As a new employee of James Glass, please read this document first. This document will also appear in your employee handbook for reference.
The shop is generally a calm and quiet place to work, however you have a very detail oriented job. The work can be logistically demanding and lack of attention can lead to serious injury or death for you or one of our clients. To ensure quality work and safety for everyone, protocol has been developed. The details of shop procedures will be further detailed during your on-the-job training; however the following pages will give you a general idea of how the shop operates.
Overview of General Protocol
I. Tool usage and repair techniques
II. General safety
III. Fasteners, gaskets, and seals
IV. Disposal issues and recycling
V. Client relations
VI. Reference materials
VII. Quality Control
VIII. Billing
I. Tool usage and repair techniques
Properly understanding and using tools is vital to successfully and safely navigating your job. A photocopied handout will be provided on more detailed tool usage and repair techniques, but here are some general guidelines.
1. The correct tool must always be used for the job.
a. never hammer with tools that aren’t hammers
b. always use correct wrench and socket techniques
c. never pry with screw drivers
d. ISAT, Tech 2, multimeters, and other diagnostic equipment must be hooked up correctly for proper readings and to prevent damage to the tool
e. always have full understanding of special use tools and how to properly use them to prevent tool and/or vehicle damage
2. Always clean and return tools as soon as possible to the toolbox.
a. only clean tools with brake parts cleaner—never with carb cleaner
b. never begin a new job without first cleaning all the tools, equipment, and work area followed by performing a tool check to verify that no tools have been left behind in the vehicle
c. always keep a count of the tools you are using and ensure that count is the same at the end of the procedure
3. Never place tools on cars, under the hood of cars, etc.
a. tool trays, magnetic trays, and benches are to be used
4. Never lend tools to anyone.
5. Always perform a tool sweep.
a. in addition to performing a tool check and tool count as noted above, also visually scan the entire work area upon the completion of the repair
6. Do not bring tools, gloves, etc. into the office.
7. Oil air tools after every other use—one or two small drops.
8. Certain tools must never come in contact with oil
a. body tools
b. torch (including torch threads—no oil)
II. General Safety
During the work day you will be exposed to an environment that can seriously injure, maim, or kill you, a client, or me. To keep ourselves and our clients safe it is important to be careful and observant while working.
1. Explosion risk and fire prevention
a. always check to see what flammable solvents and solutions are present before using sparker, igniter, torch, welder, soldering iron, or any source of ignition
b. no one is allowed to smoke in the shop
c. note where the fire extinguishers are located
d. never use water to put out a gasoline or grease fire—use only the fire extinguishers
e. keep the parts cleaner lid closed when not in use
f. all paint products are stored in the yellow metal desk
g.. waste oil is stored (10 gallons max in two white cans) to the right of the parts cleaner—always keep cans capped
h. keep shop towels in correct place and dispose of old oil towels in blue cans
i. auto batteries can explode!!! never use a flame near a battery
2. Eye protection
a. always wear eye protection when grinding, sandblasting, die grinding, wire brushing, etc.
b. always wear eye protection if there is any risk of solvent splashing in your face
c. always wear welding helmet when welding or watching welding
d. always wear torch goggles when using oxy-acetylene torch
3. Ear protection
a. when exposed to prolonged loud sounds, wear ear plugs
4. Body protection
a. use long sleeve shirts when grinding, sandblasting, die grinding and wire brushing, etc.
b. do not wear loose fitting clothes that can get caught in fast moving engines or in fast moving tools
c. wear respirators when using toxic solvents and products
d. wear latex or vinyl gloves to protect your hands
e. carbon monoxide from car exhaust must never be allowed in the shop
f. carbon monoxide poisoning is cumulative in the human body—you can build up the poison slowly each day which results in brain damage or death
g. carbon monoxide can kill you after 90 seconds of exposure
5. Jacks and jack stands
a. never get under a car that is only held in place by a jack
b. always use jack stands
c. only use jack stands on concrete or heavy asphalt
d. only use jack stands on a level surface
e. always double check vehicle on stands after lifting it
6. Air bag, general safety
a. never work on an air bag system with the battery connected!
