Fixed Ops Journal - June 2019 - F12

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

SAFETY
continued from Page 11

parts director. The store paid a small fine, Parnell adds.
The dealership now relies on KPA Services,
which sells compliance audit services and
training to dealerships and other industries, to
provide safety monitoring for its shop and instruction in safe practices for its employees.
Since the initial violation, Parnell says the dealership has had a clean record with OSHA and
no major injuries among service employees.
"They come in once a quarter and basically
do a mock OSHA inspection," Parnell says of
KPA. "They look at every possible hazard, every possible violation and every possible safety issue. If they see a bench grinder with a
frayed cord, they take a picture of it, post it on
their website and then we have to correct it."
In addition, Westside Lexus technicians, body
shop workers and porters meet with a KPA representative every three months for a training
session on a specific topic, such as eye protection. Once a year, KPA conducts a training session for all service employees that covers broader safety topics and changes in regulations.
OSHA mandates safety training for all dealership service employees before they start
working and annual training thereafter. The
federal Department of Transportation requires new employees to be trained to work
with hazardous shop materials, such as airbag
inflators and waste oil, during their first 90
days on the job and every three years after
that.

Safety by committee
Ciocca Dealerships, which operates 16 franchised dealerships and three collision centers
in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, uses the Ethos
Group, a compliance services company, for onsite safety audits and online training for employees. The dealership group holds monthly
meetings of a safety committee that includes a
manager and a nonmanagement employee
from each service department and body shop.
"If you have a working safety committee in
Pennsylvania, you are entitled to a discount
on workmen's compensation insurance," says
David Sterk, Ciocca's assistant CFO and the
chairman of the safety committee. "But once
we started, we realized that's not your biggest
savings. By not having injuries, the biggest
savings is in the health of your employees.
"If our technicians aren't there to sell their
time, that gets very, very expensive for the
dealership," he says. "Look what an injury
does to the tech's life. He's still got bills to pay
and he's not earning money. It's not good for

PAGE 12

JUNE 2019

10 commandments
for shop safety

Many shop injuries can be prevented
by following basic safety rules that
sometimes get forgotten amid the
daily demands in a busy service
department. Here are some common-sense safety practices offered by
dealers and industry consultants:
1. Encourage service technicians to
wear safety glasses at all times.
Require glasses when techs work
under vehicles and use grinders, drills
and other rotational tools.
2. Clean up spills immediately. Keep
shop floors clear of tools, parts and
equipment to avoid falls, slips and
trips.
3. Require technicians to wear
closed-toe footwear with nonskid soles.
4. Once a hazardous material is
placed in a secondary container, label
it clearly.
5. Make data sheets on shop
materials safety readily accessible in
case of emergencies.
6. If a tool or equipment isn't working
properly, label it with what's wrong and
take it out of service.
7. Make sure the area beneath a lift is
clear of tools and equipment before
lowering a vehicle.
8. When using a drive-on-type lift,
chock at least one wheel with wheel
stops.
9. Reinforce shop safety as a priority
by providing training more regularly
than once a year.
10. Convene regular meetings of
service department managers and
employees to review best safety
practices.

the company, and it's not good for the employee or his family, either."
Ethos Group conducts quarterly safety assessments of all Ciocca dealerships. The committee works with shop managers to ensure
that potential violations and safety problems
are addressed.
Having nonmanagement techs on the committee has helped promote safety awareness
and acceptance of best practices in service
departments, Sterk adds. "It's your buddy
who's working next to you every day in the
shop" who's pointing out risks, such as not

wearing safety glasses, or spilled oil on the
shop floor, he says.
Accidents and injuries are bound to happen
in service departments because of all the potential hazards, Sterk concedes. But constant
reminders and a shop culture that values employee safety can reduce the risks, he says.
"Over time, people start to think just a little
differently," he says. "They care a little more
about where they work and the condition of
where they work, and injuries go down."

Best practices
Ayers calls the dealership service department a "hostile, volatile environment" that
poses numerous safety risks under the best
conditions. He says he is continually surprised at what he sees, such as a technician
wearing flip-flops instead of steel-toed boots
in the shop.
In addition to the annual safety training required by OSHA, Ayers recommends that
dealerships conduct periodic training to reinforce best practices. Some dealerships have
staff meetings every week or two at which they
discuss a different safety issue, he says.
"If I take the time to train you and show that
I care for your well-being, you're more likely
to stay with me," Ayers says.
Parnell of Westside Lexus says the quarterly
safety meetings don't generate much griping
among his technicians, even if taking them
off-line briefly cuts into their productivity.
"It's their own eyes and other body parts
they're protecting," Parnell says. "The payback
is that the technicians respect the employer
for providing and requiring" safety training.
"It creates awareness that results in fewer
accidents, prevents injuries and improves
morale," he says.
Ayers acknowledges that most dealers and
shop managers view OSHA the same way they
see the Internal Revenue Service: "You never
want them in your office." But he notes that
the agency provides free, on-site safety assessments upon request.
Many dealerships shun that service, Ayers says,
because they fear the OSHA findings could lead
to penalties for rules violations. But he notes that
OSHA uses such voluntary inspections not to initiate noncompliance proceedings, but to explain
what the shop needs to do.
"You could have the worst shop they've ever
seen, and it won't lead to a violation," he said.
"Not enough people take advantage of that."
Such reviews are essential to making safety
part of a dealership shop's culture, Ayers says.
"If the focus is on speed, getting repair orders in and out," he says, "you're setting yourself up for problems." 

Fixed Ops Journal - June 2019

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