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Letter to the Editor
Monday November 6
PPG Introduces MVP Throughput Performance Solutions Program
PPG has announced a new program of process improvement training seminars and consulting services designed to help collision centers gain a competitive advantage by improving quality, speed, and cost throughout the collision repair process. PPG’s MVP Throughput Performance Solutions (TPS) Program is the result of three years of research conducted by a team of collision repair process experts.Jim Berkey, director of business solutions for PPG Automotive Refinish, commented, “Today’s business of collision repair comes with many challenges and opportunities. For many of our collision repair partners, profits continue to shrink and in many markets there are simply fewer repair opportunities compared to a decade ago when we first introduced our MVP Services program. The PPG TPS program is the result of extensive research and development. TPS is the most innovative, comprehensive training program available for empowering the progressive collision center with what it takes to profit from the opportunities generated by a rapidly-changing collision industry.”
Throughput is about reducing defects and waste, allowing the repair job to flow through the system more quickly. More work flowing through the fixed assets and resources of the business results in many benefits including improved quality, profitability, and competitive advantage.
The TPS program is a comprehensive, five-day training program based on the principles of Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints. Lean is about working more continuously on a vehicle and reducing the “cycle time” by eliminating the sources of waste. Six Sigma is about eliminating variation in the process, which is a root cause of waste that negatively impacts cycle time, quality, and cost. The Theory of Constraints is based on the assumption that all processes have one or two key areas that are bottlenecks. TPS training demonstrates how improved performance in those areas will improve the performance of the entire process.
The program covers a wealth of material including such topics as Strategic Thinking, Business Strategy, Leadership and Leadership Change, the history and overview of Throughput Performance, Process Design & Resource Planning, and Workplace Organization. Each day’s training is designed to provide an effective balance between teaching the proven science behind process improvement and implementing practical solutions for achieving optimum performance at a collision center.
“This is not a ‘One Solution Fits All’ program,” said Berkey. “Businesses are like people in that no two are identical. Each business has varying sales volumes, layout designs, resource differences, challenges, and opportunities. The TPS program is designed to allow each participant to adjust the implementation and application of the proven approaches and tools directed at process design and resource planning to fit their individual needs.”
Upon completion of the initial training, participants are invited to join in a ParaKaizen Performance Group. The word ParaKaizen was developed by PPG by joining two words - Paradigm (a model), and Kaizen (a Japanese word that translates to continuous improvement). Members of the ParaKaizen Performance Group attend a two-day meeting three times a year that focuses on continuous learning and process improvement planning.
Once enrolled in the ParaKaizen Performance Group, members are also eligible for MVP ParaKaizen Consulting Services comprised of on-site evaluations geared to the specific shop. Additionally, they will have access to a web site, where they can access course files, post blogs, download documents and access other supporting information. Through the web site, they can participate in a “webinar,” which is a teleconference combined with a web-based presentation monitored by MVP instructors, where they can offer input and get feedback from others in the ParaKaizen Group.
“Throughput Performance Solutions training is not for everyone,” Berkey added. “It takes a very serious commitment. Going through TPS training is a lot like going to boot camp. There is such a wealth of information, you can’t learn it all in one week. That’s why we developed our ParaKaizen Performance Group as a follow-up, to offer continuing education, continuous development, and peer-to-peer collaboration. We strongly urge anyone who is committed to improving their collision center operation to participate in this program. The collision centers who participated in the pilot program have experienced phenomenal success, and on average have improved their throughput performance by 50 percent or more!”
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