Industry SOPs: Anything but standard

Jan. 1, 2020
The only way to ensure that procedures are being followed and are improving a business is through an audit or verification process.

There are already standards established that apply to our industry (actually any industry) we could embrace and use. The main one isISO 9001:2000 and soon to be released ISO 9001:2008.

For many years, the collision industry has been creating best practices and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to improve the operation of the collision repair business. The message in most seminars for a number of years has been a standing order for the same. So why is our industry still so far away from adopting standards and practices?

One reason that comes to mind is that our industry has done very little to do it and not just say it. It is very easy to say one has a business systemized and SOPs in place, but few really do. The only way to ensure that processes are being followed and are improving a business is through an audit or verification process. This process must be consistent and continuous. The same is true for repair processes and how the vehicle is returned to the customer. There are a number of programs in the industry that scratch the surface when it comes to this verification or auditing, but none currently provides the consistency or accuracy the industry needs to get it to the next level.

This is due mostly to the fact that our industry has not agreed to standards that hold everyone to an accountable level. These standards must include both business and repair processes. They need to be standards and not just guidelines. They also must be auditable to provide proof.

In the mid 1990s a movement called the Exact Foundation was supposed to create technical standards for collision repairs. These were to become the Bible of the repairs to be performed on an automobile and were to include what shop owners would be paid for. This was a noble attempt at first, but with the ultimate mismanagement of the funding, the industry coerced I-CAR both to pay for what had been accomplished and to continue its development within I-CAR's system of volunteer review.

At the time, some industry leaders thought this was a good fit for I-CAR since the organization had unilateral support from the industry segments. However, if you know the history and development of what eventually became the UPCR, Uniform Procedures for Collision Repair, the project was short-lived and did not attempt to create recognized repair standards, just guidelines.

These guidelines, which the industry's grassroots wanted to become standards, were marginal in substance as a result of a review process that was based on a volunteer canvassing committee. While repairers provided as much of their free time as possible, major insurers had departments dedicated to the review of each procedure. At the same time, the support of manufacturers was very limited.

Being employed at I-CAR at the time, I wondered why anyone would buy the subscription based on the final outcome of the procedures provided. As a few years continued, no one did. Development ceased, and what was completed then was posted on the I-CAR Web site for free. This was, of course, at a huge expense in time and money to I-CAR that was never recovered.

This past year in many industry meetings and seminars there has been a renewed interest for establishing standards for our industry. There have been technical standards revisited and discussed, more emphasis on the development of SOPs for the entire collision repair business, as well as operating standards through an industry code of ethics. This July in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the Repair Standards Committee presented its collective work on the gathering of resources and suggested a direction for development of collision repair industry standards. They have identified some of the key areas of focus and looked at assistance, support and guidance from the vehicle manufacturers and even the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE. This is a great start but not the complete puzzle.

One area still missing is the ability to prove that the business and repair processes are being followed. This ability not only benefits the business, it also benefits other entities, including suppliers, insurers, and most important, the vehicle owner and general public.

To create standards we can audit, we don't have to reinvent the wheel since standards have already been established through the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

There already are standards established that apply to our industry that we could embrace and use. The main one is ISO 9001:2000 and the soon-to-be-released ISO 9001:2008. There are many more as well that can be used and are already available. These auditable quality standards will provide the proof that has been missing and will distinguish between those that just "talk the talk" and those that "walk the walk."

The time has again come to step up and consider the future direction of the industry and create standards that our industry will adhere to. It is not surprising that this need again resurfaced. I'm reminded of a phrase from a Richard Flint presentation that said plainly, "Without resolution ... there is always continuation."

Please e-mail comments, questions and potential discussion topics you would like to see addressed in future columns to [email protected] . For additional information you also can visit www.aeii.net.

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