FINAL PRESENTATION

My final presentation today went extremely well. I was able to convey the message across to the audience without boring them, and when it came time for comments and reflections at the end I had no remarks what so ever. Job well done I think!!

2ND REPORT DUE

We were at last able to rid ourselves of this burden that we have been carrying for almost a year, as today I  submitted the second  and final assessment. I am silently confident that we have produced a decent report seeing as we were extra careful in its preparation leading up to today.

For now, my sights are firmly set on my final presentation tomorrow.I hope things should go according to plan, seeing as I just need pick those important points from the report to showcase my research. Bring on the final presentation!!

REPORT CONCLUSION

Throughout the course of this assignment, I have learnt the importance of certain aspects in owning and operating a successful business. The importance of having skilled labour within the business and how it affects the work output and efficiency of the business is vital as it is the main working force that drives the business. It is also essential to continue to keep the workforce up to date with current technology to keep them skilled and efficient. 

Having your business insured against possible liabilities and damage is imperative as accidents will happen in this industry and having insurance makes that sure you are protected when accidents do occur and minimizes the risks. 

Important factors such as knowing the different organizations that affect your business, how they all contribute to the success of the business, how the competition will affect the smooth operation of the business, making sure the business has proper financing in order to keep the business running smoothly is also very important as this saves the business a lot of time when keeping track of income. 

Finally the working ethics and ethical practices that affect the business is another key factor. Ethical practices not only help to ensure the business is a trust worthy organization, but it also helps create a good working environment for the staff, making the business easier to manage and operate. With the business operating smoothly and efficiently, it is much easier to create a good and friendly relationship with customers which encourages them to come back therefore creating repeated business. 

Finally I believe it is important to keep up to date with current trends in the industry and adapting to these trends such as technology advancements, pricing, and service quality in order to have a successful business for the future.

RELATED ORGANISATIONS

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)

The New Zealand Land transport agency is the main organization which governs and protects all that is related to the automotive industry. They work very closely to the relations of the industry and are responsible for affordability, safety and responsive sustainable land transport system. 

They also have a huge role in investigations on accidents, managing projects related to road construction, repairs and building new road systems. The New Zealand land transport agency is also responsible for enforcing all the rules and regulations relating to land use, transportation, and transportation services. They are also responsible for enforcing rules and regulations for businesses which are related to transport services, vehicle repairs and even vehicle dealers. 

If help is needed, the New Zealand land transport agency will provide advice and assistance even to government and private organizations upon request. NZTA is the government organization that administers the WOF to workshops and its technicians.

(NZTA, 2012)

Motor Trade Association (MTA)

Is a membership organization, set up in 1917, it has around 4000 members that stretch from vehicle repairers to car dealers. To be a member, an annual membership fee of approximately $800 is required.

The organization also provides WOF training, whereby one day of WOF training is around $552. If you are a member, the fee is half price at $276 bucks.

Upon joining the class and passing the exam, you will receive certification in WOF inspection. Also, if you are a member, you are permitted to carry the MTA logo on your work shop to show customers that you are a professional.

(MTA, 2012)

Occupational Health and Safety (OSH)

They are the government service responsible for inspections, information and training activities in the area of occupational safety and health. The objective of the Health and Safety in Employment Act (HSE) 1992 is to promote the prevention of harm to all people at work, and others in, or in the vicinity of the workplace.

The Act applies to all New Zealand workplaces and places duties on employers, the self-employed, employees, principals and others who are in a position to manage or control hazards. The Department of Labour administers and enforces the HSE Act in most workplaces.

(Department of Labour, 2012)

References:

WebLogix Ltd. (2001). “Simms”. Retrieved from: http://www.simmsautoelec.co.nz/wa4e6b.html

NZTA. (2012). “About Us”. Retrieved from: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/index.html

MTA. (2012).“About us”. Retrieved from: https://www.mta.org.nz/aboutus

Department of Labour. (2012). Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act)”. Retrieved from: http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/law/hse.shtml

SPECIALIZED SERVICES

During the repair process of a vehicle, there are instances where parts are deemed too expensive replace, either for new or second hand parts. In this case, it may be more cost effective to repair the old parts, therefore creating a need for automotive parts specialists.