b. always wait 20 minutes to work on an air bag system after disconnecting the battery
c. air bags are pyrotechnic devices—treat them as the little exploding bombs that they are
7. Gas cylinders, general safety
a. always transport high pressure cylinders (oxygen, Co2) with the screw caps on tight—the tank can explode like a bomb if the valve is knocked off
b. always close the valves immediately after use
c. always bleed gas from the lines of the oxy-acetylene torch
8. Safety shut down procedures for the end of work day
a. always turn off the air compressor
b. always close the air compressor ball valve
c. inspect the shop for open solvent containers and equipment that has been left on such as the overhead fan or welder, and such
d. never leave jacks, engine hoist, or any hydraulic device in operation
e. see list posted of basic shut down procedures on the backside of the front door
III. Fasteners, gaskets, and seals
Next to the importance of correct tool usage to achieve a good repair comes correct use of fasteners, gaskets, and solvents. While these are very small things they have huge impact on the quality and longevity of the repair. There are many rules concerning fasteners, gaskets and seals and here are a few general guidelines.
1. Fasteners
a. always use the correct grade fastener for the job
b. always use the correct dimension fastener for the job
c. never reuse a rusted, damaged, or compromised fastener—even if it means not completing the job while we wait for the new fastener to arrive from a vendor
d. almost all fasteners get some form of thread treatment—this will be covered in detail later
2. Gaskets and seals
a. always use new gaskets and seals for a job
b. a gasket, copper sealing washer, or other crush type seal can only be used once!
c. o-rings are usually very delicate and must be handled with care
d. metal filings, debris, oil, etc. cannot come into contact with gasket surfaces, gaskets, and certain seals.
e. some seals are destroyed by certain oils, chemicals or solvents
f. dog hair will destroy hydraulic seals
g. dog hair will ruin paint and body work
h. be mindful of any potential contaminant that would undermine your work
IV. Disposal issues and recycling
Even though this is a small shop, we generate a fair amount of solvents and toxic waste. Most of this can be recycled and all of it can be disposed of properly.
1. waste oil is stored in yellow can
a. every Saturday the shop assistant will recycle the oil at Advance
b. brake fluid, transmission fluid, and other oils are placed in this yellow can also
c. never allow coolant or water into the yellow can
d. never allow oil, etc. into city drains
2. trace amounts of coolant can be diluted and allowed in the drain system
3. when the scrap cars are recycled the following items will also be recycled:
a. batteries
b. air bag
c. tires
d. freon
e. gasoline
4. All steel, alloy, copper, etc. from repairs is recycled
a. recycle pile is located in front of shop
5. Scrap and salvage cars are recycled
a. metal from repairs is loaded into scrap cars
6. All consumer glass, plastic, etc. is recycled to green city cans
a. this is picked up every other Thursday
b. check recycling code
7. All other waste is placed into the two blue city cans
V. Client relations
Getting along well with people and providing excellent service to our clients is a vital aspect of our work, and our goal is to make clients happy by fixing their cars correctly. Most of our clients are nice folks that are easy to get along with, but occasionally we’ll have to deal with difficult people. There is no specific policy governing your interaction with clients; however, below are a few points of client protocol. Also see, Labor, General, 0.9.f Client Relations.
