How Spark Car Wash Achieved 99.9% Uptime With Coast

Maintenance isn’t just about fixing things when they break; it’s about staying one step ahead. At a rapidly growing business like Spark Car Wash, a single day of downtime can cost thousands. But when you’re relying on a handful of disconnected apps, spreadsheets and gut feelings, you’re already behind.

That’s the position Spark found themselves in before they adopted Coast in 2023. This is the story of how Spark chose a different path, implementing a maintenance solution that delivered an all-in-one platform for work orders, checklists and parts inventory. The result? A documented 99.9 percent equipment uptime, increased efficiency and a maintenance process built to scale.

The Problem: A Patchwork Approach to Maintenance

Before starting Coast, Spark’s maintenance strategy was a fragmented mix of systems and manual communication. Work orders were a mess of “emailing, calling, slacking, texting” with no single source of truth, says Michael Roberts, district manager for the car-wash company. It was simply unsustainable as the company grew from three to eight locations.

They previously used Jolt as their maintenance management software, but Ryan Easter, formerly the company’s VP of operations, described it as “antiquated” and “difficult to use.” This lack of an integrated platform was a major pain point, especially regarding asset inventory and parts management. The team couldn’t tie spare parts to specific work orders, making it nearly impossible to track inventory costs or ensure the right part was available when needed.

Easter needed an all-in-one solution featuring checklists, work order tracking and asset inventory management that he could monitor from his office. He also needed it to be scalable with remote reporting capabilities.

“The car-wash industry is behind in a lot of areas. We have to purchase app after app to piecemeal a system together, and I’m not comfortable with settling for that. I wanted one app that could do multiple things well,” Easter says.

The Search & Implementation: From Jolt to Coast

Spark began a search for an all-in-one platform that could handle their growing needs. He spoke with other software solutions like MaintainX, but it lacked the comprehensive asset inventory solution his team needed. Finally, after an extensive Google search, he found Coast.

He was “blown away” by Coast because it offered a comprehensive solution for work orders, asset management and team communication, allowing him to replace several disparate apps. The key factor was Coast’s ability to seamlessly connect different functions — from work orders to checklists to parts inventory — into a single, smooth workflow.

“What Coast does that no one else could promise was offer a one-stop shop. It could even take over Slack because the communication platform is so good,” Easter says. “It offers work order management, asset management, preventive maintenance, checklists, vendor management and the communication aspect. So, I didn’t need to piecemeal all of this stuff together.”

The implementation process was a tale of two realities. For the three original locations that had used Jolt, the change was a “tough transition” at first, admits Roberts, simply because employees weren’t used to the new process of scanning QR codes and completing steps. However, for the five new locations that implemented Coast from the start, adoption was “super easy.” Ryan added that the implementation was a “stark contrast” to their previous experience with Jolt, noting that the Coast team was very “supportive and hands-on.”

The Results: The Metrics That Matter

Since adopting Coast, Spark has seen a significant, measurable impact on its maintenance operations. Examples of these positive trends include:

• Increased uptime: Spark’s machine uptime has improved from a range of 99.5 to 99.6 percent to an impressive 99.8 to 99.9 percent. This seemingly small jump makes a “big difference when it comes to hours” of potential revenue loss, notes Roberts. He credits this improvement to having a better tracking process for work orders and checklists to prevent future issues.
• Centralized work orders: The company has logged and completed between 600 and 800 work orders across all locations. Work orders are now completed daily, a major improvement from the past when issues were often “forgotten or weren’t documented,” says Roberts.
• Actionable data: For the first time, Spark is able to track its parts inventory, with 30 to 50 parts being logged at centralized locations. The ability to tie parts to work orders has helped them better track inventory and accountability. Easter also notes that Coast helped them decrease their parts inventory costs through better tracking.
• Improved communication: Coast’s unified platform has eliminated the need for fragmented communication channels. The facilities team now has a daily process where they can check all issues and prioritize them, leading to a major improvement to their workflow.

Customer Advice: Why Coast Is the Right Choice

When asked what advice he would give to others considering a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), Roberts emphasizes that Coast is “a really easy platform to use.” The QR code system, in particular, makes it simple for everyone from maintenance technicians to associates to log issues. Easter also highlights how Coast is a “scalable solution” that’s particularly beneficial for businesses with five or more locations.

Plus, Roberts notes the power of Coast’s equipment maintenance software: “The ease of use, the communication’s been well. The tracking portion of it, amazing. And then … how everything ties in together really just puts that full solution I think of what we’ve been looking for and probably what a lot of other people are looking for as well.”