drains throughout the repair space

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space

Although a shop may be adequate without one or more of these

areas, always consider them when developing an automotive
service shop layout

In most cases, support space requires at least one-half the size of

repair shop
Support Space
Facilities required to conduct functions that are not directly
involved in the primary activity of automotive repair

Employee Facilities

Among the most essential supplemental areas in a service workshop

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E.g.:
Locker rooms, that includes restroom and shower facilities, a
changing area with individual lockers, and a large multistation washbasin

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space
Parking Lots

Adequate parking that is clearly marked an visible from the

street

The customer parking area should be paved, well lit, and

provide easy access to the service facility

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Must have adequate space for the cars of current and potential
customers, as well as for all vehicles currently being repaired
and those being stored temporarily while awaiting service
Must ensure that the entire facility and all cars on the property
are safe and secure - employ alarm systems and security fencing

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space
Detailing/Wash Rack
Most shops include an area for cleaning customer vehicles

Highly recommended for increasing customer satisfaction

Consists of a simple one-stall space where a porter can

handwash vehicles before returning them to customers
Many mid- to large-sized shops feature full car wash and car
detailing areas

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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space
Administrative Area

Running a service facility involves performing not only repair

task but also administrative tasks (e.g.: work distribution
(dispatching) and the handling of customer paperwork and
payment (cashiering))

Must set aside office space to house service management

and general business management (accounting) personnel

Duties that require to work quietly without distraction

Administrative Area
Floor space allocated to perform general business functions of the
company or department

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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space
Parts Sales and Storage Area

Not all service shops have their own parts department, but
do maintain an inventory of common parts and supplies

Frees a shop from depending on a third party to deliver the parts

needed for repairs

Larger independent shops and those associated with

dealerships carry enough inventory to act as retail part
outlets

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Requires investments in both, inventory and additional physical

space needed to store those parts
Often, the shop maintains two separate parts counters; a
wholesale counter accessible to the technicians and a separate
parts retail counter that is accessible to customers

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Support Space
Parts Inventory
Building and maintaining a parts inventory is a large investment that
requires careful consideration and even more careful monitoring

Parts in stock tie up a significant amount of space and money - parts sitting on
the shelf are not generating income or a markup or profit
Consider the option of using this inventory as a means of generating additional
income by opening a retail parts sales counter
Consider carefully the size and scope of the parts to be inventoried

Must emphasize accurate and through record keeping, tight inventory

management and control, and a strict policy to control obsolescence
Computer-based inventory control and management systems help
provide information to stock only inventory in demand, provide warning
for disposal of nonselling inventory before it becomes obsolete and
valueless
Two methods of inventory control (commonly available as computerdriven programs):
1. Comprehensive inventory control
2. Obsolescence monitoring
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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Customer Space

A clean, organized, and physically appealing facility can attract

additional business as surely as a dirty, disorganized, and
unappealing business can drive customers away

Customer Entrances and Write-Up Area

Feature a clearly marked and easily accessible entrance that leads

customers to a write-up area where employees can attend to their
needs

The write-up area is the site of the first face-to-face contact between
the customer and the service advisor

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Should provide a clean, well-lit, and quite environment where customers

can comfortably discuss with the advisor the reason for visit and raise any
questions or concerns
Should also include a covered space where customers can enter and exit
vehicles and also allows the customers and the service advisor easy
access to the vehicles and assure a common understanding of the
concerns and planned services while being protected from the weather

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Customer Space
Customer Waiting Area

Important part of demonstrating concern for their needs

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Provide separate customer restroom facilities and a customer

waiting lounge that are clean, well lit, and isolated from the
repair space
Should feature a comfortable place for them to sit, read, or
watch television while waiting for repairs
Additional competitive edge - provide telephones or wireless
Internet access

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Tools and Equipment

Although every technician possesses a large rolling toolbox

filled with tools, a service shop must be outfitted with
sophisticated diagnostic and repair equipment and special
tools

