Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU) presented ProLift Industrial Equipment with the Aftersales Service Evaluation and Certification (ASEC) award for implementing a global quality program at the dealership. The dealership achieved the award by implementing process and operational standards to deliver quality and overall superior customer service throughout the dealership.

“We encourage our associates to suggest ideas to constantly improve the processes at our dealership,” said Dave Graffy, president of ProLift Industrial Equipment. “We combine their continuous improvement ideas with the process and standards of the ASEC program to make our dealership run smoother, which gives us more time to focus on our customers.”  

A few of the changes to ProLift Industrial Equipment include adding signs to be aware of parts order cutoff times, creating a process audit team, distributing a quarterly safety newsletter to promote awareness and shared responsibility of safety procedures, and creating a “Wall of Safety” to reinforce why safety is so vital within the organization. The dealership also scored 100 percent in nearly half of the sections that make up the ASEC program.

“Dave Graffy and everyone at ProLift Industrial Equipment really embraced the ASEC program and made significant changes to the dealership,” said Terry Rains, vice president of aftermarket sales at TMHU. “It’s a win for everyone. Every improved process ultimately translates to an improved experience for the customer.” 

The ASEC program is a global initiative to provide Toyota dealers with a blueprint derived from the world renowned Toyota Production System to provide the highest quality service to customers. The benefits of implementing ASEC at the dealership level are enhanced customer satisfaction and retention; improved departmental and dealership efficiency and effectiveness; a safer work environment and implementation of environmental standards based on Toyota’s ISO14001 Environmental Management System. It also can result in less downtime and lower operating costs for both the dealer and its customers.