"Workshop Process Manager (WPM) is a powerful Windows-based Process Control application specifically designed for workshops in the automotive industry. WPM provides easy-to-use job scheduling and allocation functionality for Workshop Controllers, along with a fully customisable Process Control display board, showing allocation of jobs and comprehensive detail such as time started, status, estimated duration etc. This display board may be used by staff across the process, and may also be displayed to your customers as a visual reference to the real-time status of their vehicle's repairs."

With WPM installed at your site, Service Advisors no longer have to contact the Workshop regarding the status of jobs. All information is displayed directly on their screen, where they may also insert comments about the job and indicate whether the customer has been contacted after a job has been completed.

The process for using ADV:WPM has been based around the paper-based systems used in most dealerships today. The basic functionality of the system is best simplified into a two step process:

Step 1: RO Entry
RO's are initially entered into WPM via the RO Manager interface. Here, useful data is collected about the RO, and stored in the main system database. For integrated DMS systems, most of this information is populated once the RO number has been entered. ROs can be entered as either standard workshop jobs, or 'express service' jobs, for simple repairs or servicing.


Figure 1: Repair Order Entry and Manager

Workshop Controllers, or other nominated personnel, can then allocate jobs to technicians by their technician code, and also allocate the associated Service Advisor for that job. Estimated job duration must be entered at this time, or retrieved from the DMS, if available.

Step 2: Ongoing RO Management
As the workday progresses, Workshop Controllers can start, stop, reallocate and reschedule jobs as required. The WPM system provides visual alerts for jobs that might run overtime, or that will not be completed before the customer pickup time (based on estimated job time), alerting the Workshop Controller and Service Advisor that the customer may need to be called.

As jobs are marked as completed by the Workshop Controller, Service Advisors are optionally emailed to advise them of job completion, in addition to visual cues from the Process Control Board, enabling the customer to be contacted as soon as possible to organise pickup.

The Process Control Board
The Process Control Board is updated in real time from the RO manager system. It provides a quick visual means for Service Advisors to check the status of a customer job, eliminating the need for them to physically go and check the current status board, or find and/or communicate with the Workshop Controller or technicians. This means that a customer enquiry about the status of their vehicle can be answered literally in seconds rather than minutes, undoubtedly greatly improving customer satisfaction with the service team at the dealership.


Figure 2: Process Control Board

• The Process Control Board also has an option to allow unallcoated jobs to be dragged from the RO manager screen and dropped onto an appropriate Technican and time slot.
• When jobs are dragged, the data is automatically reflected in RO Manager.
• This 'drag and drop' option allows Workshop Controllers to quickly and easily use the board as a daysheet planner for their Technicians.
• The Process Control Board is configurable to show up to 24 hours at a time, and has customisable status indicators (over and above the standard compulsory statuses) to suit dealership requirements.
• It is conceivable that dealerships could display this board in service waiting areas (for example on a flat panel monitor or plasma/LCD TV). This we believe would not only give a waiting customer the capability to view their own vehicle's status, but also give an appreciation for the advanced technology used by the dealership to ensure the most efficient means of returning their vehicle in a timely manner.

Please contact us for more detailed information or on on-site demo.