Southwestern August 2016 Issue by Autobody News

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VOL. 34 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2016

www.autobodynews.com ww ww.autobodynews.com NACE | CARS Events in Anaheim

Autobody News is Expanding! see p. 3

Federal Officials Report Nation’s First Self-Driving Car Fatality After Florida Crash

The crash occurred on May 7 in Williston, Florida, when a tractortrailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla, and the car failed to apply the brakes. The system appears to have been confused by a white trailer against a light sky. It is the first known fatal accident involving a self-driving vehicle. In a statement from Tesla that was posted on the company’s blog Thursday (June 30), the automaker noted that the fatality was the first “in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated.”

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The first U.S. self-driving car fatality took place in May when the driver of a Tesla S sports car using the vehicle’s “autopilot” automated driving system died in a collision with a truck in Florida, federal officials said on June 30. A crash that killed a driver in a Tesla Model S electric car in self-driving mode has called into question the safety of driverless vehicle technology. This week, federal officials announced the launch of a formal investigation into the accident.

Young Technicians Symposium Returns to NACE | CARS . . . . .p. 54 PPX Reps Plan to Drive Hundreds of Repair Shops’ Staff to NACE in Anaheim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 55 MSO Symposium Announces Final Program, Adds Insurer Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 54 National Auto Body Council Members Team Up to Present Multiple Recycled Rides, First Responder Demos at NACE . . .p. 52 Assured Performance Hosts OEM Certification Symposium, Aug. 10-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 54 DEMOs Abound at NACE CARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 55 2017 Ford Super Duty®: “Drive the Future of Tough” Tour . . . . .p. 55 2-Day $35 NACE Expo Pass Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 54 Industry Panel to Discuss Importance of Pre- and Post-Repair Scans, Calibration/Recalibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 52 ASA Partners with the Auto Care Association to Present Young Auto Care Network Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 52

Federal Insurance Office Adopts Methodology for Monitoring the Affordability of Auto Insurance The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) announced the adoption of a methodology for monitoring the affordability of automobile insurance. Title V of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorizes FIO to monitor the extent to which traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities, and lowand moderate-income persons have access to affordable insurance products regarding all lines of insurance other than health insurance. “Access to affordable auto insurance is crucial for consumers who commute to work, drive kids to school, and meet the needs of their families,” said Michael McRaith, Director of the Federal Insurance Office. “This new methodology reflects important feedback FIO has received from a number of key stakeholders, and it is a meaningful step toward better understanding the affordability of auto insurance for consumers and underserved communities all across the country.” In April 2014 and July 2015,

FIO sought comments regarding the methodology from stakeholders, including state insurance regulators, consumer organizations, representatives of the insurance industry, policyholders, and academics, among others. After carefully considering all the comments received, along with additional research and consultation, FIO has adopted a method to measure the affordability of automobile insurance. FIO will determine affordability using an affordability index calculated by dividing the average annual personal automobile liability premium by the median household income for ZIP Codes identified as being majority-minority or majority-LMI. FIO will study the affordability of automobile insurance using the methodology annually. FIO will also obtain and analyze aggregated premium data and will use data publicly available through the U.S. Census Bureau. The Federal Register notice can be found here. For more information on FIO visit www.treasury.gov/initiatives /fio.

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REGIONAL Aims Community College Automotive Students Place in Top 10 at National SkillsUSA Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Aims Community College to host 6th Annual Car Show July 16. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Auto Theft Ring Indicted by CO Attorney General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Caliber Collision CEO Steve Grimshaw Named Ernst & Young Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Carstar Names National Performance Award Winners at Annual Conference in New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Driver Wrecks into Sherman, TX Auto Body Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 HABA Introduces New Survey & Sets July Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Next Houston Auto Body Association Meeting July 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 NM Driver Says Sunroof Suddenly ‘Exploded’ While Driving . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Phillips - Sorrells Body Shop in AR Voted Best Auto Body Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Sorrells Body Shop in AR Voted Best Body Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

NACE | CARS Events in Anaheim 2017 Ford Super Duty®: “Drive the Future of Tough” Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 2-Day $35 NACE Expo Pass Includes. . . . 54 ASA Partners with the Auto Care Association to Present Young Auto Care Network Group . . . . . . . . . . 52 Assured Performance Hosts OEM Certification Symposium, Aug. 10-11 . . . 54 CAA Holds Two Meetings During NACE CARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 DEMOs Abound at NACE CARS . . . . . . . . 55 Industry Panel to Discuss Importance of Pre- and Post-Repair Scans, Calibration/ Recalibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 MSO Symposium Announces Final Program, Adds Insurer Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 National Auto Body Council Members Team Up to Present Multiple Recycled Rides, First Responder Demos at NACE . 52 PPX Reps Plan to Drive Hundreds of Repair Shops’ Staff to NACE in Anaheim . . . . . 55 Young Technicians Symposium, Powered by CARQUEST, Returns to NACE | CARS . . 54

COLUMNISTS Attanasio - Five Areas Where Shops Fail to be Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Attanasio - Industry Veteran Talks Candidly About Life as an MSO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Attanasio - Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly Enough Yet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Attanasio - Mike’s Auto Body’s Training Program in Full Swing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Attanasio - The Student Returns as the Teacher at California's Contra Costa College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Luehr - The Fastest Shops in the World! . . 50 Phillips - DCR Systems Creates Streamlined Process for Body Shops . . 46 Sisk - What Does Photo Estimating Mean for the Collision Repair Industry? . . . . . 38 Yoswick - Retro News: ABRA’s Expansion Plans, Tech Wages, Flat Fees for Repair, BMS v EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

NATIONAL 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division Introduces 3M Total Automotive Sanding System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

3M Offers Veterans a Chance to Attend NASCAR Race With Chip Foose . . . . . . . 6 AAAS Awards 20 Scholarships for 2016-17 Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 ABAC and Senator Blumenthal Stress the Importance of Safe Repairs at a Local Tech School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 ACA, IHS Automotive Present “A Decade of Change” Webinar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Agreement With Binghamton, NY, Auto Shop Over Sale of Salvaged Airbags. . . 14 Alleged Intoxicated Driver Hits Truck Sporting Anti-DUI Message . . . . . . . . . 10 Allstate Reveals the Safest Cities for Drivers in 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Arbitration Panel Rules in Favor of PA Body Shop Over Nationwide’s Claim of “Excessive” Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 ASA Joins Forces with NAPA Auto Parts. . 57 ASA Webinar Addresses Impact of U.S. DOL Overtime Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Auto Care Association Names Perrine New CFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 BASF Brings Chip Foose to CARSTAR Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CARSTAR Appoints North American Training and Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . 27 CARSTAR Auto Body Experts Discuss Annual Conference Highlights, Plans for Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 CCC Creates Electronic Interface Between CCC One and Würth’s SIS™ Software. . 51 CDS Names Dan Young VP of Sales and Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Chief Expands Distribution Network . . . . . 21 Chief to Showcase Computerized Measuring, Benches, Joining Equipment and More at NACE 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Collision Repair Education Foundation Issues Mid-Year Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 D&S Automotive Offers Apprenticeship Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 D.C. Lobbying Over Self-Driving Autos Revs Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Federal Insurance Office Adopts Methodology for Monitoring the Affordability of Auto Insurance . . . . . . . . 1 Federal Officials Report Nation’s First Self-Driving Car Fatality After Florida Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Gerber Collision & Glass Opens New Repair Location in Georgia . . . . . . . . . . 56 Globaljig, Presented by Chief, Introduces Light-Duty Quick Pull Bench for Collision Repair Shops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Hertz Donates $25,000 to Education Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Marine Veteran Andrew Paxson Reaches for New Goals in Collision Repair Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 My Journey With Collision Repair and Women’s Industry Network . . . . . . . . . . 4 Not Just for Men: NIC Programs in ID Lead to Role-Breaking Jobs . . . . . . . . . 22 Oregon DMV Rules Make State Ripe for Fraud, Auto Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Post-Collision Diagnostic Scan And Calibration Requirements For Honda And Acura Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 RBGA Names Freer Auto Body in IL as Small Business of the Month . . . . . . . . 36 Risks in Auto Repairs With Aftermarket Parts [Consumer Article] . . . . . . . . . . 56 Telsa CEO Elon Musk Says About ‘500,000 People Would Have Been Saved (Last Year) If Tesla’s Autopilot Was Universally Available’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Terence Crawford’s Trial Set for August 9 . . 61 The Quest for Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

For the first time in our history, Autobody News will be mailed to body shops in all 48 contiguous states.