Common repair work includes:

• Engine reconditioning
• Radiator repairs
• Auto electrical repairs

Examples:

Specialized Services Summary:

• Each company only specializes in one specific area of the vehicle for repair.
• They offer a top quality service and have professional, skilled staff 
• They are able rebuild key vehicle components, which would otherwise be costly to replace
• They do repair work that workshops are not equipped to do

2ND HAND SUPPLIERS

New Zealand has 4,327,944 people in this country and according to the World Bank report, there are 603 vehicles for every 1000 people, (The World Bank Group, 2012).  Some of these vehicles are older than ten years, and the older the vehicle becomes, it starts to display problems, and replacing the old parts become necessary.

While replacing wearable parts such as filters, gaskets, brake pads, are a common and are normally cost effective. Replacing larger and more complex parts such as starter motors, alternators, window control units, engines, and transmissions become a more expensive exercise and so on most occasions it is cheaper to replace with second hand recycled parts. This creates the need for second hand parts suppliers.

Key second hand parts dealers include:

• Pick-A-Part
• Parts Connection
• Dodsons Autospares

Second-Hand Parts Suppliers Summary:

• Second hand parts suppliers purchase their parts from parts dealers in Japan or as entire car bodies within New Zealand at damaged vehicle auctions.
• Most suppliers offer a warranty on their parts, which vary from approximately 2 weeks to 3 months.
• For security and return purposes, they will mark the parts by engraving or marking it with a colored marker. All suppliers have their own unique way of marking their products.
• As their parts are usually second hand, the resell price for the parts are normally cheaper than genuine parts.

WHOLESALE SUPPLIERS

In New Zealand there are four key parts suppliers; these are BNT, Repco, Part masters, and Auto stop. They supply anything from a small bolt to belts, gaskets, pistons etc. Normally any wearable part that is replaceable can be supplied or out sourced by these company’s.

Wholesale Parts Suppliers Summary:

• They provide a good service, and offer quality products at a competitive price.
• They are easily accessible to everyone, both trade and general public customers.
• They have sufficient storage capacity to store all bulk parts and products. 

When purchasing parts through a supplier, if you belong to a work shop you do not need pay the bill immediately, you are just required to setup an account, and then settle the account at the end of each month. Upon purchasing a part or product, you need to present an order number, which is usually the registration number belonging to the repair vehicle, and this helps with processing the bill.

SPARE PARTS SUPPLIERS

In the part one internal factors section, I mentioned how to order parts. In this part I will explain how workshops deal with parts suppliers.

The parts supplier has two sets of pricing:

• Retail price: To those people buy parts without account
• Trade price: To those people buy parts with account

How to set-up an account

The parts supplier welcomes most businesses to sign up for the trade scheme, but the work shop is required to apply and sign an application form.

 

What is the meant by a reference?

In the application form, a prerequisite is that you provide reference suppliers that can vouch for your good trade history. These are usually previous suppliers which you have had and dealt with on a regular basis. 

The new parts supplier will check your record with your reference suppliers, and if your record and credit is good and clear, your application will be accepted.

Work order numbers

An order number is the key identification code for a job and is usually the registration or plate number of a vehicle. For instance, if a vehicle being worked on requires a reverse light, we would order from the parts supplier and the order number used to identify this particular job would be the registration (i.e AKQ403).

In this way, the workshop and part supplier can communicate by referring to the registration number as the work order number, which means that the supplier does not need the year, model, engine number, or chassis number as this can be found out on a database site such as “Carjam”, just by entering a vehicles registration.

How the company settles the account bill?

