October 4, 2022
Until now, the conventional work streams of our garages have been lucrative and reliable. We’ve been making easy money by charging for regular minor repairs, with a few bigger jobs mixed in. But we are on the cusp of changing times which will no doubt have repercussions on our business processes. This first significant upswing of electric vehicles (EVs) is underway, and it marks the beginning of a trend which will inevitably take over this changing landscape. Internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles are on the way out, and it won’t be long before most vehicles in ownership will be electric.
Our problem with this new industry trend is that EVs don’t go wrong – certainly not with the same frequency as the classic ICE vehicles. Experts are already predicting a 30-40% drop in workshop volumes leaving us to wonder, how will we fill our workshops? When EVs do go wrong, maintenance and repairs will require our garages to make significant capital outlay on an array of new machinery these new problems will bring to our workshops. As our regular bread and butter repairs gradually dry up, MOTs will become our new staple fodder.
Currently, the Ministry of Transport is considering changing the MOT format from the classic 3:1:1 (after the first three years, MOT annually) to a 4:2:2 format (after the first four years, MOT every other year) to counter the growing cost of living. But who is going to end up footing the bill? And what are the government using to inform their decision-making process? The MOT data supplied by our VTSs. We are unwittingly shooting our whole industry in the foot by fixing a car before an MOT or running the service tasks first.
When we service a car before the MOT, we omit to report essential statistics to the government. When we upload inaccurate data to about a car’s roadworthiness before repairs, we supply hard factual statistics that vehicles do not need an MOT at year three or annually. If you correctly MOT the car before service and use the PRS* (Pass after Rectification at Station) process, you can be sure that every vehicle that should fail does fail. In this instance, the statistics reported back up the chain supports the call for retaining the 3:1:1 testing format, which protects the revenue of our garages and better protects public safety.
* Pass after Rectification at Station (PRS) is the correct process for quick vehicle adjustments to maintain safety standards. This process builds in up to an hour to fix any defects noted during the test before recording the results on the MOT Testing Service (MTS). The results then accurately record the fail followed by a pass with the reasons for PRS duly registered, and the correct data passed up the chain to its various destinations, including the Ministry of Transport.
If MOTs are to become the basis for our bread and butter, then discounting these to retain customers is poor business management. A better strategy is to offer extra value to customers, offering a service which cares for and looks after customers. That, coupled with proper management of our testing personnel, optimisation of our business processes, and being smart about reporting accurate statistics back up the chain, is the only real way to future-proof our businesses.
A few poignant questions to ask yourself are: do you know how well your MOT testers perform compared to one another in your business? Do you know which fail categories and criteria are coming up and with what frequency and volume? Are you monitoring test time and ramp reclaim rate vs fail rate vs profitability? And if not, then why not? If you don’t have a vested interest in this kind of data, then you can rely on the fact that someone else does, and they’ll be using it to mop up all that business you are losing by resisting being guided by these key statistics.
In business, where working with data is fundamental to good business practice, this data helps us to easily stay one step ahead of the DVSA. It also enables us to optimise our business processes, ensure standards across our testing force, and maximise our VTS and revenue.
At MOT Juice, we do all that complicated data analysis for you, showing you where your strengths and weaknesses lie in a quick, easily digestible format. You can then focus your time and energy on managing your staff and optimising your business processes to future-proof your business, ensuring you stay one step ahead of the curve.
Whether you are an independent garage or a multisite group, MOT Juice can quickly help you observe ways to tighten up compliance across your business and increase revenue. Your business is likely feeling the pinch in other areas in the current climate of quickly rising cost of living. Investing in a comprehensive data-driven system can pay dividends in optimising your business revenue.
Take the MOT Juice system for a FREE 30-day test drive and see how much it can benefit your business.
