Air Repair January 2001 5
The October 2000 issue of the
Repair Facility Performance Report
is the first to include repair effec-tiveness
indices.
This issue lists repair shops that
performed at least five IM240
repairs between April 1 and Sep-tember
30, 2000 and achieved a
repair effectiveness index (REI) of
75% or greater. During this period,
5,950 shops performed 30,322
IM240 repairs. Of these repairs,
17,571 (57.9%) were successful.
There were 453 shops that
achieved an REI of 75% or greater.
The Repair Facility Perfor-mance
Report is scheduled to be
published quarterly. The repair
effectiveness index is based on
repair data for the previous six
months, and is calculated by dividing
the number of successful repairs by
the number of total repairs. A
number of formulas have been
considered, and this method appears
to be the most effective and most
easily understood. The repair
effectiveness index is a consumer
protection device designed to help
motorists choose a repair shop after
an IM240 failure.
Some common reasons
your shop is not listed in the printed
Repair Facility Performance Report
include:
Your shop did not perform at
least five IM240 repairs during
the reporting period.
Your success rate is not 75% or
greater.
Vehicles repaired have not been
retested.
Repair Effectiveness Index Added to
Repair Facility Performance Report
Vehicles repaired in one
calendar quarter were not
retested until another calendar
quarter.
Repair data section of the
Vehicle Inspection Report not
completed fully and legibly.
Repair shop reported multiple
phone numbers.
To insure your shop is included in
the Repair Facility Performance
Report:
Make sure vehicles are
repaired and pass the first
retest after your IM240 repair.
Shops should verify the
effectiveness of their repairs
before sending the vehicle back
for a retest. This is especially
important with the tighter
cutpoints being implemented in
February 2001. One way to
verify repair effectiveness is for
the shop to take the vehicle to a
test station for a voluntary test.
A voluntary test will show both
the technician and vehicle
owner whether the vehicle is
fixed or if additional repairs are
necessary.
Repair shops should fill out the
repair data section on the back
of the Vehicle Inspection
Report completely, accurately
and legibly.
It can be very helpful for repair
shops to develop a working
relationship with station
management at the test stations
they normally go to.
The importance of effective repair
verification cannot be understated.
Shops that verify the effectiveness
of their repairs should certainly
achieve a better REI than shops
that do not.
It is not in a repair shop’s best
interest to let the customer com-plete
the repair data section on the
back of the Vehicle Inspection
Report. The most accurate informa-tion
comes from the shop directly.
Checking the “No” box in
section 4 of the repair data section
of the Vehicle Inspection Report
does not exclude that repair from
the REI calculation. This section
asks whether all recommended
emissions-related repairs were
completed. This information is used
solely for waiver determinations
and does not have any affect on the
shop’s REI.
Repair data is audited by both
Envirotest and the Illinois EPA to
insure the integrity of the data.
However, shops should consider
keeping detailed records on IM240
repairs as an additional safeguard.
Detailed information concerning the
data used to compile a specific
repair shop’s REI can be obtained
from the Illinois EPA repair industry
outreach unit at 847-758-3434.
If your shop is not listed in the
Repair Facility Performance
Report, a complete list of all shops
that performed at least five IM240
repairs during a specific reporting
period will be available on the
Illinois EPA website at
www.epa.state.il.us. A printed copy
will also be available at each test
station for inspection and review at
the station.
