38 YEARS
NORTHEAST EDITIO N
AUTOBODY
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 10 / Issue 10 / January 2020
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CIC Committees Offer Ideas for Better Welding Practices, Documentation of Test Drives
Mosaic ADT Created to Achieve Repeatable, Error-Free Calibrations
by John Yoswick
by Stacey Phillips
Collision Industry Conference (CIC) committees in Las Vegas in Novem-
Toby Chess and Kye Yueng offered tips and best practices related to improving shop welding. Credit: John Yoswick
ber tackled topics ranging from better welding practices to OEM procedures and new ways of documenting increasingly detailed vehicle test drives. Toby Chess, an industry trainer who leads CIC’s “Technical Presentations” committee and who has conducted more than 6,000 I-CAR welding tests over 15 years, said at least five automakers – Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Audi/VW /Porsche – have OEM procedures with detailed instructions for performing destructive testing on plug welds and spot welds prior to weldSee CIC Committees, Page 12
VT Second State to Sound Alarm About Photo Estimates for Claims by Jim Sams, Claims Journal
Another state insurance commissioner is warning auto insurers about the overuse of photo estimates when making settlement offers. Vermont Insurance Commissioner Michael Pieciak issued a bulletin to “clarify the division’s position regarding the use of visual adjusting.” “While virtual claims adjustment systems may, in some situations, help settle claims more quickly and reduce costs for the insurer, there is compelling evidence that photographs and videos do not always reveal the true
extent of the damage a vehicle has sustained,” the bulletin says. Oregon Insurance Commissioner Andrew Stolfi issued a similar draft bulletin in October. Just as reported by Oregon, Pieciak said Vermont has seen an increase in consumer complaints alleging that virtual adjustments unreasonably delay the settlement of claims or result in inadequate settlement offers. The Vermont bulletin reminds insurers that they are required to “conduct a reasonable investigation based upon all available evidence.” See Photo Estimates, Page 20
There are an increasing number of vehicles on the road today with Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS). As the percentage continues to rise, the greater the demand will be for calibration to ensure a proper repair, said Lee Daugherty, vice president of global collision sales for Chief Collision Technology. To help meet this growing industry need, Chief Collision Technology teamed up with Burke Porter Group to create ADAS calibration equipment. After two years in development, Mosaic Advanced Diagnostics Technology (ADT) was launched in November at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. “When a vehicle is in a collision, its attributes change,” said Daugherty,
who has worked with Vehicle Service Group, Chief’s parent company, for the past 24 years. “The goal of an ADAS calibration is to reorient the
Lee Daugherty, vice president of global collision sales for Chief Collision Technology. Credit: Chief Collision Technology
sensors to where the physical body of the vehicle is in relation to the drivetrain and how it goes down the road.” See Retain Employees, Page 18
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Needed Update of MA Right to Repair Law Headed to Ballot The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition announced that it has turned in 102,000 signatures to ensure an initiative petition to enact a much-needed update to the Commonwealth’s Right to Repair law reaches the 2020 ballot. The Coalition–a group of Massachusetts independent repair shops, auto parts stores, trade associations, consumers, and drivers—said that a lack of progress on an update to the law in the Legislature led them to
pursue an initiative petition so that Massachusetts car owners will continue to have access to the repair and diagnostic mechanical information produced by the vehicle they own. By 2020, advancements in vehicle technology and increasing restrictions by automakers will result in more than 90% of new cars being equipped to transmit real-time diagnostic and repair information wireSee Repair Law, Page 16
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