With a booming trade and not enough hours in the average working day workshops within the motor trade are looking at ways they can maximise their productivity. This has led to some BMW dealerships opening their aftersales departments seven days a week and for extended midweek hours. This leaves little doubt that other marque franchises will follow suit in the not too distant future.

With new car sales gaining traction, dedicated late night or 24hr PDI workshops on or off-site are becoming popular as a way for companies to deal with the constant workflow.  While we have previously considered shift work to primarily be within the commercial industry, we are noticing more shift-based jobs within the light vehicle market.

Do you believe the introduction of shift patterns into the Light Vehicle side of the Motor Trade will further maximise the productivity of the workshops? Or will it become harder to retain staff in a trade in which the hours are already longer than average?