Owning a car repair business is all about mitigating risks and keeping the results of your hard work safe. Between serving customers, taking care of the vehicles, paying bills and overseeing your mechanics, here are five things you need to keep an eye on to protect your garage from unforeseen problems.
Insurance
Insurance is one of the most important things to get right. You need general liability insurance to cover you for damage to your property and premises; in addition, you need cover for the vehicles you work on while they are in your care, custody and control. Make sure you purchase more than a general policy, which will cover only your property, so that you are protected from the most serious risks.
Ventilation and protection
With the wide variety of hazardous chemicals used in garages to paint cars, clean engines, fuel batteries and more, you need to have the right protective equipment and ventilation systems in place.
Make sure mechanics wear gloves, long sleeves, and protective eye-wear and masks when doing jobs with dangerous chemicals. Keep your ventilation equipment well maintained and up to date with spares and parts.
Fire prevention
With so many flammable things in a garage, you need to put in place measures to prevent fire and stop it spreading. Have a policy of no oily rags left lying around and a requirement for all chemical spills to be cleaned up immediately. There should be no smoking within 20 metres of the work area, and make sure you install fire alarms, sprinklers and extinguishers to fight the most common types of fires.
Stop theft
With expensive tools and equipment on your premises, it is likely to attract attention from thieves. Install security cameras, limit who has access to storage areas with security codes only given to relevant staff, and have strong locks on all doors, windows and entrances.
Staff and customer safety
Educate staff about the risks of being struck and injured by falling objects, and never let your customers into work areas where they could be subject to injury because they have not received appropriate training. Employees need to know how to use the right tools for the right job and when to take their time and work safely. Garages who provide lots of different services including things like mots gloucester are safe and secure for every customer and would be an ideal place to take your car. You can check out sites like http://www.swiftfit.uk.com/ for more information on what other services they provide.
