Repair standards stir debate at CIC

The issue of repair standards surfaced again at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting January 25 in Palm Springs, Calif.

Based on comments during the open microphone session, most believe that an additional standards organization is not needed and CIC should focus on how to deal with gaps in existing repair standards.

Several repairers and those representing repairers’ interests said that repair standards exist in the form of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) repair standards.

“Does CIC recognize that OEM repair standards are the recognized repair standards? ” asked Jim Sowle, body shop director of Sewell Lexus Body Shop of Dallas.

Several repairers in the crowd stood in unison and said “I do.” Sowle’s remarks preceded a repair standards advisory committee panel discussion.

George Avery, conducting his first CIC meeting as chairman, explained that this has been an ongoing issue of discussion at CIC going back several years.

“There are gaps in the OEM repair processes,” Avery said. “Repairer processes evolve quicker in the field than the OEMs can keep up with.” Part of the committee’s work is trying to address gaps in OEM repair standards.

“Then let’s focus on closing those gaps, not on creating new standards,” Sowle said.

Jeff Hendler, CIC administrator, said the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) was created to deal with gaps in the information provider’s databases.

“We don’t need a third party to create standards,” Hendler said. “We have OEM procedures, let’s use them. We don’t need a third party to create repair standards.” After the meeting, Hendler said, “Repairers have the ability to find correct repair procedures through the Internet.”

Scott Biggs of Assured Performance Network agreed there are gaps in repair procedures and said some OEMs don’t even have published repair procedures. “In that case, go to I- CAR, Biggs said during the meeting. “They are the central point to address repair standard gaps. They have an apparatus in place working with OEMs to close the gaps.”

Brett Bailey, owner of a CARSTAR-branded collision repair shop in Kansas City, brought up a standards issue that he said often creates friction between repairers and insurers.

“There are processes and procedures that are in the information provider databases that the OEMs do not recommend, and repairers get pressure (from insurers) to perform.” Bailey said frame sectioning and frame repair issues are examples of those. Repairers who make repairs that are not endorsed by the OEMs could be held liable if their repair fails in a future crash.

Doug Craig, the collision repair manager in technical service operations for Mopar, said Chrysler is dedicated to getting its recommended repair procedures out to as many repairers as possible.

“We want to get these recommended procedures out and we offer them free of charge,” Craig said. “We know there are gaps and we need feedback on where gaps exist. Get your questions about gaps in repair procedures to the insurance adjusters. We will take questions from insurers, who will filter the questions.”

Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, said, “Standards have already been established. We need solution sets that get us to support the standard that has been established. We need to support the work of the OEMs, collision repairers and I-CAR and other entities that are working on this. Anything that doesn’t support that is a little bit distracting.”

Avery thanked everybody for their input. “The comments made today are very compelling," he said. "We are gathering information. In our April CIC meeting I want to say, ‘OK, here’s where we are. Let’s move forward from here. ‘“