Nearly two-thirds of U.S. collision repair professionals do not always follow a structured repair planning process, according to preliminary OEC survey results.
The Ohio automotive software provider collected responses from more than 1,800 collision repair professionals working at independent facilities and large multi-shop organizations.
Some 63% reported that a structured repair planning process is not followed consistently. OEC’s analysis links inconsistent planning with missed procedures, unbilled work, greater liability exposure and supplements that slow repairs.
OEM procedure research also appears to be taking place relatively late in some facilities. About 40% of respondents reported conducting OEM research during vehicle disassembly. Research completed at that stage can identify required operations, parts and calibrations before production begins.
The figures come as advanced driver assistance systems account for a growing share of collision work. CCC Intelligent Solutions data show calibrations appeared on 28.3% of U.S. repairable estimates in 2025, up almost 6.5 percentage points over two years.
Parts availability ranked as the most common operational problem in the OEC results. Half of respondents selected parts delays as the largest source of difficulty. Another 58% reported an increase in average repair costs during the previous year.
Separate PartsTrader data recorded median delivery times of 7.4 days across all collision part categories in January and 7.1 days in February. OEM parts took the longest to arrive, with median delivery times of nine days in January and 8.7 days in February.
Staffing remained another constraint. Some 37% of OEC respondents reported that an open technician position takes more than 30 days to fill.
The results also identified missed revenue from parts programmes. Some 36% of respondents captured less than one-quarter of the rebates and incentives for which the repair facility was eligible.
OEC provides parts procurement, repair planning, OEM certification and business coaching software and services. The preliminary document promotes those products in connection with the subjects covered by the survey.
