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Letter to the Editor

Eleven for 2011

Here is our list of some things we would really like to report this year.

Rather than a look back at the year that came to a close in December, INSIGHT has chosen to look forward, with our list of eleven things (in no particular order) that we would like to see in 2011.

1. Use of only certified non-OEM bumper parts

   The dramatic videos we have seen in 2010 toldl the story: Non-OEM bumper reinforcement beams shattering, parts not made of ultra-high-strength steel like the corresponding OEM parts, crash-tested vehicles responding differently when non-OEM bumper parts are used.

   No one seemed to argue the fact that a lot of non-OEM bumper beams, brackets, and energy absorbers do not match the OEM. In many cases, those differences cannot be spotted by those installing the parts, but they make a difference in the lives of those subsequently driving those vehicles.

   Two standards and certification programs now exist for these critical parts. It is time for insurers to require that only non-OEM bumper-related parts – even if not all crash parts – be certified by NSF International or the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) if they are to be used to repair a vehicle.

2. Easier access to repair information

   Repairers in the United Kingdom can access a fair amount of automaker and industry-developed repair information right within their estimating system, right while they first assess the damage. Here in the U.S., it took pushing from the three national repairer groups via the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Database Committee just to get the information providers to include in the estimating databases the types of metals used in various vehicle parts. The repair procedures and needed information are out there; we just need an easy-to-access way for estimators to have them as part of the damage appraisal process.

3. Fewer restrictions on vendor choice

   The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) is working on a matrix showing which insurer direct repair programs (DRPs) require use of a specific vendor for such services as rental vehicles, estimating systems, or customer service indexing. Such requirements may seem to offer insurers savings by driving business to their preferred vendor. But when a shop has to use different vendors for a particular service solely to meet requirements for different insurers, it only adds costs and inefficiencies to the system. We would like to see insurers move toward a more hands-off approach on managing shops’ vendor choices.

4. Improved data privacy

   SCRS and CIC are on the right track raising awareness about data privacy issues in the industry, particularly as the information providers shift toward “cloud computing,” meaning that shop estimating and management system data is stored on the information provider’s computers, not the shop’s. A growing number of shops are concerned about who has access to that data and how it will be used, and are finding out they may have to pay to get access to data they had thought was theirs if, for example, they decide to change which of the Big Three system providers they are using.

   One step in the right direction we would like to see this year is a shift by the information providers to the “BMS” standard developed by the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) as a replacement for the “EMS.” Under EMS, virtually all of the information from an estimate is transferred, for example, to a parts vendor when placing an order. But the BMS standard would enable a shop to choose which data from an estimate is transmitted. It would be an important step on the data privacy issue, one that requires shops to push Audatex, CCC, and Mitchell to make the move.

5. More cars given away

   The National Auto Body Council (NABC) has developed a good process for helping shops, insurers, and industry vendors come together to refurbish vehicles for families and non-profit groups in need of reliable transportation. The annual “Recycled Rides” program (www.recycledrides.org) generates a lot of positive media for the industry. But getting the right number of shops and insurers to participate to maximize the program has held the NABC back from getting the car give-away count into the hundreds each year. Get involved in 2011, and help make it happen.

6. DEG Inquiry No. 6,000

   The Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) is one of the industry’s success stories. Thanks to its creation and backing primarily by the three national repairer groups, the DEG provide a quick, effective way for anyone to question a labor time or point out other needed changes to the estimating systems. Although the 1,000 inquiries the DEG has received through its website (www.DEGweb.org) in each of its first three years has been impressive, the fact the pace of inquiries is not accelerating each year is an indictment of repairers’ lack of awareness and use of this valuable resource.

   Those who use it regularly say the inquiry process can take less than five minutes. Stop griping about the estimating databases, and make it a point to submit an inquiry about the first questionable time or lack of adequate information you come across each month, and maybe the DEG can end 2011 saying it processed 2,000 inquiries this year (for a total of 6,000).

7. A reinvigorated NACE

   It is easy to take pot-shots at the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and NACE organizers for decisions they have made about the show in the past. It is easy to say SEMA offers the trade show the industry needs – tucked along side the specialty wheels, audio equipment, and custom toys that SEMA’s mammoth show offers as well. Not to take anything away from SCRS’s efforts at SEMA, but we would argue the Collision Repair Industry needs a show of its own, if only for the revenue it generates for such things as having someone representing the industry in Washington, D.C.

   Whatever criticism you might level at ASA, the association will clearly have fewer resources to benefit the industry if NACE fails. There is no question that NACE needs to reinvent itself. Perhaps starting with a new location and time of year in 2011, as recently announced (Orlando, Florida in early October), but the industry also should consider whether the revenue it contributes to SEMA is being retuned in any tangible way to the industry.

8. EPA fines

   As in the past, the nation’s quality shops have stepped up to meet the new EPA refinish regulations ahead of the fast-approaching January compliance deadline. By spring, it will be time for the EPA to make sure those who are not doing the right thing for the environment – and competing unfairly against those who are – end up regretting that decision. The enforcement of the new regulations does not have to be punitive, but it needs to give those who have not invested in the right equipment, refinish products, and training a firm reminder that there is a cost for not doing so.

9. A continued uptick in driving

   Let’s face it: The less time Americans spend on the roads and highways, the less work there is for shops. “Vehicle miles traveled,” the measure of motorist activity, has been rebounding in 2009, hitting a higher level in August, for example, than any month in 2007. The 12-month average this fall was less than two percent below the pre-recession record-high. Having that upward trend continue in 2011 would indeed be welcome news.

10. Industry standards more forward

    Formalized standards for shops and repairs are still years away in the U.S., but they could become much closer to reality in 2011. A small group that met in Las Vegas in November hopes to hire a temporary project manager to take the work done to date by a CIC committee and develop a plan, timeline, and budget for completion of formalized standards, and for the creation or designation of an entity to oversee and implement adoption of the standards within the industry.

    There is not enough spelled out yet to know if this group is heading in the right direction, but it is clear the all-volunteer effort has probably taken it as far as it can.

11. A ban on rebuilding

    Okay, this one is a long-shot. But in theory, a state could follow the lead of New South Wales in Australia by prohibiting a vehicle that has been declared a total loss by an insurer from ever being registered again. Such vehicles therefore would be available only for parts or scrap metal.

    Certainly the value of salvage would probably drop, but fewer vehicles would be be declared total losses, the quality and supply of used parts would jump, the number of “backyard rebuilding” would drop, and insurers would be less likely stuck reinsuring vehicles that head back on the road after being partially or even dangerously poorly repaired.

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