| Publishers Message |
Blitz Begins
A rmed with nothing more than a clipboard, he carried the influence of three government departments and the weight of the general public as he walked through the doors of 427 Auto Collision ~ CSN in Toronto’s west end. So began Ontario’s health and safety blitz targeting the province’s collision repair facilities.
As one of the best shops in Ontario, in the country for that matter, it was obvious the inspector wanted to set an example and create a benchmark for others. With more than 75 ...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Point Blank |
Tow the Line
 I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. But before we get into what’s making me mad, we should get a few important things straight.
First, the situation I know about is the situation in the Greater Toronto Area. This applies to that area of the country, and that’s it. That’s still a pretty big chunk of Canada, people-wise.There are lots of people in the tow truck business, and I’m proud to count many of them as friends. I believe that 99.9 percent of them are h ...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Health and Safety |
Real Cost
Most business owners, when asked to quantify the cost of a workplace accident, will respond with something like: “If one of my boys gets hurt on the job, it’s going to cost me big-time – both in the way of a fine and by increasing my payments to the provincial workman’s compensation plan.” However, this does not entirely describe all the costs associated with an accident.
The real cost of an industrial accident involves many more cost factors than just premiums, fines and lost productiv
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Whos Driving |
Lean Leader
For the past year we have been dissecting the concept of lean manufacturing and seeing how we can apply it to collision repair. Now we come the the tricky part, that of leadership. Before that, though, let’s review what we have covered so far.
First, I have suggested that lean is really about learning how to do things faster, better and cheaper through making small, continuous improvements to the processes within our business.
I have encouraged you to look to the people that can identify w
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Recycling |
Retired Cars
 It seems as though everyone is talking about scrapping a vehicle these days. I think this is largely due to the hype that surrounded the American Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program, better known as “Cash for Clunkers.“
While the CARS program certainly demanded a lot of media attention and was a huge success in some respects, the Canadian program provides features and benefits that are at least equal to that of the American program, and may even be greater on a per capita basis. Re
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Profiles |
Secret Joy
A passion for the business is an essential part of any successful shop owner. You won’t find anyone more passionate about the collision repair industry than Joy Skinner, the owner/operator of Industrial Park
Collision ~ CSN~CSN in Orillia, Ontario.
“I feel very blessed to work in this industry,” says Skinner. “It’s a fast paced business that’s always changing. There are always new ideas, new ways of doing things and exciting avenues to explore.”
Anyone who knows Joy Skinner kno
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Profiles |
Northern Voice
There’s something about a long standing business that seems to say that it has resisted change. To an outside observer, it might look like the business has succeeded by doing its own thing while the world moved around it. In reality, the businesses that stand the test of time are the ones that are not only prepared to change, but actively seek out the opportunity.
That’s certainly been the case with Queensway Fix Auto in Prince George, British Columbia. Founded 27 years ago, the business has
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| View of the West |
NaySayers
The 1971 Torino Cobra Jet in the picture at right represents a checkpoint in my life. I was 18 years old and I had just bought my first ‘muscle’ car. It had a 351 Cleveland engine with a 4 on the floor shifter, a tachometer that ran left to right on the dash and a console that could easily hide six cans of oh, let’s say... pop (I was young and invincible). It was fast and sharp looking – just like my future now that I was out of school.
However, a series of events soured me on this car. I
...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Feature |
The Future of Repairability
he International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) features some of the most thought provoking and interesting concepts current in the industry today. As the Canadian Publisher Partner for IBIS, Collision Repair magazine is pleased to bring you an inside look at those ideas. The future of repairability is a key concern for all stakeholders. Mark White spoke on this in-depth at IBIS 2009. As the chief technical specialist for body engineering at Jaguar Land Rover Product Development, White is an ...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
| Feature |
The World Competes
WorldSkills 2009 is now behind us, but thanks to a lot of hard work by dedicated volunteers, the entire industry may reap benefits. The real purpose of WorldSkills isn’t to give young people a chance to test their skills, or to provide spectators with exciting competition. Those are nice, but they were never the primary purpose. The real reason WorldSkills was started (and continutes today) is to inspire young people to pursue the skilled trades as a viable career. Many volunteers and sponsors ...
Read More >> |
| |
|
|
|
