SCRS, ASA, AASP release joint statement on collision repair standards

Jan. 1, 2020

SCRS, AASP, ASA and the Assured Performance Network issued a joint statement officially recognizing OEM vehicle manufacturer published repair procedures as the industry’s repair standards.

ABRN Wire Reports

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and the Assured Performance Network issued and signed a joint statement officially recognizing OEM vehicle manufacturer published repair procedures as the industry’s repair standards. The statement was presented at the Collision industry Network Nov. 2 meeting in Las Vegas.

The statement reads as follows:

“The undersigned organizations continue to be the leading voice of collision repair businesses and technicians across the United States, just as they have for decades. Representing their interests, we hereby recognize published repair procedures, as provided by automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM), as the official industry recognized “Repair Standards” for collision repair. These standards, where they exist, shall be the basis for the establishment of training, testing, repair practices, and documentations.
“Whereas, we acknowledge that OEM repair procedures are incomplete in comparison to the full scope of vehicles and repair operations which exist in the marketplace; the OEM published repair procedures shall serve as the baseline for industry repair standards, with the recognition that further development of procedures will be necessary in areas not covered by published procedures.

“Therefore, we officially ask the board of directors for the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR), to establish within their overall organizational structure, an industry council to identify gaps in existing OEM procedures and develop processes to close gaps, vet industry proposed alternatives, modifications, and additions to OEM procedures. The Council will include volunteer representatives serving at least ASA, SCRS, AASP, and I-CAR.”

While most assume OEM repair procedures are standards by default, it has never been officially established until now. As these groups collectively represent collision repair businesses and technicians across the United States, their official adoption and declaration provides a much needed foundation and focus to the industry’s effort to establish collision repair standards.

Additional information about SCRS including other news releases is available at the SCRS Web site: www.scrs.com.