Our Western Edition will be distributed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming in addition to California and Nevada, starting with our October issue.

Beginning with our September issue, Arizona and Utah will become part of our Southwest issue, joining Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Louisiana.

Also in September, our Northeast Edition will be expanded to include Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, joining New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Additionally, West Virginia will become part of our Southeast Edition.

We sincerely thank all of our readers, sponsors, and supporters, without whom there would be no reason to produce Autobody News, You have enabled our growth and success. We look forward to serving you as a bigger and better publication. Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Online Editor and Copywriter: Deana Cacus Contributing Writers: Tom Franklin, John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Sean Hartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Content/Social Media Specialist: Cass Heckel Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico,

Abaris Training Resources, Inc. . . . 12 Audi South Austin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 37 AutoNation Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . 21 AutoNation Chrysler-Dodge-JeepRam NRH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Axalta Coating Systems . . . . . . . . . . 5 BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 59 Bob Howard PDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Car-Part.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA). . . . . . . . . . . 45 ChemSpec USA, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chevyland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classic Auto Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Classic BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Dallas Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Dominion Sure Seal, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . 9 Don Carlton Auto Group . . . . . . . . . 42 Eco Repair Systems of North America, LLC . . . . . . . . . . 14 ECS Automotive Concepts . . . . . . . 22 Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . 31 Finnegan Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . . . . 2 Flatirons Subaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 53 GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 55 Herkules Equipment Corporation. . 24 Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers. . 58 Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers. 49

Arkansas, Colorado and adjacent metro areas. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2016 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018; (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com Email: news@autobodynews.com

Southwest

AUTOBODY NEWS IS EXPANDING TO ALL 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES!

AUTOBODY NEWS Will Be Distributed in 48 States by October

Indexof Advertisers

Contents

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 56 Mercedes-Benz of Houston Greenway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Mike Calvert Toyota. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Miracle System / Equipment Gateway, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Mitsubishi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 41 North Freeway Hyundai . . . . . . . . . 38 Orio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Pacific Produx Reps . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Polyvance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ProLine Tool & Supply . . . . . . . . . . 15 Ray Huffines Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . 51 Reliable Automotive Equipment . . . 30 SATA Dan-Am Company . . . . . . . . 17 SEMA Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Shop-Pro Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sorbothane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 South Pointe Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge . 8 Subaru of Little Rock . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Subaru of Pueblo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 52 Toyota of Laredo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 54 U-POL US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Young Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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My Journey With Collision Repair and Women’s Industry Network by Shannon Kresge

One year ago today, I was walking across the stage at my college graduation. Like most new graduates, I had no idea which path I was going to take. Sure, I had a nice shiny piece of paper that implied I was going to be a great marketing associate, but I wasn’t convinced. For starters, being an impactful member of a marketing team takes actually having a job, which, at the time, I was lacking.

(l to r) Shannon Kresge and WIN Key Note Speaker and Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller

My mom’s unofficial nickname is the Craigslist Queen. She loves Craigslist. Her favorite weekend hobby is picking up random items off the side of the road, redoing them, and then selling them on the nifty site for a profit. Naturally, I commenced my job search by perusing the Marketing/PR tab on the Craigslist’s “help wanted” section. Like mother, like daughter, right? About a week into my job hunt, I came across a link: “Collision Center Seeking Marketing Representative.” Well, ‘Marketing Representative’ sounded fitting for me, but I knew nothing about cars. When I say nothing, I mean nothing! My only experience with a car up until that point was a hand-me-down station wagon my grandparents had passed down that died within six months. The closest thing I had come to collision repair was my father taking the toilet plunger out of our bathroom to try and get an old dent out of my driver side door. I sent my resume within ten minutes of seeing the post. It never concerned me that I had virtually no knowledge of the industry. I’d always been up for a challenge, and taking on this job would be just that: a challenge to learn something new. The only cri-

teria I had about where I began my career was this: Will I be marketing a product, service, or company that I would be comfortable personally endorsing? If I was going to be responsible for marketing a brand, it had to be one that I believed was actually helping its customers, not trying to rip them off. Checking off that main concern of working for a reputable company was easy with H&V. Fortunately for me—but unfortunately for him—my father is a frequent visitor to our Troy, NY facility. He has bad luck with opening car doors into random objects and playing bumper cars in the Dunkin Donuts drive through. So yes, his insurance may have increased, but in turn, he was able to ensure me that I would be working with a good company. Fast forward almost a year and I could not be happier with my decision to work in the Collision Repair Industry. I have been able to contribute greatly to our social media pages, website, customer and insurance company relationships, event planning and more! I have learned more than I ever thought I would know about cars and have a continuous urge to learn more. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to meet Petra Schroeder, the 2016 chair of Women’s Industry Network. If my newfound passion for the collision repair industry wasn’t solidified before, WIN definitely did the trick. WIN is a network of mostly women and some men in the male-dominated collision industry that provide support, encouragement, and opportunities for one another. My bosses at H&V Collision Center were on board from the start. In the beginning of May, I was sent down to Tampa, FL WIN’s Annual Conference as a first year attendee. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was determined to make as much out of this experience as I could. Here’s what I did: Upon arriving at the conference, I approached the first table I saw and introduced myself. I was only there for three days, so of course I wasn’t wasting any time meeting new people! This was the common theme every day during the conference. I made a point to sit with different people at all meals, trade business cards with virtually every attendee I spoke with, and make as many connections as I could. Another opportunity I took advan-

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tage of was asking questions of all of the wonderful presenters. The conference is packed with informative seminars. Being the “Curious George” that I am, I stood up after almost every single presenter to ask additional ques-

tions. Not only did this benefit me, but it benefited others in the room. I was determined to come home with as much feedback as possible, and who better to get that from than seasoned professionals in the collision industry? Last, but not least, I took the time at my first WIN Conference to join their committees. In my opinion, the best way to take advantage of being part of a network is to become as involved as possible. I asked questions about the different committees and read the descriptions thoroughly. I then chose to be

part of four—yes, FOUR—committees. Okay, I may have gone overboard, but I recommend at least joining one or two. My mindset was to pick two committees that I was confident I could make an impact in and two committees that I thought I could learn new skills from. My experience at the WIN 2016 Educational Conference was indescribable. I was able to meet numerous other women and men who deal with the same pleasures and challenges that I go through every day in the workplace. WIN has refreshed my confidence, passion, and drive for greatness in my career. Needless to say, if the collision repair industry becomes your path like it has mine, WIN might be the right move for you!

