The CR Auto Scheduler is a product that learns from every repair a shop performs.  The knowledge gained about supplements and about how repairs of various sizes and from various sources flow through the collision repair center is used to fine-tune the scheduling of each subsequent repair.

When that knowledge is combined with an understanding of the facility's capacity and the amount of work already scheduled or in process, the CR Auto Scheduler generates multiple scheduling options for each repair that will maintain a balanced work flow.

Many shops feel the pressure to repair vehicles faster and to repair more vehicles with their existing assets, said Kent Carlson, an owner of Collision Resources.  Unfortunately much of their existing capacity is wasted because shops have been unable to manage their workflow and to match it to their capacity, he said. 

By using a sophisticated algorithm to control work flow through scheduling repairs more efficiently, the CR Auto Scheduler delivers reduced cycle times and greater productivity to collision repair centers, Carlson said.

"As the industry has looked to improve operations over the past several years, two approaches have garnered significant interest:  theory of Constraints and lean manufacturing," he said.  "A critical element of each of these approaches is to maintain a balanced work flow. 

"In the Theory of Constraints, the work flow is balanced to the pace at which the bottleneck produces.  In lean manufacturing, balancing the work flow is known as heijunka and, quoting from 'The Toyota Way,' 'when you try to apply (lean manufacturing), the first thing you have to do is to even out or level the production.' 

"The recent interest in both of these systems and the awarding of this patent merely confirms what CR Auto Scheduler's users have experienced since its release in 2002--everything works better when the work flow is balanced with capacity," Carlson said.