BMW on Thursday advised shops to find information about OEM repair procedures fresh on every individual vehicle rather than referencing a document from the prior repair.
BMW North America collision program manager Jonathan Inzano acknowledged that “it sounds a little crazy,” but a guide could be “once you print it, its outdated.”
That document should only be used with that specific repair, he said. “It ought to be freshly printed or researched,” he said.
He called it an awful idea to “pin them up somewhere” for future reference, for “nobody knows now” when those instructions on www.bmwtechinfo.com have been updated. The shop could be working off of outdated repair procedures, he explained.
“It’s always good to have the fresh document there,” he explained.
Moderator George Avery mentioned an earlier Guild 21 guest, aviation and power plant technician Jeff Al-Mufleh, who described a similar requirement within that industry.
Al-Mufleh told an August 2021 Guild 21 call that aircraft technicians must print repair procedures “every day.” Every manual used needs to bear the present date, he said then. “If it does not obtain that day's date on it, then you're out of compliance, pretty much,” he said then.
You can't just print out the documents ahead of time, Al-Mufleh said then. The process might have changed overnight, he explained. “You just have no idea,” he said. Al-Mufleh called it a “good practice” to even reprint the document around the second day's a repair that lasted longer than each day.
Inzano said Thursday that procedures could transform for reasons like a vehicle lifecycle update or perhaps a technology or supplier change. “You simply don't know,” he said.
He also argued that this practice of starting fresh “covers you” like a repairer. BMW repair procedures automatically get a date and time stamp when printed, allowing the shop to prove it used the right procedures at that time.
“It’s also for your protection as a shop,” Inzano said.
The BMWtechinfo.com web site is liberated to BMW-certified auto body shops, who're required to utilize it exclusively, based on Inzano. However, it’s accessible by anyone.
“That’s always available,” Inzano said. Insurers were thanks for visiting utilize it too, and moderator George Avery encouraged these to achieve this.
BMW insurance manager Attila Princz said BMW the access was exactly the same for just about any subscriber, whether insurer or repairer.
“We want that information to be out there,” Princz said. “… We want safe and proper repairs.” He explained some insurers might have centralized information resource for staff, which hub will have accessibility OEM procedure site.
Inzano was asked about searching for BMW information on the popular third-party repair procedure aggregator ALLDATA, Inzano said he'd received this before.
“I investigated this,” he explained. “The data’s not the same.”
A body shop couldn’t make sure it had been obtaining the original repair instructions, and he’s seen “even deviations inside them.”
ALLDATA licenses OEM repair procedures from BMW along with other automakers.
“I don’t think it’s a poor source,” Inzano said. But even a precise copy of repair procedures could grow outdated when the repair procedures change around the BMW site, he explained.
Contacted for comment, ALLDATA said inside a statement Monday: “ALLDATA publishes the most up-to-date and comprehensive database of unedited OEM repair information in the industry for mechanical and collision shops, covering 44,000 engine-specific vehicles, 95% of vehicles on the highway today. We currently publish new or updated vehicle information daily, including TSBs, vs. quarterly for many competitors, and we've increased our publishing schedule to 10+ new or updated vehicle models per week. The process varies manufacturer to manufacturer, which might lead to delays for certain types of information on select models. Our Library and Tech-Assist teams are available to help customers instantly with hard-to-find OEM information and procedures.”
The next Guild21 call is scheduled for just two p.m. ET on April 8.
