Evolution of Collision Repair

Featured on ABRN - March 2021

Most collision repair facilities that I visit have planned for the future that they had anticipated, yet things aren’t working out as expected. Why is there a disconnect between what they thought would happen and what is happening? The way they were taught to think may work well when the future is predictable, but not so much in the world as it is now. As we have seen throughout the last year, the world can change radically. Have you considered what is happening right now to our industry and prepared your shop for the future?

Consolidation began years ago and it will continue which changes the competition in many collision repair markets. Despite the collision repair industry’s large mergers in recent years, there are plenty of potential mergers and acquisitions that could yet take place.

Technology has transformed every part of collision repair industry and will continue to change the old business model as well as create new exciting opportunities. From the vehicle anatomy itself, to the tooling and equipment required to manage OEM certifications, estimating, parts ordering, inventory management, software management, to the notification of vehicle damage to collision facility. Vehicles continue to change drastically with the introduction of computerized components and modern electronic systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already impacting the process of estimating. Shop owners are quickly becoming aware of how this is affecting their business and how their facility must operate within this new environment.

Diagnostic pre and post scans should be mainstream. This scanning process has the potential to uncover necessary operations and parts that otherwise may not have been captured in the estimate. With calibration following the OEM’s requirements, collision facilities can expect more opportunities for repairs. The shops of the future will require a full-time recalibration and scan technician. Now, with mandatory pre and post scanning on most vehicles, the cost of the repair will rise as complete discovery of the systems electric damage is uncovered.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and the push towards autonomy are flooding shop production floors and estimating bays faster than operators can even retain the necessary information.  Every OEM is offering ADAS advancements to their vehicles. This means more cameras, sensors, computers, calibrations and advanced technology will be showing up on your production floor. All this includes automatic parking, parking sensors, front-rear-passenger side or 360-degree cameras, wave sensors, adaptive cruise control, blind spot safety warning, convenience keys, door chimes, lane assist, tire-pressure warnings, back up cameras and sensors. Every vehicle requires thorough research and data gathering as part of the standard estimating routine.

The technician skill set will change as will the qualifications for estimators and parts staff.  As vehicles now become connected devices on a network, the collision shop will shift to be part of a software and service model. The lack of trained technicians as well as the lack of knowledge has been detrimental to the industry. Due to COVID -19, many technicians rely on virtual training. An instructor can be anywhere in the world and your technicians can access the required training and refer to it at any time. This is cost effective as there is no down time for travel, no travel expenditures and immediate hands-on training can occur at your facility.

The OEMs have made bold predictions for the advancement of Electric Vehicles (EV) and their future developments. Collision facilities should be familiar with the capability of EV including their performance, various high voltage battery technologies and safety. EV is vastly different than the combustion engine and will require new training, space and specific tooling for your technicians.

Telematics is already grounded in the industry. This has a huge impact on how collision facilities bring new customers through their doors. In the event of a vehicle accident, the car manufacture will steer the damaged vehicle to a certified collision facility as it will be the first to gain the critical information from the site of the crash.  The collision related claim notification and repair decisions will be triggered automatically. The OEM will receive vehicle accident information even before the insurance company does. This connectivity creates a direct customer relationship with a collision repair facility that may not have existed previously.

In these incredibly challenging circumstances, collision repair facilities should recognize the need to adapt and become an advocate for your customers’ vehicle repairs. A huge step in making your business more resilient is to embrace and meet the changing needs of your customers. Successful businesses persist through challenging times, they develop creative solutions to complex challenges and many evolve into new business models – the evolution of collision repair.

Judy Folk is the Automotive Business Services Marketing Manager with Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes. She has over 32 years of automotive industry experience and is responsible for assisting collision repair facilities globally improve their performance and enable them to become profitable and productive in this changing economy.