By Jeff Sanford
Newport Beach, California — September 17, 2017 — The latest Guild 21 conference call hosted two guests from BWM to discuss the company’s Certified Collision Repair Centre (CCRC) program.
The guests were Marcos Ehmann, Manager of Wholesale Body & Paint, and Josh Fahlbush, Insurance Manager for BMW of North America. Fahlbush outlined some of the goals BMW has for shops.
“We want to cut down on cycle times. And increase touch time. All of this leads to a more efficient process and higher customer satisfaction, which is the goal of our program,” said Fahlbush. “It’s all about the customer. We are a premium car manufacturer. We have to turn what is a troubling event, an accident, and turn that experience into a good experience.”
To achieve this, the company puts a big emphasis on training.
“When it comes to our certification program the three most important things are training, training, training. Every tech has to be trained. It’s not just the body man, but painters, estimators … everyone,” said Fahlbush.
Within North America, BMW now has training centres in Cliff Lake, New Jersey and there’s one in the southern region of South Carolina. There are also two training centers in California, in Oxnard and Ontario, and one in the Detroit area.
“We’re expanding the number of training locations. We want to provide in as many locations as we can. We want to make it as convenient as possible to get there. If you’re CCRC or not, classes are free of charge. You’re responsible for getting there. That’s all,” said Fahlbush.
The auditing process for those in the program is also rigorous. “When the field team is there they spend the majority of their time in the shop. They’re checking previously completed repairs. They’re checking documentation and making sure it’s up to our standards. Everyone has completed every level of documentation necessary. When they walk through the shop they seem and they know what’s right, and what’s not right,” said Ehmann.
BMW balances the teams so they have a good balance between the insurance side and the repair and body shop side.
“When they are in the shop, they can see what’s right, and what’s not, and they can call foul if it’s not right. We also use pictures of each shop. No one reads a .pdf report. But we make a picture of the outside, the paint area … and from our desk in New Jersey we can see every level of the business. Even [head office in] Germany can see this,” said Ehmann. “Transparency is very important. If we want to be sure we are delivering the service we are promising the picture gives us a very clear idea of that. These are updated every audit.”
Fahlbush admits the program requirements can seem like a steep hill to climb, but this is the cost of offering a premium product. “It’s a heavy load but we feel it’s the most responsible thing to do in the way we treat our customers and interact in the repair space. Number one is the customer, the end user,” he said.
Over the course of the hour long teleconference Ehmann and Fahlbush went on to touch on other topics in the collision space:
• On bonding and riveting as a required repair procedure at BMW: “The bonding and receiving system was created so that we can confirm that the repair is done right and will hold up in a subsequent accident and so that it is like the strength of a new vehicle. It takes the risk out of repair. If it’s welded you have to wonder if the weld is set up right. Is someone having a bad day? This is also about corrosion. We’ve done a test over 12 years … and that’s been decisive in continuing with this. There’s no question it’s superior in terms of corrosion protection down the road. It comes down to crash strength and corrosion,” said Ehmann.
• On pre- and post-repair diagnostic scans: “We don’t have a particular statement when it comes to diagnostic scans. We don’t need one, as scans are written into our repair procedures. Our process tells you when those need to be done. Scans are documented in repair instructions. If it’s something that needs a scan, it’ll be in the repair instructions,” said Fahlbush.
• Considering the environmental cost of trim panels, can repairs be made to vinyl and leather trim? “BMW doesn’t have anything specific on leather or trim. There is no restriction against repairing it. However, there are no instructions on how to do it. Unlike other repairs, which are thoroughly documented, when it comes to trim, there isn’t a specific policy. It’s not part of the regular repair process,” said Fahlbush.
