Hey All,
We just spent some time and redid the tag we use to track
repairs on a bike. I'm sure your shops are similar to ours in that many
mechanics of varying skill levels will work on a single bike before
it's distributed back to the world for use. This make it challenging to
ensure a standard of quality on any given bike leaving the shop.
As we fleshed out the tag we realized that it could function loosely
as a curriculum. For most mechanics, especially students we suggest
starting at the top and working down the list. I've come to realize
that no two mechanics will do things in the exact same way, everyone has
their own style. We've been suggesting that folks do the first two
items in order and then address the rest of the repairs at their
discretion.
Of course we couldn't put everything on a half page so we had to
make compromises. You'll notice as you get closer to the bottom of the
tag the categories are a little more broad and don't get into the finer
details. We're working on a final check list that will include finer
details like checking bearing play, tire wear, fine tune derailleurs and
brakes... The final checklist won't hang on the bike but it'll be
around the shop and part of our training. Stay tuned for this.
We print these double sided, cut them in half and laminate them. We
hang them on the handlebars and fill them out with a Sharpie. When
the bike is done and gone we clean the Sharpie off with 90% rubbing
alcohol and a rag. This allows us to use one tag over and over and
over.
We've been using these tags for about 2 weeks now and it's been
awesome. Communication between mechanics is much clearer and bikes are
getting done faster. It's really helped orient Earn-A-Bike students to
what needs to be done next on their bike.
Anyway if you think it's a good idea feel free to adapt it to your shops needs.
--
Ride On!
Rich Points
http://communitycycles.org
Executive Director
(c)303-589-0597
(w)720-565-6019
Community Cycles is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting.
Find us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCycles
