ESTIMATE vs. BLUEPRINT
A Better World
While our world may never be perfect, it will improve if we blueprint repairs to find unseen damage and parts prior to beginning a repair.
Blueprinting will result in reduced cycle time, improved compensation, improved CSI and increased sales.
OLD REPAIR METHODOLOGY
THE ESTIMATE
Insurance Approval
In addition to Able Body Shop's estimate, a representative from your insurance company may inspect your vehicle and prepare an estimate. Prior to beginning the repair process, we'll make sure our estimate agrees with the insurance company's figure as well as with the repair procedures needed to fix any damage. At times, a vehicle may be evaluated as a total loss and no repairs will be needed.
Disassembly (Teardown)
Occasionally we find additional damage after a vehicle has been disassembled for repair. When this happens, we take photos of the damage and contact you and/or your insurance company to approve any additional repairs. We'll also generate a supplement to your original estimate to cover additional repair costs.
Ordering Parts
We will order any parts needed for your vehicle's repair to make sure they are delivered in a timely fashion. Occasionally, we may need to place a special order for parts which can add time to the repair process.
Frame Repair
We use a sophisticated Car-o-liner system to carefully and accurately measure, analyze, and align the frame of your vehicle to restore it to its original factory specifications.
Body Repair
The body repair process involves replacing any damaged exterior parts as well as any necessary metal finishing.
Paint
Empire’s Paint Shop uses a computerized paint-mixing system to match your vehicle's paint color perfectly. To ensure the best adhesion possible, we sand down the area to be painted, masking and priming it for refinishing.
Reassembly
Once repairs are complete, we reassemble any parts that were removed and/or repaired. We then check to verify that your car is structurally sound and ready for delivery.
Detail
In addition to giving your vehicle a complete interior and exterior cleaning, we test-drive it and do a quality control system check to make sure everything functions correctly and the repairs have been completed successfully.
Completion
When your car is ready for pick up, your damage appraiser will meet with you to review your invoice and answer any questions. Our goal is to make sure you're 100 percent satisfied with our work.
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WAY TO BETTER REPAIRS
BLUEPRINT
No Hocus Pocus
It’s not magic, but simply spending more time creating a complete and accurate damage evaluation results in faster repairs, reduced headaches and improved efficiency. This process is called “blueprinting” the repair.
We need to look no further than the front of our own shops to see how our damage evaluation processes cause us problems. The customer comes in asking for an estimate, we write the estimate in the parking lot, order parts and begin dealing with the insurance company. Sometimes, the drive-in insurance adjuster writes the estimate in the parking lot, the customer brings it in, and we order parts and schedule the repair.
In either case, the problem is that the estimate was written in a parking lot. Our supplement ratio provides stark testimony about the efficiency of the current standard estimating practice. Once the vehicle arrives for repair, the technician begins working, then stops to make a list of operations and parts that were missed on the initial estimate. The job is put on hold for insurance approvals and supplemental parts orders. Wasted technician time, increased estimator workload and production inefficiencies are the result. Oh yes, the last-minute missing part problem is buried in there somewhere, too.
Details, Details
In construction, a blueprint tells a contractor and his workers exactly how to build a house or building. Everything is spelled out or drawn in detail. Each of the individual workers can see exactly what he or she is supposed to do by reading the blueprint.
Blueprinting a collision repair is simply creating an estimate that’s so detailed that the technicians who repair the vehicle can see exactly what they’re supposed to do and exactly what’s needed to repair the damaged vehicle. Every part, clip, material and operation is listed in the blueprint. Not included P-page operations should also listed, even if they’re not going to be paid for by the insurance company or the customer.
A blueprint is much more than an estimate – it’s a complete and accurate representation of everything required to restore the vehicle to pre-loss condition.
Why Write Estimates?
The estimates could have been written by adjusters or shop estimators. They could have been created under a DRP or for a drive-in estimate. And we see them every day.
In seminars, I’ve asked the question, “Why write estimates?” The answers are usually the same:
• to place a value on the repair;
• to determine if the car is repairable;
• because the customer asked for it;
• the insurance company required it;
• to sell the job; and
• to tell the technician what to do.
So we write estimates for a variety of legitimate reasons, but problems arise when we try to repair the vehicle according to the estimate. To write a complete and accurate damage analysis, or blueprint the repair, we should understand that the damage analysis should be part of the repair, not the sale. Shop estimators should focus on selling first and damage analysis second.
There are times that writing an estimate is required. But if we try to sell first, then perform the damage analysis, we’ll be in a better position to create a blueprint. Repairing the vehicle from a blueprint will result in reduced cycle time and improved compensation for all involved.