Crash course in getting bent metal back on road

ACIS Ltd is the UK’s leading distributor of paints and refinishing products to thousands of insurance-approved body shops. It has launched its Priority Repair Programme’ (PRP) that cuts so-called ‘key to key’ repairs – the time taken from the reporting of the accident to an insurance company to when the customer is reunited with the repaired vehicle - by up to 10 days.

For the insurance company this cuts the cost of repair and the need for lengthy alternative courtesy car hire by hundreds of pounds while the participating garages can put more business through their workshops through a culture of changed working practices and teamwork as well as strategic investment, where appropriate.

“This is a complete culture change for the car repair workshop,” said Graham O Neill, CEO of ACIS Ltd, based on Hatton Technology Park close to Hatton Adventure Farm.

“It is a total solution for body shops looking to reduce cycle times,improve their customer service and their profitability. Initial trials with some of the larger repairers around the UK that have implemented it have delivered on the promise,” he said.

The reach of the company’s influence is national with one of Scotland’s largest car body repair businesses reducing key to key times across three of its branches by up to 50 per cent in just three months through ACIS’s PRP.

PRP takes a close look at all aspects of each individual business, examining management culture and style, planning, training, and equipment provision, recommending a programme of change that takes in everything from mind-set and business culture, through to communication, training and repair processes. In many cases, there is little need for investment in additional equipment.