Audatex has begun to publish scanning labor times applicable to certain circumstances, the Database Enhancement Gateway reports.

The times only apply to OEM scan tools or tools running the official OEM software through the SAE J-2534 standard, Audatex explained to the DEG. The values are specific to individual make-model combinations, the DEG said in a tip tweeted March 16.

The Database Reference Manual P-Pages on Audatex’s “MySupportGarage” portal as of Tuesday hadn’t yet been updated to reflect this or list the operations included with the labor time; it still lists “Pre and/or Post Repair Diagnostic Scans” as a labor exclusion.

However, Audatex’s RFR Team provided more clarity in an official response the DEG posted in the tip.

“Our labor methodology is proprietary,” Audatex told the DEG. “Audatex Pre and Post Scan labor allowances include time for connecting the scan tool, reading any DTCs if applicable, clearing any DTCs if applicable, and disconnecting the scan tool. The times indicated represent using an OEM or OEM equivalent scan tool utilizing the SAE J2534 interface. Any additional work outside of these listed operations would not be included with Pre/Post scan labor allowances provided in Audatex, therefore requiring manual considerations.”

Audatex also discussed the scan labor time for a 2019 Volvo XC60 in a February DEG inquiry.

“Insurance provided estimate using Audatex (shows) .2 PRE SCAN and .1 POST SCAN for Database version 8.0643,” the user wrote, noting that his 8.0642 Audatex build “does not show any labor. .2 and .1 scanning labor that the insurer estimate states is straight from the database.”

The DEG user called the 0.2-hour and 0.1-hour times “NOT accurate” and called for them to “be removed for the repairer to perform an on the spot evaluation.”

Audatex in February said it would bump the post-repair scanning time to 0.2 hours in its April 2020 release. It also described a limited set of operations applying to the time.

“We have reviewed the current OEM service information for the SCAN,PRE-REPAIR and POST REPAIR (GN 1060/1088),” Audatex wrote. “The SCAN,POST-REPAIR (GN 1088) labor time has changed from 0.1 hours to 0.2 hours. For this type of operation Audatex provides and includes connect station, read and reset DTCs. The change will appear on April 2020 release.”

CCC and Mitchell

Neither CCC nor Mitchell have issued scan times.

“Many OEMs recommend a pre- and post-repair diagnostic scan on all vehicles involved in a collision that could reveal pre-accident or accident-related damage,” CCC’s Motor Guide to Estimating P-pages state. “Please refer to OEM position statement and repair procedures for more information. Due to the variety of scan tools used, both OEM and aftermarket, as well as the variation from vehicle to vehicle and repair to repair, MOTOR is unable to develop a time that accounts for these different scenarios. Therefore, MOTOR recommends an on-the-spot evaluation to determine an appropriate estimated time to perform diagnostic scans for each repair.”

CCC also lists “Scan tool diagnostics” and “Scan tool clear / reset electronic module” among its not-included operations.

Mitchell lists pre- and post-repair scans among its not-included procedures.
“OEM recommendations may include pre/post-repair scan(s) on vehicles involved in a collision to assist in discovery of any specific Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC’s),” Mitchell’s Complete Estimating Guide P-pages state. “Refer to OEM specific position statement(s) and/or repair procedures for additional information.”

Mitchell said it also doesn’t include “Time to aim/calibrate/diagnose/re-set/scan or test.”

Mitchell repair sales and service Vice President Jack Rozint told the Collision Industry Conference in early 2019 that five different ways exist to scan a vehicle — something his CIC Emerging Technologies Committee has highlighted in its extensive work summarizing such issues.

These five scanning options include running the diagnostic check in-house with an OEM scan tool or an aftermarket scan tool; connecting remotely to a scan provider (e.g. AirPro or asTech); subletting to a mobile technician; and subletting to a dealership, he said.

All five have different labor times and couldn’t be normalized, Rozint said.

More information:

“Estimating Tip: Audatex – Published Pre and Post scan labor time”

Database Enhancement Gateway, March 2020

Audatex P-pages

Images:

Repairers can perform time studies of not-included operations. (Aliaksandr Bukatsich/iStock)