Client Story: Profitability and Safety Go Hand-in-Hand at Kelly BMW
Frequent KPA Contributor and KPA Consultant, Gloriana Corman, helps Kelly stay committed not only to customer satisfaction but also to the safety of their 65 employees.
Client Profile
Kelly BMW is a local, family-owned business serving the Columbus, Ohio area for over 40 years. Kelly BMW brought KPA on board over 15 years ago to help ensure the safety and compliance of the dealership. Using KPA’s workplace safety and compliance platform, Vera Suite, Kelly BMW’s safety team keeps up with the day-to-day challenge of running a safe and efficient service center.
They use Vera Suite to assign and track online safety training, manage OSHA logs, and store Safety Data Sheets which helps the overall safety program run smoothly.
On-Site Inspections
The safety team also works closely with KPA’s Ohio-based EHS Consultant, Gloriana Corman, who regularly conducts on-site inspections, helping them identify potential areas of risk throughout the dealership. They treat Gloriana’s visits as if she is an OSHA Inspector.
According to Director of Fixed Ops, Bill Fyffe, “When she comes in and gives us a list during her quarterly visit, I have my key managers, my shop foreman, my dispatcher, facilitation manager, my service manager, parts manager, and myself sit in on the safety meetings because I want them to see what’s going on. I want them to take an active role. I’ve got 65 employees with 53 cars a day going through so we’re trying to make sure we keep things as safe as possible.”
During the on-site inspections, Gloriana identifies what the Kelly BMW team is doing right, and what they need to adjust to maintain safety. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly BMW had to ramp up their training on Personal Protective Equipment—ensuring all employees are following guidelines for wearing masks and gloves. Gloriana provided the dealership with KPA’s PPE Focus on Safety. KPA’s Focus on Safety programs are self-directed training packages dealerships use to provide their employees training on a specific topic.
Managing Incidents
In the rare event an accident occurs, the team logs the event in Vera Suite, and if it is OSHA reportable, can produce the appropriate OSHA forms at the touch of a button. If there are ever unusual circumstances, they call Gloriana to talk through the issue and ensure they are logging the incident correctly for the 300 OSHA report.
“I love having the portal that you have to do the OSHA 300 Report. It makes it so easy. And if OSHA ever asks me for it, I print it out with one stroke of the key and boom, I have a form to send to them. I don’t have to keep logs. I don’t have to chase after things… it’s all integrated into Vera Suite.”
Benefits
With the training and the constant reaffirming of all the things that KPA offers, Kelly BMW has been able to keep employees safer.
“I know that when we have had accidents, we’ve reacted quicker, we’ve reacted in a safer way. We’ve got the MSDS sheets right at our fingertips. We have placed eyewash stations strategically throughout the shop. We make sure employees take the training, so they understand how to use these things.”
With KPA’s help, Kelly BMW is a safe place to work and the direct and indirect savings from lower workers comp costs to fewer days missed to lower equipment repair costs has helped the dealership improve the bottom line.
Thousands of dealers nationwide, including 8 of the top 10 dealership groups, rely on KPA’s expertise.
Our automotive-specific proficiency and content provide consistent and reliable EHS, human resources, and sales and F&I compliance solutions:
- Facility audits
- Deal jacket audits
- EHS program management
- Online and on-site compliance training
- Hiring, onboarding, and employee retention tools
The combination of KPA’s software platform, EHS and F&I consulting services and award-winning training content helps dealers minimize risk so they can focus on what’s important—selling and servicing cars. For over 30 years, KPA has helped 10,000 + clients achieve regulatory compliance, protect assets, and retain top talent.