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Aims Community College to host 6th Annual Car Show July 16

Aims Community College in Greeley, CO is hosting its 6th Annual Car Show on Saturday, July 16 at the Aims Automotive & Technology Center in Windsor, CO. The public and the media are invited to attend the free event. WHAT: Aims Community College Car Show. WHEN: Saturday, July 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Car Show registration begins at 8 a.m. WHERE: 1120 South Gate Drive, Windsor behind Iron Mountain at Highway 34 and CR 17. All vehicle types are welcome and there will be door prizes and food vendors. Aims Automotive personnel will be offering tours of the state-of-the-art Automotive and Technology Center. Tours are also available at the Public Safety Institute located right next to the Automotive and Technology Center. Admission is free. “Aims Community College’s automotive program is nationally recognized, certified and accredited,” said Aims President Dr. Leah L Bornstein. “The car show is an excellent opportunity to not only check out cool cars, but to tour our state-of-the-art Automotive and Technology Center. Automotive jobs are in high demand, and Aims can help car enthusiasts get jobs in the automotive industry.”

Caliber Collision CEO Steve Grimshaw Named Ernst & Young Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year Caliber Collision CEO Steve Grimshaw has been named Ernst & Young’s 2016 Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year in the services category.

Caliber Collision’s leadership team celebrates with CEO Steve Grimshaw, Ernst & Young Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year. (l to r) Mark Sanders (Chief Operating Officer) and Jennifer Sanders, Jeannie Gary and Bob Gary (Chief Financial Officer), Steve Grimshaw, Greg Nichols (Chief Counsel) and Eleanore Nichols and Greg Clark (Chief Marketing Officer)

Grimshaw received the award at the annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Gala in Dallas, which honors and recognizes the men and women who create the products, serv-

3M Offers Veterans a Chance to Attend NASCAR Race With Chip Foose

3M Automotive Aftermarket Division (AAD) is offering a chance for shop owners to recognize and honor a military veteran employee and have a

chance to win a trip for both owner and employee to attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race in Texas on November 6. Between now and 11:59:59 p.m. CT on August 31, shop owners can visit http://3mcollision.com/ HonorVets to nominate a veteran coworker and share what makes them a great employee. Ten winners will be drawn and each will win a trip for two (the nominator and the veteran) for an expense-paid trip to join Chip Foose at the Texas race. “There are so many great veterans doing incredible work in body shops across the country,” said Dale Ross, U.S. marketing operations manager at 3M AAD. “We are looking

ices and jobs that help the economy and communities grow. “I am honored and humbled to receive this award on behalf of Caliber’s

forward to honoring some of those veterans who are making a positive impact on the collision repair industry and those who have hired them with a special trip to see the NASCAR race in Texas.” According to the company, 3M AAD’s pledge to help veterans has seen great success. Through a partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), 3M has donated more than $750,000 since 2013, which has been used toward scholarships and tool grants for nearly 210 military veterans and their families through the 3M Hire Our Heroes program. For more information, visit www .3mcollision.com/hire.

Your leading source for SOUTHWESTERN Collision Repair News! southwestern.autobodynews.com

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9,000 teammates who are dedicated to achieving our overall company purpose, which is to restore the rhythm of lives for our customers, team members, and the local communities that

we serve,” said Grimshaw. According to Ernst & Young, Grimshaw was selected for the award by a panel of national business leaders for his strategic tenets to drive incremental business while providing operational consistency, complete customer satisfaction, and managing client’s overall costs. Since Grimshaw took the reins in 2009, Caliber Collision has grown from 68 locations to 412 centers in 16 states and the District of Columbia, and the number of teammates has grown from 2,100 to 9,000. Caliber Collision’s philanthropic efforts have become a priority under Grimshaw’s leadership. These efforts include an annual Rhythm Restoration Food Drive, which will collect more than three million meals this year for children in need of nutritious food while they are out of school over the summer months, and the Recycled Rides program, in which more than 120 vehicles have been donated to military veterans and families in need. Additionally, Grimshaw spearheaded the American Heart Association’s 2016 Côtes du Coeur program, raising a record $3.9 million to fight heart disease and stroke.

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Aims Community College Automotive Students Place in Top 10 at National SkillsUSA Competition

Aims Community College automotive students Ben Falconer and Grant Kennedy placed in the top 10 at the 2016 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, KY, which took place June 20–24. Forty-nine states were represented at the competition.

(l to r) Ben Falconer and Grant Kennedy

This is the second consecutive year that Falconer and Kennedy competed in the national competition. Falconer took 1st place in high school refinishing for the second consecutive year. Kennedy took 10th place in post-secondary collision. “We are so proud Ben and Grant placed in the top 10 at a national automotive competition, with Ben defending his first place title,” said Aims president Dr. Leah L. Bornstein. “We hope more students are inspired by this accomplishment because automotive jobs are in demand and our program is proving

to be the best in the country.” The students first compete at a district competition and must place in the top three to qualify for the state competition. Both Falconer and Kennedy placed first in the district and state competitions in each of their events and were able to move on to the national level. Aims automotive instructor and faculty competition representative Mike Hanscome accompanied the students. “The competition meant a lot to all of us this year,” Hanscome said. “Ben and Grant did not disappoint. They were professional, courteous, and represented Aims Community College to the highest degree. I am very proud to be a part of this with them.” SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is cited as a successful model of employerdriven youth development training program by the U.S. Department of Labor. “This achievement highlights the outstanding education provided to Aims students and is a remarkable success for our program and college,” said Deb Kish, vice president for academic affairs. “We are so proud of our students and faculty.” For more information, visit www .skillsusa.org.

Auto Theft Ring Indicted by CO Attorney General

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman announced on June 30 that her office has filed criminal charges against a band of criminals in connection with alleged violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (“COCCA”). Known as the “Bow Tie Crew” or “BTC,” William Cussins, Audrey Halvorson, Brandon Martinez, Ashley Egeland, Christopher Bartz, and Cody Cox have been charged in Broomfield District Court, along with four associates, after the Colorado Statewide Grand Jury returned a 122count indictment. The group and its associates stole cars, trucks, motorcycles, RV’s and trailers and burglarized homes and small businesses. In addition, BTC members committed weapons offenses and engaged in identity theft, using stolen credit cards and fraudulent checks to feed their drug use and cover living expenses. In total, it is estimated the “crew” stole and burglarized well over $800,000 in cars, trucks and other property. “While not a well-organized street gang, the ‘Bow Tie Crew’ showed a brazen disregard for the law and inflicted significant damage to our community,” said Attorney

General Coffman. “With car thefts and property crime rates on the rise, we should all be concerned because ultimately, we each pay the price for these crimes in elevated insurance rates.” The Office of the Attorney General, with funding from the Colorado Automobile Theft Prevention Authority, worked in conjunction with the Colorado Metro Auto Theft Task Force, the Broomfield Police Department, Arvada Police Department, Weld County Sheriff’s Office, and the Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center to investigate the case and secure the indictment. In 2015, a total of 14,859 motor vehicle thefts were reported by law enforcement agencies in Colorado, according to the Colorado Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center (ATICC). This is an almost 30% increase in motor vehicle thefts from 2014. That equates to more than $88 million in losses in Colorado alone in one year.

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Carstar Names National Performance Award Winners at Annual Conference in New Orleans

At this year’s CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts annual conference in New Orleans, three shop owners were recognized for their industry-leading performances in sales growth, footprint growth, closing ratio and cycle time.

► CARSTAR La Habra Collision & Glass Center – La Habra, CA

“CARSTAR consistently strives to improve on both the customer and the shop owner level. Through efficiencies and best practices shared amongst individual shop owners as part of CARSTAR’s proprietary EDGE Performance Group training platform, the entire network has achieved record revenues and same store sales, strong CSI results and the industry’s highest average NPS scores,” a statement from the company read. The 2016 CARSTAR Performance Award winners include:

Top Closing Ratio ► CARSTAR Forest Home Auto Body – Milwaukee, WI

Top Sales Growth – Individual Store

Top Sales Growth – MSO ► Tracy and Shaun Copeland – CARSTAR Hi-Tech, CARSTAR Parkland, CARSTAR Fred’s – Seattle, WA

Top Footprint Growth ► Tracy and Shaun Copeland – CARSTAR Hi-Tech, CARSTAR Parkland, CARSTAR Fred’s – Seattle, WA

Top Cycle Time ► CARSTAR Forest Home Auto Body – Milwaukee, WI

“CARSTAR constantly strives to make sure that our owners have all of the resources they need to run a successful business,” said Michael Macaluso, President of CARSTAR North America. “We share in the joys of their accomplishments, and are proud to honor those who have risen to the top.”

