Collision repairers have access to multiple free tools, resources to help their business

July 21, 2017
The collision industry also has access to some amazing websites and tools that can offer shop owners the information or other help they need to solve a challenge – all at no cost.

Although industry trainers and consultants can bring a wealth of information to collision repair shop owners and their employees, they understandably expect to be paid for the service, value and tools they bring to the table.

But the collision industry also has access to some amazing websites and tools that can offer shop owners the information or other help they need to solve a challenge – all at no cost. The creators or sponsors of these free tools often say they are underutilized. So check out this collection to see how many of the following complimentary resources might help you and your business.

Assistance for those in need

Have you or your employees been displaced or lost tools because of a storm or natural disaster? The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) is a non-profit organization that offers individuals in the industry assistance after a catastrophe strikes, providing cash, equipment, tools or other resources to collision repairers in need.

Earlier this year, for example, the Foundation helped an employee of a collision shop in West Virginia replace about $2,500 in household appliances she lost as a result of severe flooding in the area. In 2015, the Foundation helped replace a technician’s tools that were stolen while he was deployed overseas in the military.

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To donate to the CIF, or to apply for assistance or to let the Foundation know of members in the industry in need, visit the CIF website: collisionindustryfoundation.org/.

Free guide to OEM information

There’s not a ton of actual OEM repair information at the www.OEM1stop.com website, but on a single page the site offers convenient links to every automaker’s technical repair information website. Just click on any of the 37 automaker logos on the website, indicate whether you need collision or mechanical repair information, and you’ll be taken directly to that automaker’s information website.

The website also gives users quick and free access to each of the automaker’s position statements on such topics as vehicle scanning, wheel reconditioning, clear coat blending, use of alternative parts, etc.

“Ask I-CAR” for OEM information

If you’ve visited one of those automaker’s website and just can’t seem to find the collision repair information you need, your next stop should probably be I-CAR’s “Repairability Technical Support Portal” (https://rts.i-car.com/). It’s loaded with collision repair information – plus a unique service to help you out if the information you need still eludes you.

The “Ask I‑CAR” feature is a way for users to email or call I‑CAR with a technical question for which they haven’t been able to find an answer. One user, for example, told “Ask I-CAR” that he couldn’t find the sectioning procedures for the B-pillar on a particular vehicle; within minutes, the I‑CAR representative had checked the OEM information website and found that, given the type of steel used for that B-pillar, no sectioning procedures are available. All the questions and responses processed through “Ask I-CAR” are posted in a searchable (by year-make-model) database on the site.

If the procedure you ask about is not available, I-CAR will attempt to get information from the automaker. If the procedure is available but only through the fee-based website operated by the automaker, I-CAR will refer you to that site.

Although accessing some of the “Ask I-CAR” information and other features on the portal requires a fee (ranging from $26 for a day-pass, to $1,790 for a shop’s annual subscription), those who attend I-CAR training regularly can get free access. The information is available free, for example, to Gold Class shops, Road-to-Gold shops, Platinum individuals, and anyone who has trained four times with I-CAR in the previous 12 months.

Free help with the estimating systems

Think a labor time in one of the estimating databases is inadequate? Unclear about what’s included and not-included in a labor time? Think there’s other information that’s incorrect or missing in an estimating system? It’s time to visit the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) (www.DEGweb.org).

There, anyone in the industry can quickly post an inquiry related to the estimating system databases. Launched in 2007 and funded largely by three repairer trade associations, the DEG is designed to get your inquiry in front of the appropriate estimating system provider for a response. Those responses – many of which include changes to labor times – are posted in the DEG database. That database now includes more than 10,000 inquires.

Although such inquiries can always be made directly to the estimating system provider, the DEG simplifies and standardizes the inquiry process. It involves little more than filling out a brief form identifying the vehicle, the area or part of the vehicle involved, and including one or two sentences explaining what information you feel is missing or inaccurate in one of the estimating databases. Photos can be submitted as well. The DEG gives the entire industry access to the information the estimating system providers offer in their responses.

Although the entire process can sometimes be completed in just one or two days, some inquiries require more research (the database of inquiries on the DEG website lists the resolution time for each).

What have DEG inquiries helped accomplish? Just a few examples:

            • Inquiry No. 1901, submitted in 2009, was triggered when an estimator felt the labor allowance for removal and replacement of vehicle name plates seemed insufficient to cover cleaning up all the adhesive that is left behind after removal. Mitchell International confirmed that the time does not include cleaning and re-taping of nameplates or adhesive exterior trim.

            • Inquiry No. 5601, filed in 2013 was about missing information in Motor’s estimating database (which is used by CCC Information Services) for the 2013 Scion FR-S; it resulted in 39 parts for that vehicle now being identified in the database as single-use or non-reusable.

            • Inquiry 10480, submitted in early 2017, resulted in Audatex increasing the labor allowance for replacement of the wheelhouse on the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250.

