Repair facility guide
Cycle Time and Vehicles Sitting Without Touch Time
Keys-to-keys time hides the cause. Shops need to separate active repair days from idle days and assign every stopped vehicle a reason and next action.
What is happening?
- Work in process grows while deliveries remain flat.
- Technicians wait for parts, approvals, information, or sequencing.
- Vehicles move between stalls without completed repair value.
Why does it happen?
- Weak blueprinting
- Too much WIP for technician/stall capacity
- No daily blocker control
- Sublet and calibration scheduled late
- Rework
What documents should I look at?
- Daily WIP board
- Touch-time report
- Idle reason log
- Technician/stall capacity
- Rework record
What should I ask next?
- How many vehicles received no productive touch yesterday?
- What are the top three idle reasons?
- Is WIP aligned with technician capacity?
- Which delays were predictable before production?
How Collision SS can help
- Use the Shop Diagnostic
- Rank the primary and secondary bottlenecks
- Track five operational metrics for 30 days
Who controls each part?
Production manager
Limits WIP, sequences work, and clears daily blockers.
Blueprint/parts/front office
Makes the next production step ready before release.
Management
Measures touch time, idle reasons, rework, and output—not just car count.
Public references
Educational information only. Collision SS does not determine insurance coverage, legal liability, or what any party must pay.