1. The quality of the work is the number one priority at this shop and this will sometimes conflict with client interests.
a. never allow clients to rush the work so they can have their car back
b. explain to clients why their ultimate happiness and satisfaction depends on a properly repaired car—our commitment to our clients can only be upheld if their cars work and we must never let them be stranded because we failed to do our duty
c. never compromise the work even if the client would never know the difference
2. Generally, there are three types of clients
a. the good to really good
b. the average
c. the poor to bad
3. Despite any subjective opinions we assign to clients, unless they have been fired from the shop, we must weigh the merits of each visit individually. In other words, bad clients can become better clients if we work with them and occasionally good clients go bad.
a. despite our personal feelings about any client, the standards of quality for every repair must be maintained
4. The customer is not always right (in the sense of modern marketing)
a. we’re the experts and we’re here to keep their cars running so they can go to work, school, and take trips--in that vein we must assert ourselves over "customer rightness" and recognize that we bear the following responsibilities:
-to know what we are doing
-to know how to effectively communicate what we are doing to the client if she/he wants to know
-to recognize and correct any mistakes (on our part or the clients)
-to intergrate the above responsibilites in such a way that we can effectively communicate to our clients what should be done in any given repair if it conflicts their concept of what is right
b. our job includes teaching if the client wants to understand more about the repair; however, not everyone cares to know how their car was repaired
VI. Reference materials
Different car brands are much more similar in design and construction than they are different, and while this is a specialty shop for SAABs many industry wide fundamentals that exist in most cars also exist in SAABs. Despite this homogenization of the auto industry, enough very unique elements exist in every car brand. This requires the automotive technician to not only have a plethora of tools and vast knowledge of fasteners, gaskets and seals, but to also have a detailed technical knowledge of the unique aspects of every car made. Since we primarily work on just a few types of cars, we can have a much greater than average knowledge in SAAB repair, but because we can’t possibly remember every minor detail or value of a particular job, it is important that we have a large library of reference books. The books in the office cover most SAABs from 1979 to 1998. After 1998, most technical and reference information is on CD-ROM although there is still bound material on hand for 1998-2006. This material is primarily training related and electrical diagrams.
1. Never touch a book with dirty hands or gloved hands
2. All technical data on 9-3, 9-5 are on CD-ROM
3. Technical data for the NG 900 94-98 exists in both bound books and CD-ROM
4. Never allow anyone to touch or borrow the bound books, CDs, or technical documents
a. people may have computer printouts when available detailing their repair
b. never share knowledge with other shops until you’ve approached me—I am usually very free with helping other shops; however, I want to always be appraised as there are a few shops in town that consisently produced low quality work. We do not want to be associated with these shops--even to share knowledge--because we do not want to be associated with repair shops that cannot properly fix cars. See me for more details.
5. All parts reference is separate from technical reference
a. parts reference exists on CD-ROM for 1986 and up—we use this the most
b. bound material exists for older cars, but we hardly use it
6. Motor brand Parts and Labor Guides are also a reference source
a. these books cover many makes and models
VII. Quality control
To ensure that all clients are satisfied because we’ve fixed their car properly we do a number of things to ensure quality control. While the below list is a solid framework that covers many of the dynamics of properly repairing a car, it is also important to simply be aware of your environment. It is crucial to keep a keen eye not only on the existing repair, but be on the lookout for other failures that the car might have.
1. intake assessment
a. quick test drive of vehicle
b. mileage recording
c. notes on major failures, especially related to safety
2. monitor the repair carefully
a. notes are always taken during the repair—take notes on existing repair and other issues you notice
3. test your work
4. test drive the car
a. all cars are test driven regardless of what type of repair we performed
VIII. Billing
The majority of the invoicing will be done by me, but how well I am able to do this job is dependent on the notes you provide me from the repair. Also, well organized and easy to read notes are a vital key to making the bills accurate. While we don’t want to over bill anyone, it is equally crucial that we not under bill anyone because we’ll be shortchanged for our work.
1. Make a list of every part used for the repair
a. all hardware and misc. material also
b. whenever possible, note part number along with description
c. make notes as you do repair and double check when finished
2. Make a list of all labor on the repair
a. I can calculate repairs times in my office
3. Note towels, gloves, disposal fees, etc. with every repair
a. we bill for paper towels used to dry our hands
b. we bill for red and blue shop towels
c. we bill for brake cleaner, carb cleaner, and engine degreaser
d. we bill for disposing of oil, brake fluid, coolant, etc.
e. we bill for gloves
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