The 10-month-old Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), a joint project of three collision industry associations, has received
725 inquiries, and the founders hope its use continues to grow as the problem-solving tool becomes better known.
"It took us a while to gain momentum, but once we got up to speed, we've been getting about 80 inquires a month," says Aaron
Schulenburg, DEG administrator. "By the end of the year we expect to have about 1,000 inquiries, which we believe is a successful
first year."
DEG 101
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Inquiries range in degree of difficulty and have taken from one to 40 days, but the average response time is about 6.5 days,
he said.
"That is an outstanding average turnaround time in view of the level of complexity that often is involved," Schulenburg says.
"It is a testament to the information providers (IPs) that get these issues resolved." 
Aaron Schulenburg, Database Enhancement Gateway
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DEG is a joint industry effort between the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), the Automotive Service Association
(ASA) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). It offers a single industry Web site for repairers to submit
requests for reviews when they question the accuracy of a labor time or identify missing, incomplete or incorrect data within
any one of the three IPs estimating products. It also allows users to view responses from the database providers.
"We are not interested in increasing labor times," Schulenburg says. "We want to facilitate information accuracy. Our goal
is not to get more pay for shops. Our goal is to make sure that the available information accurately reflects the job that
needs to be done to properly repair the vehicle."
Any early reticence on the part of IPs to participate in DEG has been overcome, according to Schulenburg, an independent contractor
who handles day-to-day management of DEG.
"The people I work with on a daily basis at the IPs have been supportive of DEG," he says. "They are willingly participating
and putting a lot of effort into resolving inquiries that come through the DEG. I think we have proven over time that we are
what we said we would be: a non-biased form for communication. We don't want to replace the IPs or get between them and their
customers."
When the DEG was first proposed there was reluctance on the part of some IPs, which saw the process as duplicative of services
they already offered. It also was initially viewed by some IPs as an obstacle between the IP and its customers.
Ironically, most of DEG's heavy lifting is done by the IPs. After repairers submit inquiries, the IPs have to evaluate, research
and respond to them. Some inquiries, such as overlap and repair issues, can be quite complex. Responses are posted on the
IP's and DEG's Web site.
"We get a lot of inquiries about new model vehicles," Schulenburg says. "Sometimes OE information is carried over from the
previous model year, but if the vehicle model changed, repair shops encounter that when they make the repair. There also have
been a number of refinish items and overlap issues."
Schulenburg said he is surprised by the number of shops that don't have IP guides and don't realize the guides are available
to them free online. Each IP publishes its guides on their own Web sites, and all three guides are available on the DEG Web
site under the "Get Educated" tab.
Posted 2008-10-31 09:43:58.0
