Workshop Controller

Etheridge Ford; City of Maroondah; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Etheridge Ford in Ringwood / Lilydale is seeking a Service Workshop Controller to oversee day-to-day flow of work through the Service Department. You will act as the central point of control between Service Advisors, technicians, the foreman and road tester, ensuring repairs are allocated efficiently and completed on time.

You will monitor progress, escalate risks to customer promise times, and provide regular updates.

Qualifications

• Experience in workshop control or service coordination.
• Ford dealership experience highly regarded.
• Proficiency with dealership management systems advantageous; training provided.

Responsibilities

• Allocate repair orders to technicians based on skill level, capacity, job complexity, and estimated time.
• Sequence and prioritise jobs to meet customer promise times, courtesy vehicle/loan car commitments, and parts availability.
• Monitor job progress throughout the day and reallocate work as required to respond to delays, technician availability, or unplanned issues.
• Ensure all repair orders are correctly logged, updated, and closed out in a timely manner.
• Provide Service Advisors with regular updates on the status of vehicles, including delays and revised completion times.
• Act as the link between the workshop and the front counter to keep customers informed and times realistic.
• Track progress against allocated times and manage the workshop to meet promises.
• Work with the Workshop Foreman to coordinate technician allocation and quality control.
• Liaise with the Road Tester to schedule road tests and ensure vehicles are ready for collection.
• Maintain records across Pentana Solutions, Infomedia Triage, XTIME, Ford internal systems, and Service Scheduler.

Skills

Workshop control

Service scheduling

Communication

Organisational skills

Tools

Pentana Solutions

Infomedia Triage

XTIME

Service Scheduler

Ford internal systems

Job description

The Service Workshop Controller is responsible for the day-to-day coordination and flow of work through the Service Department workshop. This role acts as the central point of control between the Service Advisors, technicians, workshop foreman and road tester, ensuring repair orders are allocated efficiently, work is progressed and completed on time, and any risks to job completion or customer promise times are escalated early. The role is critical to workshop productivity, technician utilisation, and the overall customer experience.

Key responsibilities

• Allocate repair orders to technicians based on skill level, capacity, job complexity, and estimated time, ensuring an efficient and balanced workload across the workshop.
• Sequence and prioritise jobs to meet customer promise times, courtesy vehicle/loan car commitments, and parts availability.
• Monitor job progress throughout the day and reallocate work as required to respond to delays, technician availability, or unplanned issues.
• Ensure all repair orders are correctly logged, updated, and closed out in a timely manner.
• Provide Service Advisors with regular, accurate updates on the status of vehicles in the workshop, including delays, additional work identified, and revised completion times.
• Act as the link between the workshop and the front counter to ensure customers are kept informed and promise times are realistic and met.
• Track job progress against allocated times and proactively manage the workshop to ensure vehicles are completed within the promised timeframe.
• Work closely with the Workshop Foreman to coordinate technician allocation, technical escalations, and quality control of completed repairs.
• Liaise with the Road Tester to schedule and prioritise road tests, ensuring completed vehicles are verified and ready for customer collection without unnecessary delay.
• Operate and maintain accurate records across all required dealership systems, including Pentana Solutions, Infomedia Triage, XTIME, Ford Internal Systems, and Service Scheduler.

About you

• Previous experience in a workshop control, service coordination, or similar automotive dealership role (Ford dealership experience highly regarded).
• Strong understanding of workshop operations, technician skill sets, and job scheduling.
• Proficiency with dealership management systems (Pentana Solutions and/or equivalent DMS), Infomedia Triage, XTIME, Service Scheduler, and Ford internal systems is highly advantageous; training will be provided where required.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple jobs and competing priorities simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to liaise confidently across technicians, advisors, and senior management.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach to identifying and resolving workshop issues before they escalated.
• Sound understanding of automotive repair processes and realistic job timing.

About us

Etheridge Ford (Autopact Victoria Pty Ltd) is a Ford dealership with a Fixed Operations – Service Department located in Ringwood / Lilydale.