APPLYING FOR WOF CERTIFICATION

For the workshop it is a relatively straight forward process to achieve WOF certification. WoF inspecting organisations must:

a) Meet the requirements for inspection premises and equipment

b) Be fit and proper (according to section 2.6 of the Rule). The criteria considered with any application include:

i. Relevant criminal convictions

ii. Transport-related offences

iii. Relevant warnings, penalties and disciplinary actions imposed

iv. Relevant complaints

v. The public interest and land transport safety

c) Have currently employed a vehicle inspector approved for the relevant classes of vehicles.

(NZTA, 2012)

WoF Inspector Requirements

You must currently be employed by or sponsored by a business which is authorised to issue WoF's, and be qualified as:

• An automotive technician with either NZ Trade Certificate, National A-Grade Registration, NZ Advanced Trade Certificate or equivalent
• An automotive technician with either National Certificate in Automotive Engineering, National Registration or equivalent, and three years recent relevant work experience
• A person who has worked in full-time employment carrying out repairs and maintenance to the safety aspects of motor vehicles for at least five continuous years.

You will also need to supply copies of your Trade Qualifications or Proof of Employment in letter form, signed by a Justice of the Peace or a Notary Public. It is a legislative requirement that all applicants must hold and supply a full New Zealand Drivers License.  The future inspector must provide proof of formal training, such as attending an MTA WoF Inspectors course. Within one year you can apply three times, if fail all of them, you need to wait one year to apply. Each time you are required to pay $97.40 to apply and sign a form.

(MTA, 2012)

There are some strict regulations for WOF inspectors for instance, if you had been charged for a driving offence, you will lose your inspector license, or at least receive a suspended WOF license for 12 months. To avoid this from occurring, it is important for an inspector to abide by all the transport laws.

References:

NZTA. (2012). “Appointments”. Retrieved from: http://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/introduction/appointments

MTA. (2012). “WoF Inspectors Course”. Retrieved from: http://www.mta.org.nz/wofinspectorscourse

WASTE DISPOSAL

There are three types of waste in a workshop:

• Waste liquids
• Waste metals
• Waste rubbish

A workshop generates a lot of waste such as, old parts, waste liquid, waste rags, gloves, packaging, containers, used tires, etc. These waste products all need to be sorted out.

Waste Liquids

Waste liquids like used engine oil, transmission oil, power steering oil, coolant, gear oil, cannot be disposed of in the storm water system as this is an illegal practice and is harmful to the environment.

Instead, usually located at the rear end of the workshop; a blue colored tank is used for containing the used liquids and it will holds up to 300 L. The tank levels are inspected daily, and when you see that it is nearly full, the oil collection company is just a phone call away. The collection company used by Honda is Salters. Normally, collection times are scheduled and collection is free.

Waste Metals

Common recyclable metal products include suspension arms, disk rotors, radiators, starter motors, alternators, car body etc. At Honda, a large steel bin is used to contain all the metal. The collection company (CMA Recycling) empties the bin fortnightly. During the collection process, they sort out the metal, and then weight it.

After the weighing process is completed, they will issue the workshop with a receipt containing payment information, and the money will be automatically credited into Hondas account on a later date. Nowadays, metals like aluminum and copper is fetching a higher price than the iron and steel.

General  Waste

In the workshop there is plenty of rubbish not so different from rubbish at home. For this, a large rubbish bin is used to store all general waste ready for collection.

The company responsible for collecting waste is Enviro-Waste, who normally empty the bins once a week, but you can make a request to get more frequent pick up if required. The price for of collection each time is $50.

 

MARKETING

Marketing can be described as the process of discovering customer’s needs up to the point when the actual sales can be made. It involves the presentation of your products or services; promotion of the products or services to potential customers, distributing the product and looking after customers before, during and after sale has taken place.

Marketing seeks to increase profit by identifying the needs of the customer and exploiting all available opportunities with the available resources. It involves a number of factors including:

• The co-ordination of activities of a dealership operations i.e. selling, delivering, pricing and presentations.

• The assessment of sales potential and customer needs.

• Motivating customers so that they want to purchase the dealership services and goods.

• Ensuring the customer can obtain goods and services in the way that best suits them. 

(“How To Promote A Workshop”, 2007)

Market Research

To begin marketing, it is important to study the market. In order to do this; we need to find out about two sets of people:

a) The customers

We need to know who our customers are, where they are, and what they need. In order to direct our marketing efforts to the right people in the right places and offer them exactly what they want, it is necessary that we find out everything about our potential customer.

b) The competitors

We need to find out who our competitors are, where they are, the kind of services that they offer, how they operate, their strengths and their weaknesses. 

