When my profile was run in Collision Repair magazine it was titled “Challenge, Change, Commitment.” These three words can still be used to describe the state of our industry. 

The collision repair industry has continued to become more challenging, pushing business owners to re-evaluate their facilities to ensure they are positioned for success in their markets.

With more demands being met by collision repair facilities, profit margins shrinking and technician shortages occurring across the country, the strong players in each market will continue to meet the challenges they face.

Change has been a constant in all of the years I have been in this industry.  And even more changes are on the horizon for collision repair, with new VOC emissions legislation, web-based marketing and business solutions, new ways of thinking (such as “lean” processes and principles) and new performance metrics. Those owners who accept the changes and adapt will find many opportunities to prosper.

Commitment is the common thread between those business owners who will continue to be successful in our industry. Although a shrinking number of facilities across Canada seems inevitable, the progressive facilities will commit to embrace change, to invest in training, and to continuously improve their business operations.

The collision repair industry will continue to evolve and change over time – that is the only thing that we can be absolutely certain of.

The automotive collision industry is one that has changed significantly in recent years and continues to change at a rapid pace. 

Although drivers often lament about the increased volume of vehicles on the road and the increased number of bad drivers, the most notable change in the industry is the decline in volume of business.  One of the main reasons is that drivers are more cautious of their surrounding and are involved in accidents on a less frequent basis.

A significant factor is the quality of vehicles on the road.  Today’s manufacturers are producing high quality vehicles with high safety standards and fewer paint and body issues.  Rusty automobiles are a thing of the past.

The baby boomer generation is also not looking after their vehicles as well as generations in the past.  In some cases, owners are not repairing their vehicles and continue to drive them while they are damaged.  There is also an increase in the amount of leased vehicles on the road and drivers are less inclined to spend money on costly repairs for vehicles that do not belong to them. 

There has also been an increase in the number of collision centres in the marketplace as well as alternatives to the traditional collision centre.  For example, there are dent technicians and mobile paint services that repair vehicles for less cost than the traditional collision centre.  In addition, a number of leased vehicles are returned to the manufacturer who distributes them to the Auction.  The Auction repairs many of the vehicles in-house.  The increase in competitors in the marketplace has driven down profits of most collision centres.

The increased cost of insurance has also hurt the collision industry.  As mentioned, a number of people choose not to repair their vehicles and this is mostly due to their fears of increased insurance premiums.  Others do repair the vehicles, but insist on proceeding without notifying insurance and seek large discounts, often referred to in the industry as Customer Pay. 

A number of insurance companies are seeking ‘partnerships’ with collision centres by requesting and receiving large discounts based on volume of work.  A number of insurance companies are also ‘right sizing’; a practice of eliminating collision centres that previously had DRP status.  Again, this has driven profits down for most collision centres.

As a result, the automotive collision industry is one that requires a major fix for itself.  Most of the body technicians and painters have not seen pay increases in 20 years.  In fact, finding skilled technicians going forward will also be a major problem.  The younger generation is not motivated to work in this industry and not providing pay increases for decades doesn’t help.  Upgrades in new technology are nearly impossible based on the slim profit margins currently made.  A number of changes in this industry are required immediately to ensure that all parties - collision centres, insurance companies, and drivers - benefit fairly! 

I think that the biggest change we have experienced in my region in recent years has  been the new Collision Repair Insurance Agreement (CRIA) put out by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). It  has resulted in improved trust and working relationship between the insurer and the collision repair shops.

Another result that we have seen is in increased control of the repair process and the opportunity for improved cycle times and CSI. The administration download has resulted in a large increase in front office paper work, but for us the positives brought about by this far outweigh the negatives at this point.

The recent increase in labour rates is   a definite positive for the industry in British Columbia, however they must continue to be increased if collision repair facilities are to survive and attain the return on investment that our industry deserves and requires.

With the constant technological changes and impending critical technician shortage, we must be able to have profitable shops with top wages paid to our employees to keep them in our industry and attract new people.

The trend toward customer pay has lessened. I think that this is likely due to both insurers and repairers educating policy holders that they are able to make a collision claim with little or no increase to their insurance premiums.

Although a definite date hasn’t been set, we do know waterborne paint is coming. I think this will force out many of the smaller shops who are unable to make the investment required to stay in business.

There have been many positive changes in the time since I was featured on the cover. 

As a Director of Collision Solutions Network, I’m pleased to say the network has enjoyed continued expansion and growth.  When we started out there were just four members.  We now have over 40 collision repair facilities in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on board making it the fastest growing collision repair network in Canada.

At the shop level, we’ve done a very good job of nurturing a culture of continuous training. I try to do my research and make sure sales staff attends any courses that would be beneficial and expand their knowledge and skills. The results speak for themselves. We’ve had no employee turnover at all in the last three years.

I believe that this supportive shop environment has enabled us to provide excellent customer service for our clients. Our monthly Customer Satisfaction Index is always 95 per cent or higher as calculated by AutocheX.

A new project that our shop has undertaken since 2004 is the Benevolence Program.  We refurbish a vehicle that has been written off by an insurance company and donate it to a family in need in the community.  We have done this for the past three years and it is a truly rewarding experience.  It gives us the chance to do what we do while bringing suppliers and companies we work with together for a cause we can all feel great about.  Most importantly, we make life easier for a deserving family and give back to the community that supports our work.

It has been 20 years since I opened my first shop in 1987 and I’ve seen many changes.  I’m pleased to be able to continue to do what I can to help the auto collision repair industry grow and provide quality service.