5 Common Bottlenecks in Collision Repair

The faster your business can provide high-quality collision repair services, the better. Insurance companies and car owners both rely on speedy service to minimize costs and disruptions, and being known as the collision repair center that can get it done makes your business stronger. However, the only way you can become precisely that is to identify and resolve bottlenecks. Keep reading to discover these common bottlenecks in collision repair. 

1. Parts Availability

Specialty parts and parts that are unique to specific makes and models will take longer to source if you don't keep them in your inventory. This is made more difficult when you focus on collision repair, as it's harder to forecast what you'll need than with general repair and maintenance. Those delays could add days or even weeks to the job.

2. Insurance Approval

Coordinating with insurance companies is a major bottleneck for many businesses. After an initial assessment, you may have to wait for approval or even hold tight if the insurance provider wants to send an adjuster. Without the right processes, this could add multiple business days to the repair job.

3. Labor Shortages

It's hard to predict how much work you'll have from week to week, and you might suddenly have a swell of demand without the available labor to answer it. Balancing staff availability with staffing costs can make you lose out on business or see long delays. 

4. Quality Control Checks and Regulatory Compliance

Your teams need to make safe repairs and installations. That means moving through all applicable checklists, safety precautions, and quality control measurements. These tasks take time, but trying to rush through or go without can add more time to each job or result in fees and penalties. 

5. Customer Communications

Finally, customer communications introduce major delays when you need approvals or have questions. Small gaps like not having enough information on an intake form or not being able to communicate across multiple channels will slow down repairs. 

These problems run rampant throughout the industry, and some may impact your business more than others. At Collision Resources, we specialize in developing efficiency solutions like our CR Visual Production Manager^™ so you can identify high-priority bottlenecks in your business and start allocating more resources to eliminate them. Explore the CR Visual Production Manager^™ for yourself or contact us today!