Only put cars the shop can work on the board
A trade that has not delivered is still in the customer's driveway. An auction purchase that has not arrived is not on the lot. Put either on the board and the count reads far larger than the real work.
Add a car when it is physically here and someone has decided where it goes, recon or wholesale. Give not-yet-arrived cars their own status so they can be found without being counted.
Use stages that follow the work
- A stage for work that has not started.
- Stages for work in progress, including waiting on an approval.
- A stage for parts waits, and another for work at an outside vendor.
- A finish line that means ready for the front line.
Make parts visible
What is on order and when it lands is usually in one person's head. Give the parts desk a note and an ETA on the card, and let them write it without letting them move the car to frontline ready.
Record the handoff to detail
Record each step of the trip with a time, including the moment detail has actually received the car. A group chat asking where the car is stands in for the missing middle step, and it is the one people skip.
Measure the cycle, not the count
The number that tells you whether the shop is healthy is the average days from the repair order opening to frontline ready, using completed cars only. The count of cars on the board mostly tells you how many were added.