Quick question: What customer doesn’t want their properly-repaired car returned as fast as possible, and what insurance company doesn’t want to limit their exposure to rental vehicle costs?
The answer: They all do. Everybody wants things as soon as humanly possible. That’s never going to change.
But cycle time reductions can’t be based on simple mandates to go faster or work harder. And that leads me to this challenge: If your estimators are still working in the office, then your shop is not blueprinting or repair-planning for today’s vehicles, and you absolutely are not going to get that vehicle back to your customer as quickly as possible.
A complete repair plan, one that will allow that vehicle to move continuously from the start of repairs to the end without delays, cannot be prepared in an office. It has to take place at the vehicle, with an experienced estimator and A-level technician fully disassembling that vehicle.
Notice that I said an “A-level tech.” You need someone with experience, knowledge, good judgment, and an understanding of all the complex systems. It’s not just “taking the vehicle apart.” It’s meticulous disassembly in order to identify 100 percent of the damage.
Based on what I see myself, and in talking with others and reading, I think it’s a fair statement that only 10 percent of shops today are repair-planning effectively and efficiently. As much as has been written about it, as much as it has been talked about it, as much training as there’s been, only a small portion of the industry is doing it 100 percent of the time. Many say they are. But when you get into these shops, you often still find ratchets turning counterclockwise after the vehicle is in-process; they haven’t done 100-percent disassembly.
Here’s where I see shops going wrong:
- They’re not identifying all the ADAS equipment and scanning for DTC codes on the vehicle before they otherwise touch it. From the exterior, today’s vehicles don’t look radically different from those in the past. I think that too often has us looking at them still as mechanical machines rather than electromechanical machines. They’re totally different animals. We’re still just thinking about frame machines, paint booths and welders, when we should be thinking more about computers and electronics – the “smartphones-on-wheels” that are coming into our shops.
- They’re not pulling down all the OEM requirements for the specific make, model and year of the vehicle. Just because you have the procedures for the 2019 version of a vehicle doesn’t mean you have them for the 2020 version, even if there’s been no body style change. Calibration and other technology requirements can change. This data research time has become significant and should be billed out. But even when it’s not, you’re responsible as a professional to make sure the car is 100-percent safe when returned to the customer. And don’t presume your local dealer will know all there is to know; they’re not always up to date.
- They’re not thinking about today’s parts-related challenges. Even before the pandemic, parts supply issues have increased. If you haven’t identified every single part you will need for that vehicle before repairs begin, even one or two missing parts can easily extend your cycle time.
- They don’t have the right processes in place. I believe that today’s vehicles will put a deep cut into our industry, uncovering the shops that have good processes and those that don’t. Complete blueprinting still requires good communication between the front of the shop and the production area. It requires good systems and process checks that ensure everyone has the specific information needed for each particular vehicle. Training is an important start – but to rely on training without very tight processes in place exposes your business to great risk.
The good news is that overcoming all these shortfalls will improve your cycle time. Does documenting all the needed processes also offer an opportunity for more revenue? Sure. But this isn’t just about getting paid. It’s about getting the repairs done right the first time. Even in instances where you are not compensated directly for doing that, you are indirectly rewarded through improved cycle time — which is something every insurance company and customer wants from you.