Marine Veteran Andrew Paxson Reaches for New Goals in Collision Repair Training

by KIAH-TV

Andrew Paxson is one of the top students on the Houston campus of Universal Technical Institute. “I graduated (from) the auto program with a 4.0 GPA, and then I started over here in the collision program this year,” Paxson said. The Marine veteran wants to one day own his own transmission and fabrication shop. Going through the program at UTI, he hasn’t let the fact that he’s in a wheelchair stop him. “When I first came down here, I didn’t really give much thought to failing,” Paxson said. “I figured I’d take a look at every obstacle and figure out a way to overcome it.” Following his return from serv-

ice in 2008, Paxson fell 40 feet from a tree while working in his landscaping business. The accident severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. When he decided to attend UTI, the school said it would work with him to make sure he could go through the program. “For the most part, I get around pretty easily in the shop. Each thing kind of presents its own challenge. Once we figure it out, we just keep on moving.” The 30-year-old is set to graduate in February 2017. He says he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he has, or plans to get to in the future, without the support of his wife and two kids. Thank you KIAH-TV for reprint permission.

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Alleged Intoxicated Driver Hits Truck Sporting Anti-DUI Message

by Whitney M. Woodworth, Statesman Journal

A couple of months ago, an SUV missed the turn at Pringle and Hoyt in southeast Salem and plowed through the fence at Carzntrux Collision Re-

A driver charged with DUI drove through a fence at Pringle and Hoyt streets SR in Salem (Photo: Special to the Statesman Journal)

pair, wrecking four vehicles. Shop owner Denis Lafferty, who has coped with a few similar crashes through the years, decided he’d finally had enough. Lafferty painted the phrase “Don’t Drink & Drive!” onto the bed of a demolished truck and faced in to-

ward the street as his version of both a public service announcement and a warning to drivers. It wasn’t enough. Early Saturday morning, the driver of a red truck missed the turn, plowed through the chain-link fence and smashed right into the back end of Lafferty’s white “Don’t Drink & Drive!” warning truck. “This driver managed to land his vehicle right on top of it,” Lafferty said. Salem fire and police crews responded to the crash, and a Salem police officer cited the driver, identified in the crash report as Eric Clifford Jones, 46, of Monmouth, with DUI. According to court records, Jones was convicted of fleeing a police officer, reckless driving and reckless endangerment in Clackamas County in 2014 and just had his driver’s license reinstated in March. Lafferty said his landlord has contacted the city about reinforcing the spot and replacing the lonely arrow sign warning drivers of the curve with more arrows and a guardrail. We would like to thank Statesman Journal.com for reprint permission.

Driver Wrecks into Sherman, TX Auto Body Shop by Chelsi Smith, KXII

A car came crashing into a Sherman business on June 28, but not before knocking out power to over a thousand people.

Bob Romig is the owner of Schnitker Autobody. He was working on a customer’s car when he got an unexpected visitor. “I heard like two small bangs and the building shook,” said Romig. “When I came out I saw this little Tahoe trying to get into my building.” Police tell us a man was headed east on Lamar, near downtown Sherman, when he sped off the road, hit two utility poles and crashed into Romig’s shop. Romig was on the other side of the wall. No one was hurt. The driver then ran away from the scene.

“I yelled at them and they stopped, but as soon as I went back into the building to call police he took off running,” said Romig. Police say they do know who the driver is and charges will be filed. The outside of the building wasn’t damaged. As for the inside Romig said, “I don’t think it did a whole lot but it definitely cracked it in the corner.” Romig says while this is the first time anyone’s crashed into his shop it’s not the first accident he’s seen in the area. “There’s been at least three or four in the last couple years.” Nearly 1500 people lost power including some county offices. Power has since been restored. We thank KXII for reprint permission.

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CAA Holds Two Meetings During NACE CARS Co-located with NACE | CARS, the California Autobody Association (CAA) will host two important meetings during the event for their hundreds of members... and everyone in the collision industry is encouraged to attend. Anyone registered to attend the NACE expo or training classes is eligible to attend these very timely meetings at no additional cost.

Thursday, August 11th: 10:30 AM The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) Panel:

The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), along with the California Autobody Association and CCC, will answer any questions you have pertaining to the BAR. The issues that will be covered will range from “how to put the right paint and ma-

terials on your estimate” to “how do I properly get the customer’s authorization under unusual circumstances.”

Friday, August 12th: 9:00 AM Dave Jones, California Insurance Commissioner, presentation and industry update, including:

• Update on what is going on in the Department • Report on the labor rate survey regulation and how it will affect shops and the insurance company • Review steering regulation and how it will protect consumers • Discuss Crash Parts and how it is being enforced • Address the issues that might affect consumers in the auto body industry

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NM Driver Says Sunroof Suddenly ‘Exploded’ On Her While Driving It can happen in an instant, sparking a hazardous situation on the road. Exploding sunroofs happen more often than you think, including to one of our own reporters. “It was quite shocking. I think my heart rate was considerable,” Megan Simpson said.

Detail of Smashed Sunroof

Simpson and Newschannel 4’s Abby Broyles were on a deserted highway in New Mexico when they heard what sounded like a shotgun being fired inside their vehicle. “I’ve never, ever seen anything like that before; it’s just simply unheard of,” Simpson said. As it turns out, hundreds of complaints about exploding sunroofs have been filed with the National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It’s happened on all kinds of makes and models of cars. Some injuries have even been reported. “When you do have some incredible temperatures that the reaction of glass when there is a jeopardized spot, a chip, a crack or whatever, it could lead to further destruction of the glass just based on the temperature,” collision repair expert Gary Wano said. It was about 106 degrees when our sunroof exploded. Thankfully, the visor between it and the cabin was closed, preventing shattered glass from showering on us. Once we got to a dealership for a quick fix to get home, every employee stopped by to see the car. “It was almost like seeing a chupacabra or something. They just kind of gathered around and looked at it because it was just something they hadn’t seen,” Simpson said. Unfortunately, experts say that once there’s a chip in your safety

Auto Care Association Names Perrine New CFO

The Auto Care Association has an- financial operations, but also to serve nounced the appointment of Nathan as a strategic business partner to the Perrine as chief financial officer executive leadership team, segment (CFO). Perrine, who will communities, managed orassume responsibilities on ganizations and the profesJuly 18, most recently sersional staff,” said Bill ved as vice president of fiHanvey, president and nance and administration CEO, Auto Care Associaand CFO of the American tion. Coatings Association in WaPerrine received his shington, D.C. Bachelor of Science in Prior to joining the Accountancy from BrigNathan Perrine American Coatings Associham Young University ation in 2011, Perrine was and his Master of BusiCFO at Tate & Tryon, CPAs and ness of Administration degree from Consultants. From 2001 to 2005, he George Washington University. He served as manager, regional finance is a certified public accountant and operations, for the Special Olym- holds the Certified Global Managepics. ment Accountant credential from “Nathan brings to our associa- the American Institute of CPAs as tion extensive knowledge and expe- well as the Certified Association rience in business accounting prin- Executive credential from the Amerciples as well as organizational and ican Society of Association Execuanalytical skills, not only to oversee tives.