The DEG website offers other free information as well. No estimator should be without a copy of the estimating guides (often referred to as “P-pages”) for all the estimating systems. Understanding these guides is a must in order to write a complete and accurate estimate in the system(s) you use, or to audit an estimate that has been written in a system you don’t use. All three can be downloaded at no charge from the “Estimate Toolbox” section on the DWG website.

Find out “Who Pays for What?”

Ever been told by an insurer, “You’re the only one charging for that,” or “My company doesn’t pay for that”? Find out if that’s true or not (spoiler alert: It probably isn’t.) by downloading the free “Who Pays for What?” survey reports produced by Collision Advice and CRASH Network.

Industry trainer and consultant Mike Anderson of Collision Advice said just completing the four different “Who Pays” surveys each year can be a good reminder of nearly 100 “not-included” labor operations and other items that shops may wish to include on estimates and invoices when appropriate.

For each of those “not-included” line items, the surveys ask shops to report how regularly they are paid by the top eight largest national insurers. A “Who Pays” survey earlier this year, for example, found that 52 percent of shops (based on more than 600 who responded) are paid “always” or “most of the time” when billing to mask jambs and openings. Yet the survey also found that nearly 1-in-5 shops said they’d never billed for that procedure.

“If you don't itemize this on your estimate, you are doing it for free,” Anderson said. “And that’s okay if that’s a business decision you’ve chosen to make. But when we ask in the surveys why shops have ‘never asked’ to be compensated for a procedure, nearly 75 percent of them acknowledge they either weren’t aware it was a ‘not-included’ item, or they just never thought to ask. That’s what we’re trying to address with the surveys.”

The free reports break the survey responses for each procedure down by insurer, by region and by whether shops say they are or aren’t a direct repair shop for each insurer. The reports also include analysis and resources to help shops better understand and use the information presented.

Shops can sign up to be notified about the quarterly surveys, or download the results of previous surveys, by visiting www.CRASHnetwork.com/collisionadvice.

Lots of free tools and forms

As a former shop owner, Anderson’s website (www.CollisionAdvice.com) offers a treasure trove of sample forms and estimating and shop management tools – all at no cost (the site does ask you to provide an email address to access the resources).

Need a sample of a form to use when checking in a vehicle? A form to use to issue a written disciplinary warning to an employee? Wording for your written warranty? Tools to help with your negotiations with insurers over estimate line items? It’s all there.

More free help with “not-included” items

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) regularly updates what it calls “Not-Included Operations” charts. The free publications are designed to ensure collision repairers consider all of the possible operations when they write an estimate calling for the installation of new or used parts.

The documents are included on the “Free Industry Tools and Resources” section of the ASA website (http://asashop.org/tools-resources/free-industry-tools/).

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) also offers estimating help with its free “Guide to Complete Repair Planning,” a 24-page handbook to assist shops generate “the most accurate repair plan…to minimize the need or expense of a supplement.” The document is broken down by part and body type. For a “fender,” for example, it lists 18 items that may be part of the replacement process, such as removal and reinstallation of a mud flap or fender liner. It can be downloaded at no charge at Abrn.com/SCRSguide.

Free consumer information to share via social media

Looking for car care tips and other useful consumer information to post to your shop’s Facebook page or share using other social media tools? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) offers a website (http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/) packed with such information ready for use, all at no charge. The site can help you offer customers information on distracted driving, driving tips for elderly drivers, child car safety, etc.

The OEM Roundtable also has created a consumer website (www.CrashRepairInfo.com) shops can use to help educate their customers. It includes information on how to choose a body shop; definitions of common terms used in collision repair and auto insurance claims; automaker position statements on reconditioned wheels, vehicle safety systems, counterfeit or salvage airbags, etc.; and videos such as Honda’s demonstration of a mistimed airbag’s impact on a watermelon.

Free help from paint manufacturers

Want to know what the manufacturer of the line of paint you spray says about the need for shops to do final sand and polish? Or about blending clearcoat? SCRS has collected statements from all of the paint companies on these and other topics that may be helpful for shops in their negotiations with insurers. They’re all posted to the association’s website (http://scrs.com/index.php?id=refinish-manufacturer-technical-information).

Keep up with legislation

Unsure what the laws in your state are regarding use of non-OEM parts? Need to file a complaint with your state insurance regulator? Want a quick way to contact your members of Congress? All of this information is available at the ASA legislative website: www.TakingTheHill.org. Sign up at the site to be kept informed about legislative or regulatory issues impacting the industry, often with links to ready-to-sign letters that will be sent to your district’s elected leaders.

State-by-state regulatory help

The Collision Industry Conference (CIC) “Definitions Committee” in recent years developed a website to help shops meet and comply with federal, state and local regulations. The website (www.ciccomplyandsustain.com) doesn’t do a lot to simplify compliance, but it can help shops track down the state-specific information needed about environmental and worker safety regulations.

Grants and scholarships available

If you know of a promising future technician currently or planning to get collision repair training at a local school, check out the wealth of scholarship opportunities specific to this industry at the Collision Repair Education Foundation website (http://collisioneducationfoundation.org). The various grants and scholarships can often assist students with tuition, fees, books or tools.

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