How to incorporate OEM information into the estimating, repair process

May 1, 2018
Even after putting together the same puzzle multiple times, you still utilize the box lid to assist in the assembly process. We should treat every vehicle repair exactly the same.

Have you ever tried to build a puzzle without looking at the picture to see what it is supposed to look like? A simple project with a simple set of instructions: “You must insert correctly-sized pieces into their corresponding location.” Such a simple process and yet we all look at the “manual” to see what we are supposed to assemble. Even after building the same puzzle multiple times, you still utilize the box lid to assist in the assembly process. We should treat every vehicle repair exactly the same.  

Most vehicles have repair procedures, or manuals for safe and proper repair. These manuals have been designed to ensure that once performed, a vehicle — if wrecked again — will wreck as good as it did the first time. These manuals, so much more important than the box lid of a puzzle, don’t come with the vehicle. They don’t even come with the parts to the puzzle. They must be researched to obtain.

Estimator Justin Weber writes the estimate on a Dodge truck with the repair procedures close by. Utilizing repair procedures is essential to ensuring the estimate includes all that is necessary to perform proper repairs.

Vehicle manufacturers build cars with unique characteristics. One make will not be the same as another make, which is obvious, but even from one model of the same make to another model they can be built differently. Manufacturers change models and their production methods regularly. Some manufacturers even change the production methods during the same model run. This means a vehicle can look exactly the same as a year prior and yet contain completely different metals, attachment methods and have completely different collision characteristics. Therefore, different repair processes for each make, each model and each year are required. Many times, a repair method will evolve on the exact same vehicle; for example, a repair process on one model changed four times in just a year’s time! 

Why is it so important to perform an operation as the OEM has designed? By now everyone has heard of the accident and subsequent judgement that happened in Texas. This was a glaring diversion from the OEM repair procedures, but even a small deviation can have huge implications. Fixing vehicles how they were fixed even a few short years ago can cause massive degradation to the crashworthiness of a vehicle, resulting in increased injury or death. A quick Google search of “crash test on incorrectly repaired vehicle” will show you many videos on crash test comparisons from grossly incorrect repairs to repairs that seem perfectly logical, all showing eye-opening results. 

Why is it so important now, more than ever?  

Construction of vehicles has changed substantially over the past few years. Cars have to be both lighter and safer. The increase in features has increased the weight, yet the mandate for better fuel mileage from the government requires a lighter car. Simply making a car lighter could create issues with safety. Safety requirements have increased as well as the demand from consumers for safer cars. This has created a need for new car design strategies, new materials and radical changes to how vehicles are built.  

A typical vehicle will now have five-plus different substrates of steel, not including vehicles that are a mix of materials like aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber and steel. Different strengths, different thicknesses, all designed to serve a different purpose. The high-strength steels (HSS, UHSS, HSLA, AHSS, etc.) all will be altered when heat is applied to them. Those metals are also stronger than the standard MIG welding wire. This means that any weld, spot or seam, performed with a MIG steel welder WILL affect the strength of those metals. This has created the need for specific replacement or sectioning locations and for the use of brazing, squeeze type resistance spot welding, riveting and bonding.  

Estimator Justin Weber reviews the repair procedures with technician Kristopher Barker. The two have mapped the vehicle and are discussing exactly how the work will be performed.

Consumers have demanded advanced driver systems, advanced comfort features and therefore the computer systems and sensors have exponentially grown. Modern vehicles have an electrical system that looks like a human’s central nervous system. More than 10 computer modules, miles of wiring, countless sensors, tens of millions of lines of computer code, all which are integrated into every piece of a vehicle. Simply disconnecting a battery or unplugging a window switch may require reprograming, calibrating or codes to be cleared. A simple alignment will now affect a vast array of electrical systems far outweighing the four wheels that are being directly affected. There are arguably no repairs that can be performed on a modern car that do not, in some way, affect the electrical system of the vehicle. 

No matter if it's structural pieces, cosmetic parts or electrical components, you must know the proper way to handle each situation. What and how are the correct ways to perform the respective repair? What items can be re-used, which parts have to be replaced, and are there additional operations required outside of the immediately obvious? What, then, is the best way to discover the full repair manual, when should you make the discovery and how do you implement that into your shop? 

The first step to a proper repair is a proper estimate. A repair cannot be performed correctly if the components needed to perform the repair are not received. A step further is nobody wants to perform steps that aren’t being properly compensated. Lastly, no one has the ability to know what they don’t know. If the only way to fix a car properly is to have the parts required, be fairly compensated and know exactly how the work is to be performed, this means we must research the repairs before and during the estimating process. 