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glass, there isn’t much you can do to prevent the possibility of an exploding sunroof, but controlling how hot it gets does make a difference.

“It sure doesn’t hurt to be able to leave a little ventilation in the automobile. It’s not just for your glass, it’s good for your interior, it’s good for everything in the car,” Wano said. To check if your car has a history of exploding sunroofs, visit the NHTSA website. http://www-odi .nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafety Issues We would like to thank KFOR for reprint permission.

Next Houston Auto Body Association Meeting July 20

The next meeting of the Houston Auto Body Association will be held on July 20 at UTI on the north side of town. The meeting will have guest speakers Amanda Rawls and Sylvia Tran from KPA, who will be discussing how collision centers need to comply with OSHA EPA - DOT & Safety compliance requirements. This presentation will cover what is required along with new issues that have come up in the past two years. Rawls and Tran will also discuss best practices in establishing and sustaining a safety program that will reduce liability and save money. For more information, visit http://www.habaonline.org/.

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Agreement With Binghamton, NY, Auto Shop Over Sale of Salvaged Airbags Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that his office reached an agreement with Binghamton-based Don’s Automotive Mall, Inc. to resolve an investigation that revealed that the company was selling salvaged automobile airbags in violation of New York State law. The Southern Tier area automobile salvage company agreed that it would not sell any salvaged airbags without first complying with the law. New York requires anyone attempting to sell inflatable restraint systems salvaged from another vehicle to have it first certified according to standards established by a nationally recognized testing, engineering and research body

approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles in consultation with the Superintendent of the

Hertz Global Holdings has donated $25,000 to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) to assist in their efforts to support high school and college collision school programs, instructors, and students across the country. Hertz’s donation to the organization’s Collision Repair Education Campaign fund is crucial for CREF to be able to provide school tool/equipment grants, student scholarships, Makeover grants, and conduct career fairs to help bridge

Department of Financial Services. Currently there are no approved standards from the State of New York, rendering

the sale of all salvaged airbags illegal. “Airbags are a critical piece of automotive safety equipment and can be the difference between life and death in a car accident,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Today’s settlement will ensure that Don’s Automotive Mall complies with state law and will prevent untested and potentia-lly hazardous safety equipment from being used in vehicles in New York State.” The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that Don’s Automotive sold dozens, if not hundreds, of airbags removed from salvaged automobiles to consumers and auto repair shops throughout the United States without first having

the equipment properly tested. In addition to refraining from such unlawful sales in the future, the company agreed to pay a $12,500 civil penalty to New York for the violation. The company also agreed to maintain records of any salvaged airbags for a period of three years. The investigation was handled by Assistant Attorney General Michael J. Danaher, Jr. from the Binghamton Regional Office under the supervision of James E. Shoemaker, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Binghamton Regional Office and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Marty Mack.

the gap between graduating students and industry employers. Hertz is also a longstanding sponsor of the Education Foundation’s annual Summer Golf Fundraising Event, taking place on Wednesday, August 10th at the Black Gold Golf Club in Yorba Linda, CA during Industry Week. “We began our aggressive expansion in the off-airport market in 1998 and have since established ourselves as a national option for all segments of the

market, particularly insurance replacement,” said Scott Bridges, vice president of replacement sales for Hertz and a member of the CREF board of trustees. “We would not have been successful without the support of body shops and insurance companies. We have donated to CREF to show our support, and, most importantly, help young students and veterans find a rewarding and challenging career.” CREF director of development

Brandon Eckenrode noted, “Hertz’s donation is important, as through this type of support, it allows us to continue our work in supporting the future professionals of the collision industry. Hertz is represented within our volunteer Board of Trustees and we cannot thank them enough for supporting our efforts to address the industry’s need for productive, qualified entry-level staff to be graduating from collision school programs.”

Hertz Donates $25,000 to Education Foundation

14 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

BASF Brings Chip Foose to CARSTAR Conference

BASF Automotive Refinish is bringing Chip Foose, world renowned restoration expert, to the 2016 CARSTAR conference July 9-11 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, LA. In addition, BASF is a Gold Sponsor of CARSTAR’s charity walk on July 10 to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. “Chip relies on the excellence of Glasurit 90 Line paint to win many coveted awards, including four Ridler awards and seven America’s Most Beautiful Roadster awards,” said Glasurit market segment manager Shefali Cromer. “His designs always culminate with his finishing touch of custom Glasurit paint.” Foose will participate in the opening ceremonies, giving attendees an opportunity to see him sketch a one-of-a-kind Foose mas-

terpiece while he demonstrates his creative process. Foose will also attend the vendor expo on Sunday, July 10 from 12 PM to 4 PM at the BASF booth for autographs and photos. Attendees are encouraged to stop by the booth to meet Foose and enter a chance to win his sketch from the opening ceremony. Chip Foose currently serves as the creative head and driving force behind Foose Design, an automotive and product development company headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA. Foose Design specializes in illustration, graphics, ideation model making, surfacing, and the complete construction of automobiles and automobile-related products. For more information, visit http: //www.basfrefinish.com.

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The Quest for Speed by David Luehr, Elite Newsletter

I was recently involved in a friendly debate. My friend, who is the owner of a successful collision repair business, asked me why I was always so obsessed with helping shops make repair jobs go through the shop faster than anyone else. He reasoned, “why should I make cars go through my shop any faster than I already am? I am already the fastest shop in town with an average cycle time of just 6.5 days!” I pondered his question for a moment, realizing that maybe I did appear obsessed in that way to him and other people. I do love to go fast, but the truth of the matter is that I hate chaos and workflow disruptions even more than I love to go fast! It just happens that “fast” is often one of the results that happen when you run a shop the right way. This reminds me of another conversation I had several years ago when my friend and mentor, Ron Kuehn, told me that lean doesn’t always mean faster. I admit I was initially confused by his advice, but knowing that Ron was rarely wrong, I sat with it for a while and realized he was indeed right. Lean thinking involves the removal of waste from the value stream, but the focus is not on speed. When you are

able to remove waste, the chaos decreases, the disruptions to flow disappear, and in many cases, cars do flow faster through your shop. So my friends that think they are fast enough to keep up with the market demands and quit trying to improve because their cycle time is already fast enough to place them on the DRP leaderboard, I challenge you to re-consider your quest! I have seen very unhappy people that beat their people with a stick to get good cycle times and live in a constant environment of chaos, while others that have been focusing on the right things instead, have a peaceful, enjoyable environment that pumps out cars consistently and without all the drama! The real take-away here is to encourage you to never give up on your quest for improvement, even if you think your cycle time metrics are “good enough.” A commitment to continuous improvement, means never giving up on your quest to remove the chaos and constant flow interruptions that so many still consider a normal part of the collision repair business. As long as you consider supplements and chaos “normal” you are becoming complacent and not improving. Never give up…. and as always, the team at Elite Body Shop Solutions is here to help!

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Shop and Product Showcase 5 Areas Where Body Shops Fail to Be Green with Ed Attanasio

Everyone wants to be green, or at least believe that they are running a green shop that is playing by all the rules. But are body shop owners really willing to spend the time, money and effort to be as green as possible? And are they willing to hire an expert to get them there? Steven Schillinger, 67, is the president of GRC-Pirk and a worldrenowned registered environmental and electrical engineer, licensed to certify businesses subject to environmental regulations. Schillinger helps body shops to get energy efficient commercial building IRS 179D Tax Deductions that were established by the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. GRC-Pirk Management in Reno, NV is a professional engineering and assessment company specializing in U.S. Clean Air & Clean Water Act regulatory compliance. Companies engage GRC-Pirk to develop and implement cost-effective environmental, health and safety records management. The company focuses on integrating compliance recordkeeping into business operation processes through “paperless” digital automation. Schillinger is a committee chair for the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), providing definitions for automotive shop compliance and sustainability, and has more than 40 years in this role. His company primarily works with body shops and sign companies because their operations are similar in many ways.