Tools

Shops need to provide a wide array of specialized and

commonly shared general-use tools

Large tools used in diagnosis and testing of vehicles (e.g.:

charging system testers, cooling system testers, and electronic
diagnostic scopes)
Specialty
tools,
or shop tools, specifically designed for certain
Special
Tools
products
that the
services
Tools that have
beenshop
designed
for a very specific purpose and
application

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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Tools and Equipment

Equipment

Shop owners make an even larger investment outfitting the facility

with basic equipments required to provide proper repair services

Some of the most basic pieces of equipment common to all shops:

Centralized power exhaust system, adequate lighting, air compressor,

air distribution system, electrical outlets, work benches, hydraulic press,
floor jacks, bench grinders, vehicles lifts

Some of the most common big-ticket items specific to each major

automotive repair area:

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Engine mechanical: cooling system tester, cooling system flush

machine, valve grinding machine, oil drains, mobile crane, precision
measuring equipment (run-out gauges, micrometers), torque wrenches
Automatic transmission (A/T): A/T fluid exchanger, precision measuring
equipment (dial indicators, micrometers, depth gauges), torque
wrenches, pullers, presses, pilot tools

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Tools and Equipment

Equipment

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Manual transmission and driveline: transmission jack, differential

jack, bearing press
Steering and suspension: alignment machine, wheel balancer,
tire mounting machine, strut compressor
Brake systems: brake lathe , power bleeder
Electrical systems: charging system tester, battery chargers,
short finder, multimeter
Heating and air-conditioning (A/C): A/C recharging/recycling
system, electronic leak tester
Engine performance: diagnostic testers, digital multimeter, code
reader, timing light, oscilloscope

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Communications Equipment

No shop can exist if its employees cannot communicate

effectively with one another as well as with suppliers and
customers

Basic communications needs:

Commercial telephone system with multiple incoming lines, fax

machine, and line-transfer capabilities
Additionally, intercom and internal paging system

Large shops may also employ an automated system to

distribute and deliver internal documents

E.g.:
A vacuum-operated tube to route repair orders and other
important paperwork quickly from the write-up area to the
dispatcher and then to the cashiers office
Communications Equipment
Telephones, intercoms, and other equipment that improves
employee interaction

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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Computing Equipment

A fully-equipped shop needs computing system

Small shops - A single Internet-connected personal computer to

allow online communication with vendors and customers
Larger facilities - An in-house mainframe computer, or a system
of networked personal computers to perform essential functions
(inventory control , personnel and payroll management, and
accounting)

Shops are increasingly moving from traditional paper repair

orders to paperless electronic repair order systems

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Allows instantaneous transmission of the information from the

service advisor to the dispatcher, technician, and finally cashier

FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Computing Equipment

List of common computer-based operations in a modern

shop and the employees or departments that handles these
operations:

E-mail (all employees)

Inventory control (parts department)

Appointments (service advisor)

Repair order writing/preparation (service advisor)

Work distribution (dispatcher)

Documenting performed work (technician)

Repair order tracking (service advisor and management)

Invoicing and billing (cashier)

Management reporting (manager)

Accounting (business office)

Computing Equipment
The electronic data gathering, organizing, and processing
equipment required to support the business operation

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FVB 20103/21004 (2011/2012)

Planning Your Investment

Entrepreneurs commonly are optimist, with high ideals and even

higher aspirations for success
Business research, however, indicates that most new small businesses
fail within first six month

Common cause - Overoptimistic initial projections/overprojecting business and

lack of initial capital/overspending at startup
Must develop a clear vision of the long-range needs and potential of the
business while also being prudent in initial investments, realistic strategies,
and prospects for growth

A successful entrepreneur slowly and steadily builds up to long-term

goals and does not formulate plans based on dreams of instant
success
A balance of optimism, enthusiasm, drive, and conservative business
planning is essential for survival

Aware of the dangers of overinvestment or even premature investment,

especially in fixed assets
Cautiously and carefully evaluate which decisions are right for now and which
should be delayed for future

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