If the workshop has an account, on November you need pay the October bill, the part supplier will send you an invoice statement which has a list of all the ordered parts for the month. The invoices are normally arranged from the months beginning purchases to the months end. The account is usually paid for in full on the first week of every month.

How the crediting system works?

When you order parts from the parts supplier, the supplier sometimes confuses the order and so they allow return options for these cases. In one instance, you might receive more than one of the same products in which case you may choose to keep one and then return the rest. Another case might be that you order a part and found that the part is incorrect, and so you may return it, and reorder the correct part.

Whatever the scenario, if you order parts and they are placed on the company’s account, the account will be charged out irrespectively. But once the part has been returned, the supplier will then credit the account. In order to receive a credit, you need to present the invoice to the supplier, as the invoice contains the invoice number, the workshop name, and order number.

 

Other organizations that also contribute to a successful workshop are parts suppliers and specialist workshops. Not all workshops can afford high quality or original parts that require time to acquire either from an overseas source or from a dealer. Spare parts suppliers help contribute to workshops wellbeing by providing the necessary parts at special prices pre-set for trade customers. 

In this way, business relations are encouraged so that workshops are being supplied products that they need at competitive price and the supplier is making money by selling more goods. 

   

Specialized organisations such as panel beaters, tyre specialists, and also transmission specialists can help by providing the necessary skill and work that the workshops might not be fully equipped for. 

Specialised workshops are important and necessary as general workshops are mostly only able to provide services to small problems that are common. 

The more difficult problems require very skilled labourers who have a advanced knowledge in that field which most normal workshops do not have. General workshops can get help from the nearby specialist workshops for a small fee. This way the general workshops can keep a good rapport with customers instead of sending them away to other workshops. 

There are three main categories of suppliers. These are:

• Wholesale Parts Suppliers
• Second Hand Parts Suppliers
• Specialized Services

OUTSOURCING

It is very rare for one workshop to be equipped for every vehicle and motorcycle problem. For this reason, the workshop needs to co-operate with other specialist workshops in order to survive. For instance, if a job is an electrical problem, then they need to take the vehicle to an auto electrician is well trained in vehicle diagnostic procedures.

SKILLED LABOUR

Simply put, one of the most important aspects of running a successful business is the effective and skilled labour of the staff. There are different ways of ensuring that a staff member is effective and skilled through training and supervised work or simply hiring an already skilled mechanic. Both of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages. 

Advantages

Hiring an unskilled labourer and training such an employee would take a lot of time and effort to train up to a reliable and effective employee however this way the employee will be very familiar to the business and how everything operates in that particular business. This way the trained employee not only will be effective but can also contribute to the business in other ways such as giving feedback on how to improve the business from the experience he has acquired through training in such a business. 

Disadvantages

Hiring a skilled labourer with qualifications such as the NZQA approved National certificate in Automotive Engineering would already know what to do but the employee may not be very efficient at the start as it may take time for the newly hired employee to become accustomed to the new workshop and the working environment. 

However, having employees that are capable of doing their job alone is not enough to be efficient. Proper managing of the employees and allocating appropriate time for the work and proper distribution of responsibilities are also very important to effective staffing and work. One of the most obvious problems that I have observed is that the distribution of responsibilities within a workshop is not always optimal due to a lack of trust. 

Often employees are made to work under supervision and this could take up time from another employee. This is usually resolved over a long period of time when the supervisor finally trusts the employee to work on his or her own without problem. This lack of trust is due to the supervisor or manager having to take on a lot of liability should an accident occur or if anything gets damaged.

Once the employees are properly trained, supervised and are effectively working on their own with the proper workload distribution you have achieved a very skilled and effective staff. However, this must be maintained as well. Regular meetings with staff to discuss any changes and making sure that the employees are aware of their responsibilities are very important. 

Also employees need to be kept up to date on new technologies in the automotive industry and the managers can help by sending their employees to have special classes to learn about new technologies. This way the effectiveness of the staff is always kept up and kept up to date with new technologies.