For anyone who writes estimates, it is no surprise to find errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or areas lacking clarity in the estimating database programs. The reality is that there are thousands of vehicles, options, and repair scenarios, and the likelihood of coverage these variations with 100% accuracy is slim. The DEG was designed so that estimating system end-users could have a single place to turn to, to submit inquiries about these challenges, and know that they had an advocate on the other end working on their behalf to try and find a resolution with the Information Provider. Much of the DEG concept stemmed from the volunteer work of March Taylor, a collision shop owner in Hawaii, who spent much of his time helping other shops around the world in a very similar fashion. The DEG really intended to formalize the process, and give dedicated assistance to the industry. In addition to the advocacy role, the DEG and it’s founding associations also believed that transparency was key, and that by making the process and timeline visible and transparent to the industry, it would promote more expedient responses to the concerns, while also generating a very useful database of corrections. At the time, all systems were updated via an update CD, and even though a “change” to the database was made today, it may have been 30 to 45 days before the market received the updated CD with the changes in it. The DEG database serves as a tool for reference so that as soon as the change, or explanation, is determined the end-user can reference the response for justification rather than having to wait for the published update.
