Automakers are under pressure to make vehicles safer, lighter and more fuel-efficient. To reconcile these seemingly opposing agendas, they have turned to advanced design strategies along with new lightweight steels and plastics that have helped them meet their safety and efficiency requirements, but often at the cost of repairability.

“The OEMs are utilizing very different constructions than what has been used to in the last 10 years,” says Lesley Upham, director of commercial development with the UK-based Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre (Thatcham). “When that vehicle is then involved in an accident, how are repairers going to address those new designs and repair the car to its pre-accident condition?”

On Thursday, Upham and Thatcham’s advanced technology and methods operations manager Andrew Marsh led a session titled “Design & Repairability — Vehicles of Today and Tomorrow,” which outlined the challenges of repairing newer vehicles, and strategies to help body shops survive as auto manufacturers adopt more complex vehicle designs and exotic materials, such as high-strength steels.

Upham said that repairers should focus on the “Four Ms” — having skilled manpower, the right model-specific repair methods, the correct machinery, and the correct materials for the repair.

“Repairers must understand what the vehicle is constructed of, and know whether or not they are capable of repairing it,” Upham says. “You have to know how to translate the OEM’s laser welding process into an aftermarket process that provides equal strength in the vehicle.”

Repair standards also are important, so that shops can prove that they are capable of repairing specific types of vehicles and working with new materials. Thatcham has been active in developing repair standards and technician accreditation programs.

As part of the presentation, Upham and Marsh showed a number of videos that demonstrated new vehicle designs and repair techniques.

They also discussed Thatcham’s Repair Validation Project, carried out earlier this year, which focused on testing repair methodologies where there were substantial differences between the processes used by vehicle manufacturers and those used by repair shops. Thatcham tested spot welding techniques on the B-posts (constructed of Boron) of three different vehicles, then conducted impact tests on the cars. All three performed well, demonstrating that spot-weld repairs on these structures could withstand severe impacts — provided the right methodologies were utilized.

In order to keep pace with new vehicle innovations, repairers should continue to invest in equipment and training, or risk the sustainability of their business.

“Body shops have to decide what they want to be,” Upham says. “You can make a profitable business just doing minor repairs, fixing dings and painting cars. If you are going to get involved in working with these new materials and designs, then an investment has to be made in equipment, training and competency.”