The Marketing Mix

One common way of looking at the market is to consider the Marketing Mix (the four “P`s” of Marketing). These are:

I. The Product

 The customer must be provided with the right product or services. Planning the product therefore involves the discovery of what the customers‟ wants are and how these wants can be profitably met.

II. Pricing

The customer is offered a quality product at a price acceptable to him.

III. Place

The physical location of a dealership will have a critical effect on its success. The product should be provided in the right place or in a convenient manner for the customer.

IV. Promotion

This is the process of increasing customer awareness and desire. It involves providing the product in a manner attractive to the customer.

(“How To Promote A Workshop”, 2007)

Honda’s Marketing Approach

The following are some marketing strategies which Honda uses to promote their products and services:

-Honda has a current website which can be accessed both nationally and worldwide. 

-Set up are free listings for Honda in the internet search engine local directories. 

-The company has established business profiles or pages up on social networks such as Bebo, Facebook, and Twitter. Here the business profile includes a good description, keywords and a link to the Honda website. 

-The company has business cards and business stationery stamped with their name on it. Included on these items are the company’s details such as the company and employee name, physical address, contact details, and website address.

-The company is constantly seen in newspaper and magazine articles, where their expertise in the field is flaunted. 

-The company networks with others who are doing the same type of work and on occasions takes on their work overloads i.e sharing customer with Toyota when overwhelmed with work.  

-There are streaming videos of the company products and services on YouTube and other video sharing and slide sharing sites.

-The company vehicles have the company name and contact information professionally sign written on the side of the vehicles. In this way, the vehicles are utilized for transportation and advertising the business. 

-The company offers a free, no obligation consultation to people you think could use your services. During such consultations offer some practical suggestions or ideas--and before you leave ask for an "order" to implement the ideas.

-Honda place ads on the local directory, i.e the whitepages and yellow pages; both in the hardcopy (book) and softcopy (website) versions.

(Source: www.verdurehealth.com)

Reference:

“How To Promote A Workshop”. (2007). Retrieved from: http://www.avocadoconsulting.com/marketing/c/2007/12/04/467/how-to-promote-a-workshop.html

RUNNING COSTS

The running cost for an average sized workshop costs approximately $200 a month, which is cheaper than the running costs of a three bedroom house in winter, while the water bill would be around $100. The telephone however poses a bigger issue. In your home normally you have one telephone line for the telephone, while a workshop requires two line or more, not to mention a line for the fax machine.

A good way to save money is to transfer the telephone line to the internet line as the internet line is cheaper, though sometimes you may experience bad reception during a phone call. Workshops generally require internet access for everyday business activities, and so usually a telephone company provides a business package which includes the phone and the internet lines for around $180. At Honda, they tend to use the main suppliers available. They are as follows.

Meridian Energy

Meridian generates electricity from New Zealand's renewable resources. They develop electricity from renewable resources such as, wind, water and the sun both here and overseas. Along with retailing electricity, they also develop innovative energy products and services. Currently, they generate and develop renewable energy for New Zealand, Australia, USA, Ross Island, and Tonga.

(Meridian Energy Limited, 2012)

Telecom

Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited (Telecom) was formed in 1987 out of the telecommunications division of the New Zealand Post Office, a government department. In 1990 Telecom became one of the first telcos in the world to be fully privatised. Today, Telecom has a significant level of operational scale within the New Zealand telecommunications market, with assets including:

• the PSTN network equipment for fixed line calling
• the XT 3G mobile network
• national backhaul networks
• a 50% ownership interest in the Southern Cross international cable
• one of Australia's most extensive fixed IP networks

(Telecom, 2012)

Water Care

Each day, Watercare supplies around 370 million litres of drinking water to the people of Auckland and treats around 350 million litres of wastewater and trade waste. The company draws water from around 30 sources, treats it and delivers it to homes and businesses via a vast network of pipes. It also collects, treats and disposes of wastewater, including trade waste from industry.

The company also works to ensure the Auckland of tomorrow and its people continue to enjoy dependable services by planning, constructing, and delivering new water and wastewater infrastructure in a cost-efficient manner.

Watercare provides water and wastewater services to around 1.3 million people in the Auckland region. In Papakura, the company provides bulk services to Veolia Water that manages the local network and retails services to the local community.

Watercare is a council organisation, wholly owned by the Auckland Council. The council appoints the company’s board of directors who in turn appoint the chief executive.

