March 15, 2017—After more than three decades in the collision repair industry, former VeriFacts Automotive COO and co-founder Mark Olson recently launched training and consulting firm Vehicle Collision Experts LLC (VECO Experts).
“So many programs and products out there do a great job of addressing one particular problem or part of the process,” Olson said. “But what’s been missing is a holistic approach that recognizes the connections between all the moving pieces within a collision repair business.”
VECO works with shops on with vehicle repairs and quality on an ongoing monthly basis and provides customized assistance to help determine which aspects of the collision repair process are in need of improvement.
“Using some simple interview and tracking processes, we look for patterns that are most adversely impacting the business’ production or financial performance,” Olson said. “We can then help the business pinpoint the cause and make the necessary adjustments in the shop, in the office, or—most often—in both. It can be a bit like solving a water leak in a vehicle. Finding the cause can be the real challenge, which is what we help a collision repair business do. But once you’ve done that, the solution is often, as it is with a water leak, the easy part.”
VECO Experts is helping collision repair operations with such areas as improving compliance with company SOPs; eliminating start-stop delays within production; reducing vehicle come-backs, and improving vehicle repair quality, touch-time and days-to-repair.
“The key is we’re not taking a one-size-fits-all approach,” Olson said. “Being in the partner shops every month, we’re helping the businesses identify the areas most needing improvement, and focusing on that. We help them with simple systems and a unique set of reporting—that shows at a glance, in less than three minutes, how they are doing, where they are improving, and where we can best help them find solutions.”
Prior to launching VECO Experts, Olson served as chief operating officer of VeriFacts Automotive LLC, a company he co-founded in 2002.
