United States. AkzoNobel announced that its automotive refinish customers are undergoing a digital transformation through Carbeat, a data-driven digital project management process that simplifies shop floor workflow.
According to the company, it simultaneously tracks critical data through a seamless combination of technology and services.
"Carbeat is directly contributing to our upward trajectory in optimizing turnkey cycle time," explains Brian Nichols, owner of Cascade Collision Repair, with seven locations in Utah.
"It took the chaos out of automotive repairs, from technician time with a vehicle to real-time parts updates that shop floor equipment can visualize," Nichols said.
"Initially, I was skeptical about Carbeat's capabilities and I am very happy that AkzoNobel has proven me wrong. All of our stores have embraced the transformation that these digital tools bring us on a daily basis," he added.
Historically, collision repair shops used manual processes such as yellow sticky notes, file folders, magnetic dashboards, and whiteboards to monitor a vehicle's repair process.
According to AkzoNobel, Carbeat transformed this manual paperwork process with a powerful and intuitive digital production workflow dashboard that collects all data points as a vehicle travels through the repair shop.
AkzoNobel notes that its customers are experiencing a 10% to 15% reduction in vehicle cycle time by applying Carbeat's visual communication and data management processes. Depending on a shop's volume of vehicle repairs, they can reduce the total time required to repair a vehicle by one to three days.
"Carbeat allows store owners to track all vehicle movements and provides real-time transparency of store operations," said John Griffin, regional director of North America and commercial director of automotive and specialty coatings at AkzoNobel.
"Digital tools give body shop owners the ability to easily manage their business operations, optimize workflows and make data-driven decisions," he said.
