Good repair planning is becoming critical in ensuring today’s vehicles are repaired safely, efficiently and profitably. 

As we head into a new year, it is important for collision repairers to take stock of where they are and where they want to go. Within our industry, changes and trends continue to rapidly evolve, which is why it is so critical to stay ahead of the curve.   

The sustainability factor 

With 2025 almost upon us, a key topic within our industry is sustainability. Within this framework, we also need to ask ourselves what steps we are taking to reduce our environmental impact, plus how it ties in with other major parameters such as profitability, staffing, training and new technology. 

It is also important for us to grasp the realities of our sector today. Firstly, severity continues to increase due to vehicle technology, however, shops can contribute to controlling severity while also having a positive environmental impact by adopting a repair versus replace approach or using alternative parts when prudent and allowed by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).  

Additionally, prior to performing those repairs, they must ensure they substantiate and document everything that is required to repair that vehicle to OEM standards, and that all this information is contained within the repair plan. Also, each part and operation of the repair process must be fully identified and documented once completed. 

Compensation considerations 

While advancing technology is affecting average repair severity, increasing labour, training, equipment and overhead costs are affecting the cost of running and maintaining a modern collision repair facility. The repair planning and documentation process is not only required to ensure technicians perform complete, safe, and quality repairs, but is also the blueprint for proper invoicing to ensure these repairs can be done profitably.

Collision centres need to consider a range of factors to build an efficient and profitable repair plan. We must go beyond the obvious things like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibrations, such as recognizing that many OEMs require destructive testing on practice welds prior to welding on the actual vehicle. Additionally, many replacement panels require multiple attachment methods, or multiple welding machines and welding processes, each requiring separate set up and destructive weld testing.

While average severity can be useful for recognizing and predicting trends, we should question its relevance when determining the correct cost to repair individual vehicles.

Appropriate time 

Given the amount of time and effort proper repair planning requires, coupled with the cost of required training, software and information access, the industry should consider repair planning as a separate centre of operations required to maintain its own profitability. Estimating staff also need to be given appropriate time to perform these duties, which may mean negotiating more realistic upload times in some cases. This in turn may require more estimating staff to meet volume demands, bringing full circle, the need for estimating as a separate profit centre.

Additionally, the lines between industry segments are becoming blurred, and the most efficient facilities are starting to encompass collision, mechanical, glass, wheel alignment and ADAS calibration either in-house or at their own separate facility. While the investment is large, predictability and profitability improve by controlling workflow throughout the repair and gaining synergies on software, training and administration.

Fundamentally, good repair planning not only improves efficiency, but it helps ensure that complete, safe and quality repairs can be performed on every vehicle. In turn, this enhances the reputation of the business in the eyes of all stakeholders, including the insurer, OEM and most importantly, the customer.