What this checklist covers
The Body Shop Capacity Planning Checklist is a 15-point scorecard for repair bays, paint booth capacity, technician availability, job loading, work-in-progress, cycle time, and bottleneck tracking. Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on what the auditor sees on the day, and every gap goes into an action plan with an owner and a close date.
AutoSmart tip: Bodyshop capacity planning audits should start by mapping the current WIP against each stage of the repair process — reception, metalwork, paint, reassembly, quality check. A cluster of vehicles at any single stage is a visual bottleneck indicator. The goal of capacity planning is to maintain an even flow through all stages, not to maximise intake volume at the front of the process while congestion builds in the middle.
The checks
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Repair bay and paint booth capacity
- Is available repair bay capacity calculated and tracked — covering total bays, bays in active use, and bays temporarily unavailable due to equipment issues or large-vehicle occupation?
- Is paint booth capacity planned as a separate constraint from repair bay capacity — with the number of paint cycles achievable per day calculated and used to gate the number of jobs entering the repair bay each day?
- Is the ratio of repair bays to paint booth cycles reviewed periodically, to ensure the paint booth is not a consistent bottleneck that limits the throughput of an otherwise adequately resourced workshop?
- Is a maximum daily intake volume defined based on capacity — so new jobs are not accepted at a rate that will push cycle times beyond the bodyshop's committed delivery window?
Technician availability and job loading
- Is technician availability (leave, training, absence) factored into daily capacity before new jobs are loaded — preventing overcommitment on days with reduced staffing?
- Is job loading allocated based on technician skill level and job type — with structural and complex repairs assigned to the most experienced technicians rather than by bay availability alone?
- Is work-in-progress balanced across technicians — identifying situations where one technician has multiple large jobs while another is waiting for work — and rebalancing where possible?
- Are jobs scheduled against available capacity in a forward planning horizon (minimum one week ahead) — not loaded reactively as vehicles arrive?
Work-in-progress and cycle time
- Is total work-in-progress (number of vehicles in the bodyshop at any point) tracked, with a maximum WIP level defined beyond which no new intake is accepted until jobs are completed and collected?
- Is average cycle time tracked per job type (PDR, cosmetic repair, complex collision) — with cycle time trends reviewed to identify whether the bodyshop is getting faster or slower over time?
- Are jobs that have exceeded their planned cycle time flagged in the daily production review, with the specific cause of delay identified and resolved rather than the job being silently extended?
Bottleneck tracking and governance
- Are recurring bottlenecks (paint booth, specific skill, parts availability, insurer approval) identified and reported in the management meeting, with capital or resource solutions considered for persistent constraints?
- Is the bodyshop's committed delivery window reviewed against actual average cycle time — with the commitment revised to a realistic figure if cycle time consistently exceeds the stated window?
- Is customer communication about expected collection dates managed proactively — with advisors contacting customers at a defined point if a delay is anticipated, rather than waiting for the customer to chase?
- Is capacity planning reviewed weekly in the production meeting, covering the coming two weeks' job mix, technician availability, and paint booth schedule — not only reactively when a capacity problem is already affecting delivery?
How to run it
How the scoring works
Before the visit, fill in the dealer or centre, the auditor, the date and the audit cycle. Then score each of the 15 checks from 1 to 5 on what you see on the day, not on what the site aims for, and add them up out of 75.
- 1Not in place
- 2Attempted
- 3Defined
- 4Managed
- 5Fully sustained
- Green60–75 · 80–100%Compliant. Keep the standard.
- Amber38–59 · 50–79%Improvement needed: a structured action plan within 30 days.
- Red0–37 · Below 50%Priority intervention, escalated to regional management.
Then close every gap
Each gap goes into the action plan tracker and moves through four stages until the auditor closes it.
- 1PendingOwner and close date set
- 2In progressWork under way, evidence gathered
- 3CompletedEvidence submitted for review
- 4ApprovedVerified and closed by the auditor