(Water Care Services, 2010)

Trade Waste Charges

Trade wastes charges cover the costs of receiving, treating and disposing of wastewater from trade premises on a "user - pays" basis. The trade wastes charge is an annual charge for the period 1 July - 30 June, based on the customer's actual peak discharges to the wastewater system.

The charges are based on three factors:

1. Flow (Rate of Discharge)

This covers the transportation of wastes through sewers and pumping stations to the Treatment Plant, distribution through the various treatment processes, and disposal of the treated effluent to the Manukau Harbour.

2. Suspended Solids

This covers the separation of suspended solids from the wastewater, treatment by digestion, and dewatering and disposal of the resulting bio-solids.

3. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

This covers the treatment of the organic wastes after separation of the solids, by biological processes and includes the treatment and disposal of the resulting bio-solids. “BOD” is a measure of the strength of the waste. 

The occupier of a trade premise must pay the greater of:

• the actual discharge with the charge formula applied, or
• a uniform annual charge

(Water Care Services, 2010)

(Source: www.propertycommunity.com)

References:

Meridian Energy Limited. (2012). “Company”. Retrieved from: http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/company/

Telecom. (2012). “About Telecom”. Retrieved from: http://www.telecomgroup.co.nz/content/0,8748,200633-1548,00.html

Water Care Services. (2010). “About Watercare”. Retrieved from: http://www.watercare.co.nz/about-watercare/about-watercare/Pages/default.aspx

Water Care Services. (2010). “Trade Waste”. Retrieved from: http://www.watercare.co.nz/business/trade-waste/Pages/Trade%20Waste.aspx

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The ethical practices of any business that is related to the automotive industry should be fair and un-bias. It should be respecting of the morals and values of the profession therefore helping any employee having good ethical practice. 

It is important for any business that their staffs have good business ethics and also personal working ethics. This means that the staff will all work fairly and with one another and also treat customers with respect and in doing so can help create a good trusting relation with the customers. 

This can also help in keeping the staff working efficiently as there is a strong build-up of trust between the staff. Having good ethical practice can be reflected on the business as the staff can work efficiently this can improve the operations of the business and help make it run smoother.

In terms of competition with other businesses, it is not uncommon to see unethical methods of attracting more customers or using tactics to win customers from other workshops. It is important to have good ethics as this builds good relations with potential investor who can invest in your business provided you can give a safe and trusting relation with the investor. 

This can also affect your relations with your employees and their performance in the business. Having good relations and ethics with your employees ensures that they are not cheating your business and are working for the benefit of everyone within the business.

(Source: www.peopleint.wordpress.com)

ACCOUNTS

What work is involved in an account’s job?

• Making an account book
• Paying the salary to the staff
• Paying the PAYE
• Dealing with water, telephone, alarm company etc.
• Making the salary statement
• Making year account book
• Paying the tax

Smaller companies normally can ill afford to hire an accountant, and so the job usually falls back on the workshop owner to do the book keeping. The accounts person would typically make a rough account book then they would forward the book information on to a registered accountant. This way, the workshop saves a lot of money and time.

Other than the tasks listed above, another primary task of an accounts person is checking the accounts statements from the parts suppliers as it is common for  suppliers to make mistakes such as, charging the wrong parts, putting another workshop name on your name, incorrect charging etc.

One of the most important tasks of an accounts person is paying staff. The last thing you want is to lose staff confidence in you and them complaining that they didn’t get paid and so it is vital to get the job done right the first time. Also, staff members can get sick and take days off from the working day, and so you need make pay adjustments and send out the correct pay statement.  

Having a hired accountant on the payroll, allows you access to company statistics and performance trends such as, knowing whether the company has profited this month or not. Knowing how much money is spent on parts for a set period, and how much money is spent on the salaries etc.

(Source: www.scan2archive.com.au)

LANDLORDS

You need sign a contract with the landlord and negotiate the price for the rent fee and the period for the rent time. The rent fee is usually paid by monthly instalments, and some landlords prefer payments by direct debit, while others prefer bank cheques. On contract some landlords want you to pay the land rates, and so before signing the contract make sure you have read every detail.

The rent time normally is about three to eight years depending on the contract. During midway through the period you have one entitlement to have a break, otherwise known as the break period. For example, if the contract is six years you can stop the contract at the end of the third year, but if you pass the break period then you cannot holt the contract.

When it comes time to sign the contract you both you and the landlord are required to each have a lawyer present for the signing. The lawyers will help define all clauses and help clarify the responsibilities of each party. For example, if the property sustains any damage, then the renter or person who took out the lease will responsible for the damage and will have to pay for it. On the other hand, the landlord needs keep the property well maintained.

(Source: www.stuff.co.nz)