Blueprint Boo-boos: Dilemmas to Consider Washington DC

It takes more than a bandage to heal a sick shop layout. To avoid hassles later, consider these four common design dilemmas.

By Eileen Benedict
1/1/1998

Is your shop's layout giving you a headache?

Do you have a bottleneck?

Does production move too slowly?

Is there not enough room for technicians to do what they need to do?

Is your shop disorderly?

If you answered "yes" to any one of these questions, there's a good chance a redesign of your shop is in order.

But, keep in mind, a redesign won't solve all your production problems. As Brian Evison - technical director of Bemack Planning Services, a facility layout and design planning firm - points out, there are many other variables that directly affect efficiency and profitability besides shop design. But, says Evison, a little bit of thought about your layout does go a long, long way.

"People who just kind of throw a booth in the corner and don't give it any thought end up with some problems," he says. "But if you give it some thought in the first place - just think the process through, about what happens and about the order in which it happens - you're far better off."

Don't Cry Later

According to Evison, the most common mistakes shop owners make when designing their shops (not necessarily in this order) are:

1. Failing to accommodate the collision repair process.

This one seems obvious, but obviously, it's not.

Those thinking of layout and design need to think thr...