and began collaborative discussions in 2007. More recently this has become a closer and more regular co operation in order to develop processes and manuals together with the aim that they could become global industry standards that would be widely accepted in the finished vehicle logistics sector and the automotive industry This has led to the ‘Finished Vehicle Logistics Transport Damage Codes’ document launched this month as a joint publication. Originally published as a set of common damage codes by AIAG these were promoted as‘Global Damage Codes’ by both parties. Since then ECG has worked to promote these codes in the European market as an industry standard to improve efficiency through harmonisation.
This builds on the core ECG objective of ‘standardisation’ as a means of improving efficiency for operators in the vehicle logistics sector. During transportation, when the party responsible for finished vehicles changes, they are inspected for any missing parts as well as for any damage including scratches and dents. The damage is reported through a standard five-digit set of codes.
These codes focus on three areas: type, location and severity of the damage. AIAG’s and ECG’s common document gives guidance to facilitate the localisation of the damage incurred, with the help of vehicle ‘splat’ charts for better visualisation. The common document covers other FVL-related issues besides the Damage Codes – such as key placement within new vehicles during transport and storage.
Every manufacturer has its own preferences for the key placement in new cars, a situation which can cause a lot of headaches for the companies that handle them and is crying out for standardisation. It is hoped that eventually widespread adoption of the Damage Codes on the two continents will lead to the acceptance of the codes on other markets as well and thus become globally recognised. AIAG and ECG are now in discussion regarding other areas that would benefit the industry from standardization.
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