"For the cycle time demanded of DRPs today, it's vital to have a blueprint of the repair," Hunglinger said.  "It all starts with an accurate assessment of damage.

For greater accuracy, estimates at the shop are performed with a technician in the bay, he said.  "This enables them to discover any hidden damage and anticipate any unforeseen problems.

"If the estimator is at car side, along with the tech, they see the damaged parts as they come off the vehicle," Hunglinger said.  That ensures the accuracy of the "blueprint" and that shop will be paid for all parts and labor to perform the repair, including small items, such as clips and fasteners, he said.

Hunglinger said he learned many of his shop management techniques while working under the guidance of Erick Bickett, owner of Auto Center Auto Body in Anaheim, Calif., and founder of Fix Auto, an international network of independent repair facilities.

"We run a lot of lean concepts," he said, adding that that means setting the repair process in motion as soon as the vehicle hits the lot.

"We try to do the supplement paperwork the same way at the time of teardown, with the estimator in the stall," Hunglinger said.  "It maximizes the efficiency and gets the tech and estimator on the same page and in agreement."

"A lot of shops are hurting themselves discovering missed damage too late in the repair, not supplementing for small incidental items that were needed to complete the repair," he said.  "Time and money is lost when additional parts and labor is involved.

 
"With today's market we need all the necessary parts and labor to perform the repair in the estimate to justify additional cycle time," Hunglinger said.

Organization goes a long way in making sure the shop is paid promptly by insurers, Hunglinger said.  Diane Thornburg, office manager, helps estimators prepare billing packets and follows up with insurers for payment, keeping accounts receivable under control.

As a manager, balancing the interests of the insurance companies, vehicle owners, and the shop owner is not an easy task, Hunglinger said.  But, he added, there are techniques that make that a little easier.  One of them is to assign a single estimator to each DRP, who is also the key contact person for the vehicle owner, from estimate to delivery, he said.

"One estimator handles a single DRP," he said.  "They have to maintain a relationship with that insurer."  He added that this allows him to measure CSI per estimator.  This setup enables better communication, he said.  "Estimators get to know their specific guidelines, which frequently change.  It increases efficiency and keeps scores up with insurance companies."

High CSI scores are heavily dependent on keeping repair cycle times within DRP requirements, a big portion of which is dependent on parts suppliers, Hunglinger said.

"Your parts people are only as good as the vendors they're ordering from," he said.  If the shop receives the wrong panel, it must be determined how that happened, he said.

Because the shop is under the umbrella of Rickenbaugh Volvo Cadillac, it can order GM parts direct, Hunglinger said.  "If I order through GM before 3 p.m., so long as parts are available in the Denver warehouse, it will be on my doorstep the next morning," he said.  "If not, it shows up the following day, unless it's an airbag requiring ground shipment."

Other OE part suppliers include nearby Rickenbaugh Volvo, Ralph Schomp BMW and Honda, Stevinson Lexus and Toyota, Go Courtesy Ford, and Burt Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Parker, he said.  Although there's only a 15 to 25 percent markup on OE parts, he said he prefers OE to salvage or aftermarket parts.

"It's rare that you get a salvage part that doesn't have cleanup time," he said.  "A hood may have three to four hours of cleanup on it.  A tech is taken off the line to make the part usable.  It costs valuable production time repairing these parts."

When a part is on backorder, the shop's Rome Management Shop system has alerts to remind estimators to check on those parts, Hunglinger said.

The system allows the shop to schedule cars by labor hours, evaluating each tech's hours aligning it with their current workload, he said.  "It allows us to maximize production by properly dispatching the work."  At a quick glance, he said he can look at the status of any RO. Hunglinger said he reads many trade publications to stay informed on the latest tools and equipment available.

To assist with measuring and straightening the larger Cadillac Escalade frames, Hunglinger said he purchased a Kansas Jack frame rack with a Blackhawk Shark computerized electronic measuring system from Bill Askew of Askew Equipment Inc.  Its extended, tall pulling posts make it a versatile piece of equipment, he said.

The shop's painters spray PPG in two Garmat downdraft paint booths with roll-through bake ovens, Hunglinger said.  Not long ago, the shop installed a NitroThermSpray leased from Haydell Industries that helps reduce material waste, he said.

"It's a static elimination process," Hunglinger said.  "Trying to apply paint to a car's surface is like putting two magnets together.

"It creates less overspray, and more material gets to the surface of the vehicle," he said of the system.  "The heated hoses allow us to set the temperature of the material. It helps reduce the amount of solvents needed to liquefy the material."  The texture can also be adjusted to match factory finishes, he added.

Having the right tools and the right parts helps the shop do the job right the first time, he said, a must in today's business climate because of increasing expenses and controlled labor rates.  "With insurance companies, there's no margin for error," he said, adding that elongated cycle times costs insurers as well as the shops more money for rental cars.

 
When looking at the business as a whole, Hunglinger said he looks at profits on parts, profits on materials, and flagged labor hours for his 16 techs.  To retain good techs, they are paid between 40 and 45 percent of the billed hourly rate.

"For everybody to stay competitive in the market, they're hesitant to raise labor rates, but expenses keep going up," he said. "And techs are getting more expensive.

"The costs of training, materials, equipment, software, and maintenance require sufficient profit," Hunglinger said, pointing out that his energy bill alone is $14,000 to $16,000 a month.  That makes alternative solutions, such as waterborne paint that doesn't require as much heat to cure, so attractive, he said.

If it weren't for his staff, Hunglinger said the shop wouldn't be where it is today. "The shop is blessed to have a knowledgeable staff that's willing to help peers and insurers when questions arise," he said, adding that their positive attitudes have helped contribute to the shop's overall success.