Many bodyshops have raised concerns recently regarding the BS10125 standard and maintaining compliance.
Maintaining compliance with existing repair quality procedures, against a backdrop of social distancing rules and business restrictions, is increasingly difficult. While an audit, with resources already stretched to breaking point, becomes a daunting prospect.
I posed these questions and challenges to the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS), to seek some guidance on behalf of bodyshops.
UKAS oversees the activities of the certification bodies, including those that issue BS10125 certificates to bodyshops. UKAS, which is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA), has been working with these groups to adapt international policies for the current situation.
There are many individual variations that come into play so one piece of advice won’t work for every bodyshop.
I, and UKAS, encourage dialogue between subscribing businesses and the certification body to find the most pragmatic and effective solution for the needs of that individual business, with full consideration given to publicly available policies TPS 62 & TPS 73, published by UKAS (links below).
CARSQA are one of the certification bodies issuing BS10125 certification and fully appreciate the challenges that bodyshops are facing in these unprecedented times.
Kevin Porter, Managing Director of CARSQA said ‘’CARSQA are more than happy to support the industry and its clients in these difficult times. Compliance however is a requirement ongoing for the safety of a repair process, considering these very difficult times, we must all work together to reduce the risks to everyone involved.’’
If any bodyshop is struggling to cope with the strain of an audit, even a remote one, I strongly recommend that you contact your certification body to discuss and consider the clauses within the TPS 62 policy.
If the current circumstances are creating challenges for compliance with any BS10125 requirement, and you are forced to deviate from your standard repair quality control processes, it is important that you do so in a controlled way and seek other quality assurance mechanisms. Again, I would encourage that wherever bodyshops are unsure, they discuss with their chosen certification body.
Importantly, while compliance may feel like an additional challenge right now, it remains fundamental for the safe repair of vehicles.
Dean Lander
Head of Repair Sector Services, Thatcham Research
BSI SVS 20 Committee Chair
Autoraise Board Trustee
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