Fixed ops directors often drown in metrics. Hours per RO, effective labor rate, MPI penetration, etc.
And while most service departments track it all, Damon Egan, service director at Sherwood Ford in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, argues that some operators are either looking too late or looking at the wrong numbers entirely.
“If you're looking at yesterday's metrics, you're already behind,” Egan told Daily Dealer Live host Sam D'Arc.
Driving the news: Sherwood Ford entered 2026 with an ambitious forecast, aiming for 30% year-over-year growth in fixed ops. Through February, they're clocking 42% growth.
The metric Egan credits most is gross per hour.
He said he carries an iPad on the shop floor to track it in real time, via Reynolds & Reynolds paired with myKaarma, so he can make adjustments on the fly.
“It really lets us make sure that the right technicians are getting the right jobs,” Egan said. “And that we're doing the right things on those work orders with the right people to maximize not only the efficiency, but the profitability for the dealership."
The breakdown: The growth, he says, ultimately came from doing more with the cars already in the lane, not from chasing more cars.
Egan restructured his leadership team in December 2025, splitting responsibilities between two assistant managers: one owns advisor development and CSI, while the other owns shop flow.
He said it’s to make sure the operation runs like a production facility with a professional sports organization mentality.
Meaning, plug the right player in the right spot. Technicians who aren't performing at a given position get moved down the lineup, not just managed around.
Between the lines: His store also runs 100% MPI video, but not the way most stores do it.
Instead of asking technicians to film themselves, Egan hired a dedicated videographer.
"Technicians are usually introverted, don't wanna be in front of a camera, and they're using a lot of technical jargon that a lot of customers don't understand," Egan said. "...But if I have somebody with a tire gauge saying, your tires are at 50% vs. 7/32nds, as a consumer, I understand that."
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The result: $588 in average lift per video viewed, with myKaarma's AI-graded video quality scores climbing from the 50s and 60s to the 80s and 90s.
Additionally: Egan also restructured how advisors are assigned.
His team pairs the same service writers with the same customers on every visit, which he says directly drives dollars per RO up, with it currently sitting around $1,100.
"We don't need more customers," Egan said. "We just need to do better with the ones that we have."
Why it matters: Egan’s system allows real-time tracking of output by person, job, and position, and then makes personnel decisions the same day.
And the 42% growth they’ve seen so far is a direct product of that blend.
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