Documentation of the repair process is as important as the work

July 1, 2020
The liability involved in vehicle repair today means you also need to be able to document that you did so. 

In a previous column, I wrote about my concern that 90 percent of shops and even dealerships haven’t invested in the space, equipment, access to OEM information and trained personnel required to repair vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). They’re lacking in the knowledge and ability to perform the wheel and structural alignment, calibrations and specific road testing requirements that are a critical part of ensuring the vehicle is repaired 100 percent correctly according to OEM requirements. 

This was evidenced to me recently when all but one of the 32 shops attending a recent class of mine acknowledged they didn’t have a thorough understanding and consistent processes relative to scanning, wheel alignment, three-dimensional measuring, dynamic and static calibrations, and vehicle test drive requirements. My conversations with my neighbor’s chosen body shop and her insurer after a recent accident drove the point home to me again. 

For those of you who have made the necessary investment to fully repair ADAS-equipped vehicles: Thank you. You are the shops that are doing things right, restoring the integrity of your customers’ vehicles – and thus their safety. Your commitment will help you weather whatever challenges the economy throws at us. 

But there’s still one more critical step you need to take. It’s not enough to have well-defined processes and procedures that ensure your shop and technicians get it right every time. The liability involved in vehicle repair today means you also need to be able to document that you did so. You need what I call a “courtroom-ready file” that documents exactly what was done to that vehicle. It’s a file that you could use to defend yourself in front of any judge to prove that your people did it right, and that the vehicle left repaired fully and correctly. 

Building that file starts with not just researching the OEM procedures, but also ensuring a copy of those procedures goes into the file to be able to prove to anyone that you did the research needed in order to repair the vehicle as the automaker called for at the time you did it. That research takes time, and it needs to be billed out appropriately. 

A systematic approach to photographs and other documentation while the repair is in-process is also part of building that courtroom-ready file. There are apps and software that can help you do this, but it starts with educating your team about why this is crucial. Software and tools won’t get used if they don’t first understand why the process matters. 

I mentioned in the previous column that my concern about the industry’s ability to repair ADAS-equipped vehicles was inspired in part by some conversations I’d had with my colleague Frank Terlep of Auto Techcelerators, LLC. His company has developed an effective system to help shops toward the end of the repair process, a tool to designed to ensure you perform, document and get paid for necessary vehicle test drives and dynamic calibrations of ADAS. 

But again it’s not the tools you choose to use to build that courtroom-ready file that matter as much as a commitment and well-crafted and well-communicated process to do so. And it can’t be dictated by that old outdated excuse of, “We can’t get paid for that.” There are opportunities in all this to be paid appropriately for the many new and increasingly complex steps involved in the repair of ADAS-equipped vehicles. But first and foremost, you need to do it and to document it. When that customer signs a repair authorization, you are assuming 100 percent liability for a 100 percent correct repair, regardless of payment. 

Be ready to prove that’s what you did. 

Sponsored Recommendations

Best Body Shop and the 360-Degree-Concept

Spanesi ‘360-Degree-Concept’ Enables Kansas Body Shop to Complete High-Quality Repairs

ADAS Applications: What They Are & What They Do

Learn how ADAS utilizes sensors such as radar, sonar, lidar and cameras to perceive the world around the vehicle, and either provide critical information to the driver or take...

Banking on Bigger Profits with a Heavy-Duty Truck Paint Booth

The addition of a heavy-duty paint booth for oversized trucks & vehicles can open the door to new or expanded service opportunities.

Boosting Your Shop's Bottom Line with an Extended Height Paint Booths

Discover how the investment in an extended-height paint booth is a game-changer for most collision shops with this Free Guide.