Studley Green MOT & Service Centre

Studley Green, owned by John Bird, has been operating for around seven years and provides MOT Class 4 and 7 testing, along with servicing for both commercial and non-commercial vehicles. The garage runs with six technicians, seven ramps, and a dedicated MOT station.

As the business grew, the team needed a more structured and efficient way to manage bookings, workload, and customer communication.

The Challenge

Before using TechMan, Studley Green relied on a handwritten diary system to manage incoming work. Jobs were written in manually, and technicians would often choose which jobs to take on, making it difficult to control workload and plan the day effectively.

John explains that this approach made it harder to manage how much work was being booked in and ensure jobs were allocated appropriately across the team.

The business needed a system that allowed clearer scheduling, better visibility, and more control over daily operations.

The Solution

TechMan was recommended by another local garage, who showed John the system in action.

“We had a demo and we didn’t really look at anyone else,” John says.

The onboarding process was straightforward. The team ran a month-long overlap before going fully live, helping ensure a smooth transition.

“The training was good,” John explains. “We did a month overlap and then we went live.”

Since implementation, the team has continued using TechMan without looking back.

The Results

Since adopting TechMan, Studley Green has seen clear improvements across scheduling, efficiency, and customer communication.

• Improved scheduling and workload control:
  Allocating jobs digitally has made it much easier to manage how much work is booked in and how it is distributed across the team.
  “Now we allocate them and it’s more suitable for booking in work and how much work we book in,” John says.
• Time-saving online bookings:
  Online bookings have become an important part of the workflow, particularly for regular customers, reducing the need for manual booking.
  “A lot of our regular customers use online bookings and we don’t have to spend time booking them in manually.”
• Increased work through automated reminders:
  Vehicle reminders have helped generate additional work by removing the need for manual follow-ups.
  “Previously we had to send them out manually… some got forgotten. Now it’s all automatic and it’s really helped increase the amount of work we book in.”
• Parts ordering and data integration:
  Studley Green uses the GSF integration for parts ordering, sourcing around 60% of parts through the system and checking stock availability when jobs are booked in.
  The garage also runs Autodata through TechMan, reducing the need for a separate standalone licence.

Overall, TechMan has made booking, scheduling, and handling work far more consistent and straightforward.

Support & Experience

John describes TechMan’s support as reliable and knowledgeable.

“I speak to the helpdesk staff a fair amount,” he says. “They’re very knowledgeable and I’ve had no issues.”

He also notes that new staff pick up the system quickly, making training simpler as the team grows.

Conclusion

For John Bird and Studley Green, TechMan has brought structure, consistency, and efficiency to the way the garage operates.

From improved scheduling and automated reminders to integrated parts ordering and data access, the system has helped the team manage workload more effectively and make better use of their time.

When asked if he would recommend TechMan, John is clear:

 “Yeah, I would.”