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Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.
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Assured Performance Develops Technology to Provide Shop Accountability Scott Biggs, CEO of the Assured Performance Network, recently responded to our article from last month (OE Certifications, John Eagle Case Raise Questions of Accountability) to share what his company is doing for its member shops to help ensure they don’t end up like John Eagle Collision. Assured Performance is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that was created specifically to assist consumers identify certified collision repair providers that meet OEM requirements to properly and safely repair the next generation of vehicles using advanced materials and technology.
Q: A:
What did you think about the article?
Your article was a good callto-action, but it really didn’t offer a viable solution. Well, we have made huge strides in that regard and that’s why I wanted to respond to the piece. We’ve made a significant investment in technology to try and give our shops the ability to control and deliver a better quality output. Tell us about the technology you’ve developed to add accountability and transparency for your network members.
Q:
Five years ago, we approached several IP companies and other tech companies to build something, and they all said no. So, years later, we decided to build it ourselves, actually hoping that some other companies would predictably try to build something better once they saw it. This year, we are finally seeing some other companies coming up with pieces of the puzzle in an attempt to emulate or improve what we’re doing, and that’s fine because it just feeds the need. There are three main reasons and benefits for having this app, which we call our Quality Assurance and Control System (OE-OC). For one, if you think about the John Eagle case, how does a shop mitigate their liability exposure and avoid it from happening to
A:
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them? There are shops out there right now that are scared by this landmark case and are looking around for a solution. By law, you want to make sure as a shop owner that certain things take place. First, that all your technicians are following OE repair procedures and second, that everything is documented so that you have some sort of proof if you ever end up in court. Third, shops obviously don’t want re-dos, because that can cost them a fortune. If you have shoddy work going out the back of the shop, you’ll have a lot of unhappy customers and DRPs as a result, so shops are already motivated to do quality work for obvious reasons. The response from shops about the OE-QC system has been very positive, but now the challenge is to get their technicians to use it. It’s an integration process that will probably take a year or even more to get shops to use it on an everyday basis. As other companies come out with their own versions of this system, we have no issues with that. If someone has a better product in this space, we’re happy for them. We did it because it was desperately needed at the time, but we know it’s not going to be the only solution. We now require our member shops to adopt this tool or another tool that is functionally equivalent to cover them with documentation and prove that their technicians are following and using OE repair procedures. As a shop owner, you want to cover your act. [You want to] have accountability from your technicians and produce a better quality product—it is really that simple. So we built this tool and tried to keep it as simple as we could, because we know that if it’s too complex, no one will use it. [We decided to build] something that could allow the shop to quickly and easily identify what their technicians are doing through a limited number of clicks and by taking a few photos of the repair process. We also decided to create a quality checklist for all jobs based on the vehicle and the OE procedures that were used in the repair. We made it easy for technicians to be
MAY 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
assigned to a repair then document it all right in their hands. It’s very seamless and feeds to the smart app easily, plus it’s all electronic and based on the shop’s data available to them through their management or estimating system. We built it, and then we streamlined it and finally realized that we needed to develop a system where specific technicians can be assigned to specific jobs based on their skill sets. So we created that part of the app and released it two days after the John Eagle case was announced during our annual conference in Scottsdale, AZ. It was just serendipity, but the timing is indeed significant. If we wanted to charge shops for this app, it would cost them thousands of dollars every year. But because we internalized the cost of it and made it part of our certification, we’re able to give it to our certified shops at no cost. So now the shops will have the tools
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they need as OEs and insurers begin to jump onboard. As an example, General Motors recently announced that output quality documentation is fundamental to its future certification program. Our shops now have access to at least one tool to help them.
Q: A:
Tell us more about your repair compliance app?
This app transforms the shop’s estimate repair line information into an interactive checklist on the technician’s smart phone, tablet or desktop. Then in just seconds, the technician can use simple touch commands to take photos and provide other documentation as they follow OEM repair procedures in the proper and safe repair of any vehicle. It allows management to review and approve the technician documentation See Shop Accountability, Page 50
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