| Subject: | New Straight Time Process for Establishment of Labor Times in Saturn Labor Time Guide (U.S. Only) |
Effective with the 2007 SKY, Saturn will begin to use the GM Straight Time process for establishing labor times. Most labor operations will initially use straight time instead of published times. The key elements of the Straight Time process include the
following:
| • | Straight time will be used for all labor operations for several months after a new vehicle launch. Straight time is the actual time a technician spends repairing a vehicle. Exceptions will be Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI), paint repairs, wiring repairs,
9995 labor operations, and other content an appropriate. Guidelines for what should be included are described later in this bulletin. |
| • | The most frequently used labor operations, approximately 20% of the total labor operations, will be studied beginning approximately four months after vehicles are initially shipped to retailers. Time studies will be performed on regular production
vehicles and follow the published service procedures. |
| • | The labor operations that are rarely used, approximately 80%, will continue to use straight time until 25 warranty claims have been received. Once 25 claims are paid, the straight time claims will be statistically averaged and become the published
time. |
| • | The low frequency labor operations will be averaged using the process listed above and published in the LTG as they become available.
|
| • | The labor operations in the electronic Labor Time Guide in Serviceline will display .1
hours in hours column. In the SI version of the Labor Time Guide, "ST" will be displayed in the hours column. The reason
for the difference is because the electronic version in Serviceline cannot display non-numeric characters. |
| • | Labor operations currently showing .1 hours such as wiring repairs and 9995 labor operations will still be handled as they are today. |
| • | Based on dealer requests for review and inaccurate data submitted, GM reserves the right to perform a time study on any labor operation that is currently published as an average and adjust the time accordingly. |
Straight Time -- Retailer Guidelines
The following should be included in straight time:
| • | Time to use SI (Service Information) |
| • | Actual repair or part replacement time |
| • | Time to reprogram/re-initialize, as required |
| • | Time to obtain parts from parts department |
| • | Time to obtain and use essential tools |
| • | Repair verification as indicated in the service procedure |
| • | Time to move the vehicle in and out of the technician's stall |
| • | Time for disposal of the replaced part |
The following should NOT be included in straight time:
| • | Time to define and document customer concerns, including customer road test |
| • | Symptom diagnostic time associated with a repair must still be submitted with the appropriate 9995 labor operation and related to the repair labor operation |
| • | Post-repair quality checks, including road tests, not performed by the technician |
| • | Time for parts department to obtain part from SSPO, another retailer or a parts supplier |
| • | Time to review completed repairs with the customer |
| • | Technician inefficiency, excessive personal time, time waiting for another repair, etc. |
| • | Tasks deemed service management responsibility per the Saturn Service Policies and Procedures Manual |
Straight Time Documentation
| • | Technician must obtain a separate clock time for each repair, including the beginning and end time for the repair. Multiple repairs on a vehicle will require separate clock times for each repair. |
| • | Documentation of time and technician number must be recorded on the hard copy of the customer service order. |
| • | Unlike straight time use on other platforms, service management authorization will not be required before the repair is started. Service management will be expected to manage their technician's use of straight time to ensure they are following the
straight time guidelines. |
Other Labor Hours (OLH) Usage
OLH should not be used along with straight time unless an unusual repair, such as a broken bolt, is encountered.
Claim Submission
| • | The labor operation number submitted should match the repair cause or the labor operation that is the closest match to the cause of the repair. |
| • | Straight time hours must be submitted in the regular labor hours field.
Do not submit as other labor hours (OLH). |
| • | Each labor operation will have a labor time ceiling which should be adequate to complete the repair. If the ceiling is exceeded, the claim will require wholesale approval. Inquiries concerning the ceiling for a particular labor operation should
not be made to the Retail Reimbursement team. The excessive amount of time needed that causes a labor operation to exceed the ceiling will need to be discussed with your Field Consultant |
| • | Wiring repair labor operations and 9995 labor operations will still be submitted as they are today with .1 hours in regular labor hours and additional time in OLH. |
Vehicles Involved
The straight time process may not apply in total to some new Saturn vehicle launches. If a vehicle shares a platform with a previously launched "Straight Time" vehicle, GM reserves the right to publish labor times resulting from the study and
averaging activity on comparable content from the model with an earlier introduction date. Example: the Saturn Sky will be included in the previously introduced Pontiac Solstice SI Labor Time Guide. Times for comparable content, studied or averaged, based on
the Solstice will also apply to similar content on the Sky.
