Tim Benson, managing director of multi-award-winning Oldfields Garage, has won the Innovator of the Year Award at The Blend 2026 for developing LiveStandard, a software platform designed to help independent garages standardise workshop procedures and improve day-to-day operations.
The award was presented at the annual independent garage conference and networking event in Birmingham (10th October), following Tim’s session on how independent garages are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to improve business operations.
Developed in response to challenges at Oldfields Garage in Leominster, LiveStandard aims to address a common issue for independent garage owners: too much operational knowledge resting with one person.
“Most independent garage owners know exactly how they want their workshop to run, but they get stuck because all that knowledge lives solely in their head,” said Tim.
“When standards aren’t documented and easily accessible, mistakes creep in, new staff onboarding takes months, and owners find themselves trapped working 60-hour weeks putting out fires.”
LiveStandard is designed to help garages capture their existing knowledge and turn it into consistent working practices.
At the centre of the platform is WorkshopPA, an intelligent assistant that learns how an individual garage operates and structures procedures under the business’s own name and branding. Team members can use the assistant to find relevant procedures and get answers to questions in real time.
The aim is to support consistent working practices, maintain customer satisfaction and speed up apprentice training.
“We built LiveStandard to give garage owners their time and freedom back by turning unwritten best practices into consistent, everyday team habits without the nightmare of writing massive manuals from scratch,” said Benson.
Reflecting on the award, he credited the team at Oldfields Garage, early garage testers and his brother Dan Benson with helping bring the platform to life.
“Katie and Sam back at Oldfields have been absolute rocks throughout, keeping the business running seamlessly and giving me the room to focus,” he said. “Our garage beta testers have generously given up their time, workshop experience and honest feedback to ensure the platform genuinely works in the real world.
“Most importantly, I want to recognise my brother, Dan Benson. His technical capability, dedication and tireless work behind the scenes have been instrumental in turning the concept into reality.
“This award belongs to that entire collective effort, and while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together so far, it really feels like just the beginning of what LiveStandard can do for independent garages.”
LiveStandard will launch with tiered subscriptions starting at £99 with an assisted setup service available to businesses looking to speed up implementation.
Independent garage owners can register their interest and join the waiting list at www.livestandard.co.uk.