1.) They’re Skeptical: “Body shop owners are a suspicious group anyway, so when we tell them that they can make additional revenue rather than lose money by being green, they don’t believe it,” Schillinger said. “We can put the facts right in front of them and show them that it is not rocket science and some of them can see the light almost immediately. We try to put it all in non-technical language so that they won’t get baffled by the terminology and show them the numbers. But there are always those naysayers out there who don’t trust the government or the utilities, so they never act and end up leaving a ton of money (in the form of rebates) on the table. Not everything is too good to be true and this is one of

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

green,” Schillinger said. “It often relates to getting caught for dumping the wrong things through their drains. We will help these shops, because that’s what we do. But they should not wait until they get fined to act. Running a green shop needs to be an ongoing process that is continually refined. Putting these items on the backburner can backfire on shops, and it often does. As far as all of the money that is Steven Schillinger is the president of GRC-Pirk, a available to body shops consulting company that helps body shops get energy through energy rebates, the efficient commercial building IRS 179D Tax Deductions clock is running out. Starting that were established by the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) in 2020, the utility companies of 2005 aren’t going to run these prothose instances. After they finally degrams anymore. They may extend the cide to work with us to become a deadlines, but the fact is that these great greener business and they see the savopportunities aren’t going to be availings, they’re no longer skeptical.” able forever.”

2.) They Don’t Stay on the Green Path: “Being green eventually becomes a check box item at many shops, and that is unfortunate,” Schillinger said. “That means they start out with sincere intentions and then begin cutting corners and fall back into bad habits. For example, when shops get busy, they start improperly disposing of hazardous waste and the painters stop wearing respirators when they have cars backed up. Being green isn’t a start-and-stop thing, and to keep it in your shop’s culture, it has to be stressed and re-emphasized every day.”

3.) Improper Training: “If you don’t teach your personnel to make green practices an integral part of your daily production, it’s counterproductive in many ways,” he said. “Many shops only use their paint booths for curing cars and most of the painting actually takes place out on the shop floor. That’s an employee safety concern obviously, but the shop owners rarely enforce it, so it takes place every day in shops all over the country.” 4.) Waiting Too Long: “We hear from a lot of body shop owners who are a little frantic because they’re being fined by the EPA, OSHA or whatever organization is citing them for not being

16 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

5.) Do-It-Yourselfers: “We sit down

with body shops all the time and show them how to save a lot of money by cutting their energy usage in many ways,” Schillinger explained. “But when we tell them that we don’t work for free, their first instinct is that they can do it without our help. Body shop owners are self-made people and they know how to fix cars, but they also believe that they can do just about everything else on their own, including being green. But whenever we tell a body shop owner that his operation is not really as green as he thinks it is, they don’t like it. It’s a personal pride thing and it goes back to not knowing what they don’t know. I have 40 years of experience finding shops these energy rebates and other incentives, so we’re not shooting in the dark here. But some collision repairers, as well as health and safety managers and/or human resources people at the larger MSOs, still think they can navigate through this labyrinth themselves.”

www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 17

CARSTAR Auto Body Experts Discuss Annual Conference Highlights, Plans for Future “We also evaluated resources that are available for leadership, career path This year’s annual CARSTAR Condevelopment, and networking within ference, held in New Orleans, LA, atthe industry, such as the Women’s Intracted the largest turnout that the dustry Network,” she added. “AttenMSO has ever seen. dees included franchisees, corporate staff, vendor partners and insurance partners.” On Sunday, July 10, Driven Brands president Jose Costa and Macaluso addressed the attendees while CARSTAR founder Lirel Holt joined them onstage. “It was a great opportunity to bring Lirel in as we begin this new initiative of a North American CARSTAR comHiring panel (l to r)– Melissa Miller, Lisa Siembab, prised of U.S. and Canada,” Kathy Bull, Dean Fisher said CARSTAR COO Dean “We’re extremely happy with the Fisher. “It’s a very exciting time for attendance, excitement, engagement, us.” networking, and most importantly, the The rest of the day was filled with business opportunities that come activities, including presentations on about from this conference,” said CARSTAR’s marketing and branding CARSTAR North America president initiatives as well as the MSO’s future. Michael Macaluso. “We will continue bridging the U.S. and Canada organizations and learning from both countries,” said Macaluso. “Both bring a tremendous amount of resources, experience, and knowledge that really transcends the borders.” Miller organized two sessions on the final day, July 11; one focused on how to diversify a business’s talent pool through different organizations. “We talked about how finding the right employees is definitely an epidemic within our industry that continues to be a hot topic,” she explained. by Victoria Antonelli

and gave updates on their ever-changing processes and tools. “Melissa and our vice president of operations in Canada, Colson Cole, also went over our EDGE Performance platform with the stores as well as the continuing education and training initiatives we offer, including CARSTAR Connect,” Fisher added. “We then addressed our team in some of the areas of need and concern around our specific franchise bases.”

(l to r) Lou and Tony Scola, owners, CARSTAR Scolas in Chicago

The conference concluded with a franchisee dinner and more discussions about CARSTAR’s goals and aspirations. “We are approaching the 500 store mark across North America; we expect

(l to r) Jose Costa and Lirel Holt

to hit it very soon,” said Macaluso. “Our sales last year ended at around the $800 million mark and we’re on pace to surpass that in both countries.” He added that the MSO’s goal is to reach 1,000 stores, with continued focus on the insurance piece, which is of “critical importance.” “There are thriving new opportunities in the insurance space, and we want to be in every conversation that the other large MSOs are having,” said Macaluso. “We believe we bring a lot to the table with our franchise model, and our continued focus and growth.”

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Michael Macalus (l) and Lirel Holt

The event kicked off on Saturday, July 9 with a dinner and awards ceremony led by vice president of operations Melissa Miller. Accolades included national performance awards for stores as well as top insurance awards. “We acknowledged the CARSTAR franchises celebrating 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25-year anniversaries,” said Miller. “The 25-year anniversary stores joined us on stage and were received with a warm round of applause. It’s very amazing to see a franchise committed to our organization for 25 years.” Also during the event’s opening day, Miller hosted a Women’s Roundtable, where the women of CARSTAR discussed the issues they face in the industry.

Arlo Johnson, VP, Insurance

“We wanted to show our franchisees some different avenues of diversification they can look at that maybe they haven’t tapped into yet.” During the second session, Mike Anderson discussed OE certifications

18 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Chief Expands Its Distribution Network Chief has added two distributors to its sales and service network. New Orleans Equipment Company of Harahan, Louisiana will support customers in Louisiana and south central Mississippi while Collision Equip-

guns and more. New Orleans Equipment Company has been in the auto body business for more than 16 years. Owner Bernard Triche says Chief is a perfect fit for his company.

Chief, North America’s leading collision repair equipment manufacturer, has appointed two new distributors, New Orleans Equipment in Louisiana and Collision Equipment Experts in the Chicago area. Pictured is New Orleans Equipment owner (l to r) Bernard Triche, and Don Putney, president of Collision Equipment Experts

ment Experts, Inc., of Lake in the Hills, Illinois will cover the Chicago, central Illinois and western Indiana regions. Both companies will carry the full Chief line, including frame racks, benches, vehicle-anchoring systems, measuring systems, vehicle frame specifications, welders, rivet

“We share the same philosophy about customer support as Chief. We’re all about responding quickly to our customer’s needs, working hard to keep them up and running, and helping them understand their equipment so they can be as profitable as possible,” Triche said.

