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Letter to the Editor

Ford Launches Certified Collision Repair Network with Certification of Jack Demmer Collision Center

“In addition to providing customers with top-quality vehicle repairs, this new program is designed to meet the needs of both the insurance industry and dealers who want to enhance and improve their current operations,” said Dan Townsend, Ford’s CCRN Program Manager. “Under development and testing for the past year-and-a-half, the pilot program presently involves 27 dealers in three markets – Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati. The national roll-out will begin later this year and will ultimately include approximately 450 certified dealers across the U.S.”

The Jack Demmer Collision Center in Dearborn, Michigan, is the first shop to be certified in Ford’s new Certified Collision Repair Network. Jack Demmer Lincoln Mercury has one of the largest collision repair facilities in the nation with more than 25 technicians working in a state-of-the art 35,000 square foot facility. Demmer’s entire team, led by manager Christopher Diroff, has successfully worked to meet tough certification standards since Ford first began testing the program last year. ,p> “The team at Jack Demmer Lincoln Mercury really sets the standard for the rest of the dealers who will join the network,” said Townsend. “With CCRN, our customers can rest assured that their Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers will repair their vehicles to factory standards.”

Before a dealer can participate in the CCRN program, Ford experts inspect each collision repair shop to ensure that it meets tough acceptance criteria. During the rigorous certification process, which follows an intensive ten-week training and program implementation stage, an independent third party company inspects estimating procedures, repair quality, equipment availability, training levels, mandatory government licenses, and customer satisfaction data. Ford’s CCRN is also unique in that shops are required to have and use a computerized unibody and frame measuring system, providing both pre- and post-repair dimensioning reports tied to the overall process quality control program.

In an extra step to assure quality repairs, the independent experts, at the time of certification, perform a detailed formal inspection of three “in process” vehicles. Additionally, overall attractiveness in the customer waiting areas, work area organization, and lighting levels in shop areas are also evaluated. All of these checkpoints, among other criteria, must meet Ford’s standards before shops are certified. Finally, to meet ongoing quality control standards, dealers must pass annual CCRN re-certification standards.

Ford’s certification program focuses on providing both vehicle owners and their insurance companies with a combination of high-quality repairs and high customer satisfaction. Key to the proven success in the pilot phase of the CCRN program is a unique process quality control program that provides for an eight-point inspection and quality evaluation during the repair process. The quality process is installed in the shop as a part of extensive onsite training in which all dealers participate prior to certification.

CCRN also requires shops to implement a new process for tracking customer satisfaction data. Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT worked with key insurers and dealers to develop an expanded Customer Satisfaction Indexing program which meets specific Ford requirements. The monthly reports track information by insurer and key quality trends, and targets and compares this information with industry benchmarks. This system also immediately “red flags” any concerns or issues.

Following the pilot phase now underway in Michigan and Ohio, plans call for a region-by-region national rollout in 2004. Ultimately, from its list of more than 1,200 dealers that perform collision repairs, Ford expects approximately 450 dealer-owned body shops to qualify for the new program.

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