CVW talked to Gerry Braddock, National VBRA Manager, about the launch of a new standard aimed at the commercial vehicle repair industry.
It’s been a long time coming but finally, the VBRA has officially launched its Elite Truck & Van Body Repair Standard. Preparatory work has been going on since 2019 and the association had a soft launch back in July this year. Suffice to say it was welcomed by accident management companies and repairers alike.
“For too long, many bodyshops have been subcontracting work on chassis repair as they do not have the staff or equipment. While this practice is accepted, it is far from ideal, both for the vehicle owner and insurer,” explains Gerry. “There are no guarantees of quality while the vehicle is out of sight and out of mind and there are too many instances of repairs being substandard.”
Safety through standards
At the heart of the new standard is safety. The potential for disaster from a badly repaired commercial vehicle is much greater than any car. And yet there has been a body repair standard for car repair in place since 2007, originally called PAS 125. It subsequently developed into a full BSI standard becoming BS10125.
With no thought given to the much more important area of body repair comprising trucks, bus and coach, trailers, and large vans (panel vans and chassis cabs up to 5.0 tonnes), the VBRA decided to act.
“We wanted to reduce risk, improve the quality of the repair network and ultimately lower costs by avoiding costly rectification of poor workmanship,” says Gerry. “Only the framing of a nationally recognised repair standard for commercial vehicles could achieve that. Hence, we have the Elite Truck & Van Body Repair Standard.”
The standard consists of several grades of membership:
Elite Truck & Van Body Repair (structural with cab and chassis repair)
Elite Truck Repair (structural with cab and chassis repair)
Elite Van Repair (structural with chassis repair)
Elite Truck & Van (non-structural no cab or chassis repairs)
Each potential Elite Truck & Van Body Repair member must undergo a full audit and inspection before being granted membership. Full details of each member will be held on a VBRA platform specially developed with ITAS which is already used by many manufacturers and insurers. It enables virtual online audit of all qualifications, service and calibration of all equipment with all assets.
This leaves a physical visit to cover any other areas of the standard to be inspected with ongoing inspections being mostly managed online. The standard will utilise the certifications from the IMI and other bodies to identify competency of technicians in this complex repair sector.
As part of the standard the Elite member will be expected to ensure an independent inspection of completed work over a cost threshold with the inspection available to view online. This is intended to give ongoing quality control to the member and customer.
Industry response to date has been positive with Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI saying that the institution applauded the VBRA’s creation and launch of the new Truck & Van Body Repair Standard for the commercial sector, adding that it is a much-needed safeguard against the risk of sub-standard repairs for drivers of these vehicles, as well as the public at large.
He also cited the standard’s importance in supporting the insurance industry and fleet operators in selecting bodyshops that are fully equipped with trained, competent, and certificated staff, as it will improve efficiencies and drive down premiums in the longer term. Crucially however, the new Truck & Van Body Repair Standard will also bring a vital boost to the automotive sector suffering an all-time high skills shortage.
“Following the official launch, we will actively be recruiting members,” adds Gerry.” We have incentivised any early adopters with some competitive pricing so any bodyshops or workshops that are interested should get in touch!”
Long term Gerry believes that attaining the standard will confer some major benefits, not least of which will be the opportunity for members to charge in line with their capabilities and being able to attract new work. Sounds like a win-win!
