Industry Insight with John Yoswick
—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
Remote Scanning Companies Foresee More ADAS Calibrations for Auto Body Shops in the Future
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Nick Dominato, a senior vice presi- replaced. By 2021, those requiredent at asTech, said he believes col- ments had been broadened to call lision repairers should be prepared for calibrations after a windshield is with Ed Attanasio for automakers to broaden their removed or replaced, and after any ADAS calibration requirements. structural body repair. “Because the automakers un“Again, moving from a narrowderstand that vehicles are being mar- er calibration requirement of only keted, sold, driven and experienced when you touch the sensors, to these via those advanced driver assistance broader calibration requirements features, and it’swith important for safe- that reflect the concern that a sensor Ed Attanasio ty and the customer experience that might have been jolted or shifted or those things work after a collision,” moved,” Dominato said. Dominato said during a CIECA He was asked if he foresees webcast in January. automakers shifting toward more self-calibrating systems. He said most sensors have some self-calibration cawith Ed Attanasio pability, but that post-collision calibrations are not likely to go away. “A sensor may be able to compensate for mechanical wear and tear, settling with Ed Attanasio of the suspension, or some bumper warping as a result of cold winters or hot He said OEM service informa- summers, things of that nature,” he tion that may have initially called said. “But when we’re talking about for calibration only after a sensor a quarter panel that’s being replaced, is removed or replaced, for examor an impact bar that’s smashed as with Stacey Phillips ple, now may say—as in the case of a result of a front-end collision, I Nissan—that radar sensors must be don’t think the technology is ever calibrated “after any repair situation going to get to a place where it can to the front of the vehicle that would completely self-calibrate.” During another industry event, cause the radar sensor to be shifted, Eric removed, reinstalled or jolted in the with Stacey Phillips Newell, vice president of business development at AirPro collision.” Honda in 2017 called for cal- Diagnostics, said he believes how ibration of camera or radar units calibrations are performed may when they had been removed or change. replaced, after a front-end collision “I’m from Chicago. Dynamic or when doors were adjusted or calibrations are very difficult come
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this time of year because of snow, inclement weather,” Newell said at an SCRS Repairer Driven Education session during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. “And the OEMs are seeing it. We’ve had discussions with Tier 1 vendors and OEMs. So we’re predicting that there’s going to be a shift toward more static calibrations as time goes on.” Newell also discussed what to consider before a collision repair business equips to perform calibrations. If you expect to do retail work for other shops in addition to internal work, Newell said, it may be preferable to set up a calibration center off-site, with a different name, potentially as an LLC or separate business structure, to avoid other shops not wanting to send work to a “competitor.” “If you’re Newell’s Autobody, I probably wouldn’t name it Newell’s
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Calibration,” he said. An off-site facility also gives you some flexibility in terms of location—the back of an office park with little traffic, or a high-traffic street corner with good visibility— and what you will therefore have to spend for rent, signage, building improvements, etc. For MSOs, he said, a location convenient to all of your shops allows for a hub-and-spoke model. Alternatively, find a location with a lot of other independent shops within a reasonable radius, Newell suggested. An off-site location and separate business entity makes it easier to get paid when subletting the work to yourself, including transport of the vehicle from your shop and back. “If it’s your existing business and in your own building, that becomes more difficult,” Newell said.
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