Why its important to implement
Legal compliance requires documentation retention for warranty and liability protection. Proper filing prevents payment denials and legal issues.
Legal compliance
Most accident repairs are carried out by the body shop on behalf of a work provider and is generally under a legally binding agreement for the work to be carried out in a high quality and safe manner so that the vehicle will react in another accident the way it was engineered to do so from new. This will ensure that occupants of the vehicle are safe in the event of another accident. Vehicle manufacturers give a warranty for the body structure, and this includes the paint work for aesthetic reasons and to protect the body from corrosion. Throughout the process of assessing, gaining approval and then repairing the vehicle there are a number of documents that must be retained as evidence that the business carried out the work and to protect it from any claims that may come in the future in the event of a claim that work was not carried out or at least not carried out correctly. By collecting and storing these documents in a BMS or at least an electronic filing system the business will have clean and neat way to make sure they have these important documents in place and easily assessable for the required number of years.
Required documentation
Documents: Photos of damage, repair stages and additional damage, Original estimate, additional estimates, official approval notifications (including additional approvals), parts invoices, sublet invoices, ADAS calibration certificates, EV repair certificates, repair certificates, steering geometry documentation, quality check sheets, vehicle check in sheets and body alignment measurements.
Business Impact
Profit at risk from payment denial and legal issues, OEM warranty problems, excessive administration time searching physical documents.
Profit
If the business cannot prove that it has carried out all work and show all documentation, payment may be denied
Profit
If the business cannot prove that it has carried out all work and show all documentation, business could face legal issues if it cannot prove with documentation it carried out all work as agreed with the work provider
Profit
If the business cannot prove that it has carried out all work and show all documentation, business could face OEM approval issues if it cannot prove with documentation it carried out all work as agreed with the work provider, as the OEM may reject body warranty
Additional Administration Work
If there is any kind of request for paperwork for a job and everything is not stored in the BMS or electronic storage system administration staff may spend many hours looking through physical documents, spending time on this instead of other needed work
Overall Business Impact
Profit is affected through multiple channels: payment may be denied when work cannot be proven with documentation, legal issues may arise when agreements with work providers cannot be substantiated, and OEM approval issues may occur leading to rejected body warranties. Additional Administration Work increases significantly when paperwork requests require staff to spend hours searching through physical documents instead of focusing on other productive activities.
action steps
Invest in BMS system, implement documentation storage processes for all staff, regular compliance checks with enforcement.
Quality Control
Regularly check that this is being carried out for every job, strong internal warnings if policy not followed once established.
Process Standardization
Implement process for all VDA's and office staff to store all documentation in the BMS.
System Implementation
If it has the software but does not use it to collate and store all documentation then this must be implemented as soon as possible.
Technology Investment
If the business does not have a BMS it should invest in this software.
Related tasks
Milestone:
04: Production Management Optimisation