May 16, 2018—General Motors (GM) and Mitchell plan to introduce a strategic plan for the new GM collision repair certification program. Last year, GM announced the program is expected to launch in 2018, and this week, the company spoke with FenderBender to explore some more details of the program.
Mitchell will act as the administrative program on GM’s behalf and offer tools including cloud-based estimating with integrated repair procedures, scanning, first notice of loss (FNOL), assignment dispatch, and more, said Jack Rozint, senior vice president of sales for the repair group within Mitchell International.
With an official announcement of the program to come soon, FenderBender asked John Eck, collision manager for wholesale dealer channel and customer care and after sales for GM, to clarify what shops can expect.
1. How does this program specifically differ from GM's relationship with Assured Performance Network (APN) before?
Our relationship with APN currently is around our Body Shop Rebate program, which allows shops to earn a rebate on orders that are submitted with 100 percent genuine GM parts. APN currently runs a collision certification program, but it is not a program that GM certifies, but rather recognizes as an industry program.
2. What major takeaways will the program offer body shop managers?
GM has taken feedback from shop owners and managers into consideration to create a comprehensive program that will take into account many aspects that aren’t being measured today with OEM certifications. This certification repair network will measure shop practices, such as performing pre- and post-repair scans, pulling and using OEM repair procedures, performing necessary recalibrations and conducting quality-control checks.
Shops will then be scored based on these measurements that will be available to GM customers when collisions occur through OnStar. This will help GM customers decide where to take their vehicle for repair.
3. Has GM had a certified collision repair program before this?
In 2016, GM launched the Cadillac CT6 Aluminum Repair Network, which is a certification program specifically designed for dealers and shops to repair the aluminum structure of the Cadillac CT6. Since then, GM has been working on developing a comprehensive program that applies to all GM vehicles for both dealers and independent repair facilities. This program is unique in that it will be the first in the market that is dynamic and metrics driven.
4. Will shop owners be required to send their technicians to outside training? If so, what are the details of that?
The program will require network shops to have I-CAR ProLevel 2 certification with the intention to go to ProLevel 3 by 2020. We’re also looking at ensuring that the shop has the correct processes in place for the technicians to complete a safe and proper repair and making sure that not only are the technicians completing the training for the repairs but also that the work is going to the technicians who are trained for the work.
5. When will the program finally launch?
We expect to launch the program later this year.
