Lincoln, Neb.--At H&H Service Advantage, being green is serious business. Not only does Owner Don Friesen recycle anti-freeze, oils, filters, iron, tin, and aluminum, he said he recently made the decision to go paperless.
The technicians no longer receive paper repair orders, and customers pick up their cars without a tangible invoice in hand, Friesen said.
The paperless system starts when the service adviser sends work orders to one of the four technicians electronically, Friesen said; the technician marks diagnostic results and suggested repairs on the computers and sends it back to the service adviser, and finally, customers pick up their cars with the repair invoice already in their e-mail inbox.
“In March of this year, we started collecting e-mails from all our customers, letting them know what we were doing,” he said. “So we can send the invoice directly to the customer’s inbox, thus creating a full digital record of the repair and maintenance records.”
The paperless system is saving H&H Service Advantage a ream of paper each week, but even greater than that is the shop’s increase in efficiency, Friesen said.
“The information travels so fast,” he said. “As soon as our service adviser puts the ticket in the queue for the technician, he knows what he is doing next, and as soon as he does the inspection, he marks the ticket, and the service adviser can see that it went from white (inspection in process) to a red check mark signifying that the inspection is done. When he makes the call and gets the authorization, he turns it green for the technician.”
The paperless system would not be possible if not for his software management system--Protractor, Friesen said.
“The catalyst of all this is the Protractor software,” he said. “It is forward-thinking and maintenance-minded.”
Protractor uses a standardized reporting form that makes the technician follow specific procedures and records results through a green, yellow, and red color system--each color telling the service adviser what action to take when calling the customer, Friesen said.
“Quickly, with the click of the button, the technician can submit the inspection input to the service adviser, which reduces subjective reporting,” he said, adding that it also forces technicians to record all the data they review, making their inspections more effective.
Another feature Friesen said he likes about Protractor is its ability to customize a maintenance schedule for every customer and, at their request, send them e-mail reminders.
That feature has been specifically beneficial for fleet customers, he said.
“When a vehicle gets near its schedule, we have an automated reminder that goes out, saying, ‘This vehicle should be do for maintenance about now,’” Friesen said.
“The fleet manager gets the e-mail, checks the vehicle, and sends us an e-mail back telling us what day he is going to bring it in,” he said, adding that having appointments scheduled in advance and knowing what maintenance is needed on the vehicle before it arrives greatly increases efficiency throughout the shop.
“Actually, what we are creating here is an accumulation of improved efficiencies,” he said. “First of all for our customer, because his cost per mile is really manageable; our parts suppliers--who get an electronic parts order through Protractor--no phone call; and the parts arrive before we need them, so the technician isn’t standing around, waiting for parts.
“We have improved the efficiency of the customer who drives the truck, the technician doing the work, and the service writer who handles all the electronic information,” Friesen said.
“Through Protractor, we are also able to create a specific maintenance schedule for a specific company who is doing a specific thing with a specific vehicle.”
For example, Friesen cited a fleet customer who has 11 vehicles, all with more than 300,000 miles, therefore requiring a special maintenance schedule.
That fleet customer is set up on a maintenance schedule to replace some parts like spark plugs and oxygen sensors before they fail or set an error code, he said.
“By doing this, we have discovered on three of these vehicles, the maintenance cost is below 4 cents per mile on a 3/4-ton van.”
Currently, 40 percent of business at H&H Service Advantage is fleet work, Friesen said, and it is an area that he will continue pursuing.
“We have found it to be a very good partnership with us--especially fleets that are maintenance-minded and looking for ways to impact the bottom line.”
In June, Friesen said he also partnered with TCi Tires, becoming a Michelin Alliance Dealer.
“We had never been in the tire business, but right now, we are averaging about 50 tires per month,” he said. “We started having customers asking us to help them out with tires, so I started doing research and discovered the Michelin, BF Goodrich, UniRoyal connection. It is a great fit, and the TCi people have been marvelous to work with.”