Don Putney, president of Collision Equipment Experts, has served the collision industry for more than 40 years. He was a body and paint technician, body shop manager and unibody repair instructor for I-CAR before co-founding Collision Equipment Experts in 2009. “This company wants to represent the best, and I really feel Chief is the leader in the industry for holding, anchoring, pulling and measuring equipment,” said Putney. “And we are the best in our area in customer service – from body shop design and layout, to spec’ing the proper equipment for a customer’s application, to providing the service and training to help them reduce costs and improve their productivity.” “We are really pleased to bring these two fine companies into the Chief distributor family,” said Bob Holland, director of collision sales in North and South America. “They are the kind of organizations you want on your front line. Because when it comes to total structural repair solutions— equipment, installation, training, vehicle repair data, technical support and plain no-nonsense advice—our distributor family is the embodiment of Chief to our end users.”

HABA Introduces New Survey & Sets July Meeting

Survey Time The Houston Auto Body Association (HABA) has contracted Customer Research, Inc. to conduct a survey for 2016. HABA will be sending out emails and making phone calls during the survey process. The association believes the survey is very important for the Houston market. To participate in the survey, click on the link below. The survey takes about one minute to complete. Survey My Shop: (http://www.customerresearch.com /websurveys/survey_312_anonymous .aspx) Upcoming HABA Meeting The association's next meeting will be held on Wednesday July 20, 2016. It will be held at the UTIHouston campus on the north side. The meeting will feature guest speaker Craig Downey from KPA. Downey, an environmental engineer, will be discussing collision center requirements necessary to comply with OSHA - EPA - DOT & other safety compliance issues.

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Few auto body students can say they’ve had professional experience prior to obtaining a job in the field, but D&S Automotive (D&S) in Mentor, Ohio is trying to change that. The company, which operates three collision centers in Northeast Ohio, is investing in the future of auto body professionals by providing an intensive apprenticeship program. D&S recruits apprentices from Auburn Career Center, where students who have enthusiasm for the field and recommendations from their professors are introduced to the program and encouraged to participate. With the skills and techniques learned at Auburn, apprentices are well-equipped to learn everything from tear down, body work, and framework to refinishing, final reassembly, and front office estimating. Since its inception, six local auto body technician students have entered the program. Nearly every apprentice has gone on to work at D&S, with only one student taking a job at another local shop. Two recent graduates from the program, Nick Holberg and Noah Mair, have joined the growing list

of graduates hired by D&S. The two expanded their skill set put into place by Auburn Career Center and gained real world experience in a professional shop setting. “It’s not easy, but the hard work pays off, and you learn more here than you would anywhere else,” said Holberg and Mair. Out of everything the program taught them, the young men claim to have enjoyed refinishing the most. “Teaching kids today what it really takes and giving them an opportunity to work is what makes us unique,” said CJ Paterniti, vice president of D&S. “If a person comes right out of tech school, a shop is going to likely put them in the wash bay. If we can give them at least a taste of the entire shop, why not give them a buffet and it’s all you can eat? If you really like paint and refinishing, then you can spend time there. I really want the kids to get the feel for the entire platter, but if they find something that they have a strong suit for, they can become massively involved in it and get a head start.” For more information, visit www.ds automotive.com.

www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 21

Not Just for Men: NIC Programs in ID Lead to Role-Breaking Jobs by KAYE THORNBRUGH / North Idaho College, cdapress.com

When Krystyna Zak was growing up, her dad was a regular Mr. Fix-It. She used to follow him around in his shop, asking if she could help. Once, he gave her an old radio to take apart, and though she never did manage to put it back together, she enjoyed seeing what it was made of. It was like pulling apart the pieces of a puzzle to see how they fit. Zak became interested in vehicles when she learned to drive; troubleshooting problems with her car was another puzzle. She even helped out with her friends’ cars. It was a challenge: facing a problem and asking herself, “Can I fix that?” A part-time job making deliveries in a big truck renewed her interest in vehicles, and in time, Zak found her way to the Collision Repair Technology program at North Idaho College. “It’s been really cool to learn all these new skills in this industry,” Zak said. “I’ve received a lot of support. I’ve felt very comfortable.” Zak’s enrollment in the Collision Repair program is notable because she is one of a growing number of female students in traditionally male-dominated programs. This year, female students are enrolled in Collision Repair, Welding, Computer Aided Design, Industrial Mechanic/Millwright and Outdoor Power/Recreational Vehicle programs at NIC. For a while, when she wanted to change careers, Zak considered becoming a nail technician as an outlet for her creative side. But she said collision repair helps her tap into her creativity as well. NIC’s nine-month Collision Repair Technology program teaches the fundamentals of repairing damaged vehicles. It’s one of a handful of one-year collision repair programs in the Northwest, and the only one in Idaho. Upon completing the program, students emerge as body technicians or auto refinishing technicians (painters). Wending Jennings is a first-year student in NIC’s Computer Aided De-

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sign Technology program. Like Zak, a family connection sparked her interest in the field — her grandfather was a machinist. But she didn’t start

In 2013, women made up just 2 percent of the collision repair technician workforce, according to the Collision Repair Education Foundation. About 25.4 percent of jobs in the motor vehicle industry are held by women. Since enrolling at NIC, Zak said she’s learned a lot about her own personality and how to work with others, be they male or female. “It’s a team effort,” she said. “If there are five guys trying to lift a truck frame, I can be a sixth person and make it Kyrstyna Zak works on a vehicle in North Idaho College’s lighter… You have to put Collision Repair Technology program. Zak and other women yourself out there, and it are finding great jobs in fields that were traditionally builds confidence. You’re dominated by males. Credit: Photo by Tom Greene/North showing that you can do what Idaho College anybody else does.” out in that line of work. Zak recently won a $1,000 schol“I used to do caregiving, but I got arship from Women’s Industry Network kind of tired of the lifting and every- (WIN), an organization supporting thing,” Jennings said, describing how women in the collision repair industry. she knew it was time for her to find a Along with the scholarship, she renew career path. ceived an all-expense-paid trip to the While living in California, Jen- annual WIN conference in Florida, as nings became a certified machinist, a well as a slot in WIN’s mentoring profield where only about 5 percent of the gram. workforce are women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Later, when she moved back to Idaho, she became interested in computer aided design at NIC. “I’m kind of used to being around a lot of guys,” Jennings said. “I don’t feel like I’m any lower or higher than them. We’re all here at the same level. We’re all learning the same things.” Only about 20 percent of CAD technicians are women; at the moment, Jennings is one of just a few women studying computer aided design at NIC. But she hopes that changes soon. In fact, she hopes other female students interested in computer aided design can look to her for direction. Her goal is to continue her education beyond NIC and become a mechanical engineer. “I would like to help get more women in the field, and try to set an example,” Jennings said. “Like, ‘Look, see… women can do it, too!’ It’s not just a guy thing.”

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“Krystyna [Zak] has been such an inspiration to our Collision Repair Technology program,” said Cal DeHaas, program instructor. “She was without a doubt the respected leader within our team. What sets her apart from others, I believe, is that she genuinely cares about people and always puts others’ needs ahead of her own. Krystyna’s personality is so refreshing and contagious.” Zak already has a job lined up for when she finishes the program. She’ll work as an estimator for a collision repair shop in Coeur d’Alene, and she’ll also have the opportunity to do some hands-on work in the shop. She’s looking forward to a new career. “It’s great to know that I can do something totally different from what I’ve done before,” Zak said. “It’s exciting.” For information about NIC’s Career and Technical Education programs, such as Collision Repair Technology and Computer Aided Design Technology, call (208) 769-3468 or visit www .nic.edu/tech. We would like to thank cdapress .com for reprint permission.

