From quality control to working in an automotive parts department, to becoming an estimator, and moving on to work in talent development, David Kimble — now general manager at On The Road Garage in Irving, Texas, and this year’s FenderBender Award runner-up — has done it all.
For the last 25 years, Kimble has jumped around from job to job, unable to find anything that stuck. It wasn’t until he started working at On The Road Garage in 2022 that he found a career he was truly passionate about.
“The last two years for me have been amazing,” Kimble said. “Having an opportunity to work with a group of people that allows you to make a decision that isn't based on the spreadsheet has been awesome.”
Currently, On The Road Garage boasts a consistent 72% or higher paint and material gross profit. After speaking with Kimble, it's clear that his strong leadership skills, drive, and experience in the industry have given him unique insights to assist in creating a shop that excels.
Streamlined Efficiency
Since Kimble started working at On The Road Garage, he has assisted in switching his team's standard operating procedures (SOPs) to increase the quality of repairs.
“Instead of taking everything in on Monday and chaotically trying to write up estimates, we now have X number of days to do X number of cars,” Kimble said. “Instead of disassembling cars in the technician stalls —which is typically the practice in the industry — we have a disassembly bay. Every technician comes to the disassembly bay, and we talk about it. We disassemble every damaged area that is on that car. We run Alldata to ensure that any procedures that apply to a particular repair are captured, not only on the estimate but also on the paperwork for the technician going in the car.”
Once the car has been disassembled, it goes outside to await its time to begin repairs. All R&I parts are wrapped for protection and secured in their own box. The damaged parts go on a parts rack and then go to the parts department for a mirror match. When all parts required for moving the vehicle to paint arrive, the car goes back into the shop for reassembly and is sent to paint.
“We took the lean process to a whole other level by only taking in what our capacity is,” Kimble said. “Our supplement percentage is under 5% and our growth for overall profit is in the 60s. I've taken what I've learned over the last 25 years, and I've kept everything that was good, and I threw away everything that I thought was bad. I'm fortunate enough to have a company that allows me to do that versus what we've been doing forever. It feels like coming up for fresh air to have an open-minded leadership team that says, ‘You know what? This is your shop.’’’
Leading with Vision
In addition to changing SOPs, Kimble has also established a strong work culture among his team.
“All too often, general managers just assume that individuals know what they're doing,” Kimble said. “I set apart the leaders from the doers. I gave the person that I've identified as being the ‘doer’ the responsibility of overseeing everybody that's in their department. I have my rock star in the front who does all the scheduling, and I have my rock star in parts who handles all that. Then I have my assistant general manager.”
By assigning different jobs to the leaders and doers, Kimble has created a team that works independently without needing constant guidance from him.
“The empowerment of teammates creates a culture of management where everyone is leading, everyone is responsible for a certain goal,” Kimble said. “The independence of my team frees up my time to continue to coach and develop.”
As Kimble advises his team, the biggest thing that he focuses on is constant improvement and owning your mistakes.
“We have signs up throughout our shop that say, ‘How good can we get?’” Kimble said. “My challenge for my teammates is when we touch the door to have them ask themselves, ‘How good can we get?’ What are we going to do today that is going to make us better tomorrow? It's not going to be from fear of making a mistake or having a boss who’s going to yell at you because something went wrong. It's going to be by getting together and not being scared to make a few mistakes, and then when we do, own them and learn from them.”
Blueprint for Growth
As he continues to cultivate a positive and effective work environment, Kimble is encouraged by On The Road’s plans.
“On The Road Garage has been around for five years,” Kimble said. “2025 will be the year of expansion. You'll start seeing our company logo across the state of Texas. Like I tell everybody who works on my team, with growth comes opportunities. If we continue to follow the processes that are put in place and we continue to live the culture that we've instilled —that everybody's important, everyone's a vital member of the team— then there's never going to be a bar that will be too high. Opportunities will be there for my entire tech staff. It'll be there for me and that's what we're looking forward to.”