Obtaining repair procedures can be done multiple ways. All OEMs, short of two, (owned by the same company) have their own website with their full line of procedures. Some of these sites require a daily, monthly or yearly fee, while others are free. There are also independent companies who compile the OEMs' data. Those sites are much easier to use but can contain outdated material. The OEMs don’t push their data out to these companies; instead, it must be retrieved. The best place to start for OEM data is OEMonestop.com. It’s a webpage that links to all the manufacturer sites. The outside sources are RTS.ICar.com, ALLDATA, Mitchell, and CCC. CCC and Mitchell are both working on integrated solutions that when finished could revolutionize the future of collision repair estimating. ALLDATA also has a great integration piece. 

OEMonestop.com provides access to all OEMs' individual sites, position statements, and crash repair information.

No matter how the data is retrieved, it’s important that you research everything you are doing to every car. The obvious items are welded-on parts, SRS components and mechanical items. The scary items are those that you wouldn’t think to research — such as the interior pieces that once removed must be replaced or the airbags may not deploy as intended. Or a component as simple as a mirror, which once disconnected requires a multitude of processes performed. Or a painted part that can only be painted once or it will affect the sensors behind it. There is no way to know what you don’t know. There is no way to know what is required on each make, each year, each model, and at each trim level without research.  

When a vehicle is brought in for repairs, the first decision has to be if the damaged components can be repaired or must be replaced. If the components appear repairable, then a few questions have to be asked: Does the manufacturer allow this component to be repaired? By repairing this component will I jeopardize the integrity of the vehicle? Will the repairs create a cosmetic problem? Is it cost effective to repair? If the answer to each of those questions is yes, then you can move on to what other parts must be removed to perform the repairs. If the answer to any of those questions is no, then the component must be replaced. The next step is to go to the repair methods. Look up each part starting with the replacement items, moving to the remove and install items and ultimately the refinish items. As you look at each, it may increase the number of items that must be removed, components to be replaced, or calibration/programming required. 

Armed with the repair procedure for each item being worked on, a complete estimate can be written. The estimate should include the necessary materials, hardware and labor to perform every required step on the repair procedures. If the procedure calls for a specific bonding adhesive, then that adhesive must be on the estimate. If the repairs need rivets, one-time-use fasteners, etc. they have to be on the estimate. I-CAR, along with most manufacturers, requires a test weld process on any welded-on part. This process is not included in the replacement or repair of any components and therefore should also be included on the estimate.  

The estimate should mirror the repair procedures, and the estimator should know everything he didn’t know before he started the process. Now a manual for the repairs has been produced. The first step to building the puzzle has been completed. Now the person who is going to build the puzzle needs the “manual,” and they must understand the “manual.”  

When all parts arrive and the job is assigned, it is imperative that the work order AND the repair procedures are given to each technician. The technicians must read that manual and understand it completely. They need to understand each step they are to perform. There may be a language barrier as unfortunately repair procedures are not being written in multiple languages, yet. This may require the estimator or manager to review the procedures and work order with the technicians. Reading through the documents with the technicians is a good idea to ensure that everyone understands what is expected and what will be accepted. 

Once the technicians know what is required to bring the vehicle to pre-loss condition based on the manufacturer, only then can work commence. Throughout the repair process it is imperative that the repairs are verified to be correct. This verification must come from individuals who have read and understand the repair procedures. Trust but verify is the key to insuring a mistake isn’t made. Not following the repair manual could end in the vehicle not performing correctly in another accident. If the vehicle doesn’t perform as designed, increased injury or death could occur. The result of the vehicle not performing correctly can then become a financial burden on the shop and result in criminal charges against the technician who performed the repairs.  

It may seem that the way being requested to perform a repair is more difficult or illogical. To this you may ask, “Have you worked for this manufacturer? Are you an engineer? Do you have any certifications or training to give you the authority to alter the repair methods with certainty of their validity?” If the answers to those questions are no then the final question is “Are you willing to risk someone’s life and your livelihood?”  

Lastly, you must document, document, document. Saving an electronic copy of the repair methods used is imperative. Repair procedures have and will continue to change, documenting the procedure that was available at the time and used is important if it is ever questioned in the future. Photos of steps that were taken during the repairs to prove that the repair procedure was used, test welds performed, and quality checks completed is also key to successfully defending a repair was done correctly. 

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