JULY/AUGUST 2023 AFTERMARKET 47 major role. DENSO Europe Pan European Strategic Marketing Manager Fatiha Laauich commented: “By checking with the customer beforehand to ask whether they’d like the blades to be changed automatically if they should be the cause of, or will contribute to a test fail, or even if they are passable, but borderline on wear, workshops can not only boost customer confidence, but proactively increase revenue as well.” Advice and guidance Commenting on their industry offering, Premier MOT Training Managing Director Donna Chapman said: “Apart from the Level 3 accreditation, the MOT award and the MOT Managers course, we offer a range of courses to keep stations on the straight and narrow. We saw a need to offer various tailormade courses to help stations. These include MOT Quality Control, Manager Upskill, Annual Training days and Compliance training. The latter we normally offer as an onsite training session.” Looking at where testing stations are worried, Donna said: “One of the main areas of concern from stations is whether the station complies with current management arrangements. Another is whether the name of the station can be changed, followed by whether they need to go to connected equipment. “For all stations where the ownership changes or calibrated equipment is updated, certain items must now be connected, including roller brake testers, decelerometers and gas analysers. Soon headlight alignment equipment will be added, plus the installation of ANPR. “I can speak from first-hand experience. Our MOT station in Hockley is a connected site. All the testers love it, find it quicker and wouldn’t want to revert to the way things used to be.” Donna concluded: “My advice is to embrace modernisation, look for opportunities and remember, we’re always here if you need help and guidance.” Steady flow John Baron, MOT and Equipment Specialist at ISN Garage Assist, observed: “Customers with existing facilities are still replacing and upgrading their MOT bays to Automated Test Lanes (ATLs) and we continue to receive a steady flow of enquiries from garages that are keen to add MOT testing to their service portfolio. Upgrading to an ATL doesn’t just bring the benefits of connectivity. The game changer for any garage still offering traditional two-person testing is the www.aftermarketonline.net move to one-person operation – you’d be surprised how quickly you can achieve a return on your investment in new equipment when you’re only paying one salary for MOT testing and releasing the second person to undertake service, maintenance or repair work at the same time.” John added: “Another option worth serious consideration is the installation of a Dual Revenue Bay. By specifying a vehicle lift equipped to provide wheel alignment services, together with the appropriate wheel alignment machine, your MOT bay can earn additional income when not being used for MOT testing.” Profitable On the advantages for MOT testing stations of investing in a one-person test lane (OPTL), Snap-on National Sales Manager Diagnostics and Garage Equipment, Tristain Hindle said: “All businesses know that time is money and that they have to be at their most productive in order to be at their most profitable. That’s especially the case for independent garages when it comes to MOT testing, and having the right equipment is key to success. “One significant benefit of an OPTL is that it allows a single technician to carry out an MOT test independently, eliminating the need for a second technician to provide assistance. This reduces the overall operating cost of the MOT test and frees up one of your technicians to work on other revenue opportunities at the same time.” Tristain continued: “The Sun SSL 6350 One-Person Test Lane is an exclusive lift for one-person MOT Testing. It can be installed into existing bay recesses with no additional groundwork required. Installation takes just one day to minimise test lane downtime. It's a perfect solution for garages wanting to bring their MOT setup right up to date and benefit from the efficiency gains that modern testing equipment brings. What's more, if you add the Sun DGA6000 Link Emissions Analyser into your setup, you can benefit from even more time-saving and productivityboosting benefits. This is because it is designed to seamlessly integrate all of your MOT testing equipment with the DVSA's MOT testing system.” According to Tristain, this will also help businesses future-proof: “The DVSA has announced that it plans to phase out the use of manual test lanes, in favour of oneperson test lanes. By upgrading to an OPTL now, independent garages can ensure that they are prepared and will not need to make costly upgrades in the future.” www.aftemarketonline.net For peace of mind always use a Garage Equipment Association member. GEA accredited engineers work to an industry code of conduct. Your assurance their skills and knowledge have been independently assessed. IS YOUR EQUIPMENT ENGINEER GEA ACCREDITED? Ask your engineer for his accreditation card ! The Upholders of Industry standards since 1945 The Garage Equipment Association www.gea.co.uk GEA ACCREDITED ENGINEER Name Company Discipline Exp Date ID Number XX123456 XX123456 XX123456 XX123456 XX123456
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