Kia of Stockton, a Lithia Motors Dealership, Relies on KPA to Avoid Bad Days

Client Profile  

Kia of Stockton is more than your average local auto dealership. The Northern California auto retailer’s commitment to quality and service has earned it more than 50 5-star reviews from satisfied customers—both those buying cars and those receiving maintenance. 

Then there’s the dealership’s sterling safety and compliance record. When a single incident can lead to legal claims, reputational damage, OSHA penalties, and more, Kia of Stockton sees its safety culture as a key competitive advantage. 

As Service Manager Luc Hoang explains, it’s about what you don’t see—the accidents and instances of non-compliance that don’t happen. 

“It’s imperative that we maintain safety and compliance with both OSHA and corporate,” he said. “It’s one of the most critical things we have to do.” 

Challenge  

The realities of day-to-day operations leave employees stretched thin—and at risk for safety incidents 

“One of the main things service managers overlook is to actually walk the shop and look around,” he said. “You need to spot things that stick out—that are out of the ordinary and require immediate attention.” 

Unfortunately, not every EHS problem that requires immediate attention gets spotted, let alone solved.  

Hoang’s challenge is to convince his team that EHS is always priority number one. 

Hazard communication and labeling present additional risks. 

“I try to make it second nature to label products and not have open containers,” said Hoang. “We’re around chemicals all day long. It can be very hazardous.” 

Although Kia of Stockton has experienced few safety incidents during his tenure, Hoang can recall numerous instances at other jobs.  

“I’ve seen mishaps happening that didn’t need to happen,” he said. “And that was mainly because we didn’t have an advocate there to really tell us, ‘hey, you can’t do that,’ or to teach us otherwise.” 

Solution  

With a well-timed inspection, KPA helps Kia of Stockton dodge a regulatory headache 

To access the perspective and training his team needs, Hoang relies on KPA. Kia of Stockton’s parent company, Lithia, uses KPA’s comprehensive EHS and compliance platform to ensure safety and minimize risk throughout its many dealership locations. 

KPA equips Lithia’s rooftops with online, on-site, and on-call resources tailored for dealerships. The solution includes automated controls and training that accurately identify risks; determine necessary actions to meet EPA, OSHA, and DOT requirements; ensure organizational compliance; and effectively manage HR activities—from hiring to termination. 

Of the myriad tools and services KPA provides, Hoang is particularly impressed with the company’s facility audits.  

“Benjamin was really great with us,” Hoang said. “The inspection he did got us pretty much in line right before the City of Stockton came in. He saved us a lot of money and time, because our inspection logs weren’t up to date. He had to get us all squared away for secondary container inspection and the antifreeze logs. We also got our yellow box organized and ready to go.”  

“When the City of Stockton came in to do their inspection—literally the week after—we had all of our ducks in a row. It was pretty clear-cut and dry—they couldn’t really get us for anything.” 

Result  

“A stronger case” for safety, inside and out 

Hoang considers KPA an “advocate” in two senses of the word. In one sense, he has an internal-facing advocate for his team’s safety. In the other sense, KPA is an external-facing advocate for his dealership in conversations with regulators. 

“If we need to challenge anything, KPA is there to do it.” 

“Benjamin knows his rules forward and backwards and upside-down,” he said. 

Outside of that surprise inspection, KPA’s platform and auditors such as Benjamin also give Kia of Stockton a critical edge in promoting safe workplace behaviors throughout the year. 

“We rely quite heavily on Benjamin and KPA’s training to get us all in line,” Hoang said. “We basically use Benjamin as our safety officer. He comes in and tells us how it is. And when we do our meetings, we rely on Benjamin to give us clarification. The technicians and the employees hear not only from me, but also from an expert who we hired and who knows the rules.”