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Shop Strategies with Stacey Phillips - ASSISTANT EDITOR

Stacey Phillips is the assistant editor at Autobody News magazine. She has more than 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications. She can be reached at sphillips@autobodynews.com.

Award-Winning Arkansas Body Shop Takes Pride in its Support of the Environment & Local Community Sorrells Body Shop in Russellville, Arkansas will celebrate 45 years in business in October. Started by Ray Sorrells, the family business has grown to include 16 employees and is involved with all types of collision repair, auto glass installation and paintless dent repair. In addition to being a “green” body shop, the business is a strong supporter of the surrounding community and recently received the “Best of the Best” Body Shop Award in the Arkansas River Valley. Autobody News spoke to Jamie Sorrells, president of Sorrells Body Shop about the award and the Arkansas business.

Congratulations on the recent Q: award you received. Can you tell us about the award and what you

attribute your shop’s success to?

This award is determined by a A: Readers Choice Survey of the Russellville Courier newspaper. Our

shop has received this award for the past seven years and 13 of the last 15 years. We are always excited when the results come out and we receive this honor. It is voted on by the people who live here in our area and are our customers, and we are glad to know that people appreciate what we are doing. We have also received commendations for exemplary service from insurance companies that we partner with through Direct Repair Programs (DRPs). We welcome and work hard for the DRPs that allow us to maintain our level of quality and integrity our customers expect. There are some DRPs we have chosen not to be associated with due to their requirements. Our employees work very hard and we are certainly proud of the workmanship they provide. It is their skills that create and build upon the company’s reputation for excellence.

Sorrells Body Shop has a long Q: and interesting history. Can you tell us about some of the changes

over the years?

Russellville, Arkansas and started working in the body shop at the local Ford dealer. At that time, he probably never realized what would evolve from his post-war career. After he spent 12 years perfecting his craft, he and my mom June moved with the family to southern California where my dad worked as a car painter for the next 13 years at shops in Anaheim and Long Beach. He then decided to move the family back to his hometown where he established Ray’s Body Shop in 1971 in an old two-bay gas station on South Arkansas Avenue. In 1975, he purchased an existing body shop in town, changed the name to Sorrells Body Shop, and continued to build his reputation of being a man of integrity who always made sure he took care of his customers. My older brother Steve, a painting specialist, joined dad and the two worked together along with the growing crew until 1988, when my dad decided to retire after spending 43 years in the auto repair industry. My three brothers (Steve, Randy and Jeff) and I decided to purchase the business and incorporated the newly formed organization. As the majority owner, I am currently president of the company, but not involved in the day-to-day operations. Randy and Jeff have served as officers of the company but did not work at the shop. Steve continued to head up the paint shop. After five years and a couple of expansions of the existing shop building, Steve Hodges, a local shop owner, was offered an interest in the business and he became the vice president and general manager. During this time, the company’s growth required a move to a larger facility, and the business was moved across town to the former building and lot of the Chevrolet dealership. Hodges worked with the company for about 10 years before moving to Guatemala to work full time in the mission field. His interest was sold to the parts manager at that time, Eric Hartzell, who is currently VP and general manager at the shop.

My dad Ray Sorrells, a World A: War II veteran, came back from that you work in the war in 1945 to his hometown of Q: theYouoilmentioned and gas business. What

24 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

is your primary focus in that industry?

members who are part of the business?

ergy Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. I am usually on the road negotiating a land deal or handling some landowner issue where the company is conducting their operations. The oil business has provided a very interesting and exciting career over the past 35 years. It is a unique situation, but I think working with each organization makes me strive to be a better employee and also gives me the insight to try to make better decisions for the body shop. I work for one of the biggest companies in the world, but I am also involved with a family-owned business.

president of the company, and recently welcomed my son-in-law, Keith Moore, to the management team in 2014. Vice President Eric’s younger brother Jason works in the paint department along with Bruce Link, who is married to the bookkeeper, Amber. Eric leads the management team that consists of Keith, estimator and project manager; Jim George, operations manager; Matt Graham, part manager; Billie Pawlicki, customer service; and Amber. These folks are true professionals who know how to take care of customers, work with insurance companies and make sure that everything we do is done in the right way. We have a seasoned crew in the shop that is truly remarkable. They

Since 1981, I have worked in the A: oil and gas business in Arkansas Sorrells business has been a true and Oklahoma. I am the land coordinafamily affair since the beginning A: tor of surface operations for XTO Enand it remains that way. I still serve as

Can you tell us about your emQ: ployees and the other family

www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 25

know that each job that rolls out the door carries their reputation with it. We are very proud of the employees that make up the Sorrells Body Shop family. We are one big happy family. We do try to keep our business a familyfriendly place to work.

What are some of the initiatives Q: you have taken to be a “green” body shop?

We certainly care about our A: surroundings and do all we can to reduce our environmental

footprint. Sorrells Body Shop uses the Axalta Cromax Pro waterborne paint system that emits less volatile organic compounds than traditional solvent-based products. This has reduced our solvent usage and disposal. We do our best to recycle all of our paper products, from the shop to the office. Discarded plastic and steel components from damaged vehicles are also saved for the recycler. How does your shop support the local community and what Q: is the importance of doing so?

Community support has always A: been a very important part of who we are at Sorrells Body Shop. Our

Christian faith guides our principles and provides the foundation of how we run our business and how we treat others. People have put a lot of trust in our business over the years and we want to continue to earn that trust by not only providing quality workmanship, but by showing our customers that we are committed to the support of our local community. Sorrells has been a long-time sponsor of youth sports teams, cheerleaders, band and theater programs, the Pope County Fair youth livestock auction and church programs throughout the community. Education is a vital part of any society and Sorrells Body Shop is a supporter of many programs at the local college—Arkansas Tech University and the Russellville School district. Each year, Sorrells provides scholarships to deserving seniors at Russellville High to continue their education in college or technical school. All of the employees get involved with the annual toy drives at Christmas and cereal drives in the summer. The “Russ Bus” is a local work that provides food, housing and other needs to the home-

26 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

less in the Russellville area. Sorrells Body Shop purchased a van for the organization to help them in their efforts. Our business has been very blessed over the years and we think it is very important to help others. The mission statement at Sorrells Body Shop clearly explains the importance of community. “It is the mission of Sorrells Body Shop to deliver the most professional, ethical and highest quality service to our customers; while at the same time, giving back to our community in every way that we can.” Our owners believe it, our management team believes it, and our technicians believe it. Every three months, an employee is chosen during our quarterly meeting to present a $500 donation to the charity of their choice in our Choose a Charity program. We think giving back is important and we try to do what we can.

What are some of the upcomQ: ing plans for the body shop? One exciting upcoming change A: is the proposed new location for the business. A tract of land has been purchased on East Main Street in Rus-

sellville. The new Sorrells Body Shop is currently in the design phase and hopefully will be opened in 2017. We are really looking forward to operating in a brand new updated facility. The auto industry is in a constant state of change. The technology involved in today’s vehicles is changing so fast and becoming much more intricate and difficult to repair. We are committed to having the best facility with the latest equipment and the best training available for our employees so that we can continue to provide a beautiful and safe repair of a damaged vehicle. Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, a consulting firm from Alexandria, Virginia, recently visited Sorrells Body Shop and is working with us to improve some of the systems at the shop. Mike works all over the country and is very knowledgeable in the latest trends and processes involved in collision repair. He is a great consultant to have working with our team so that we can work more efficiently and better serve our customers. Our slogan is “Expect Amazing” and we hope we can deliver “Amazing” to each and every customer that rolls into Sorrells Body Shop.

CARSTAR Appoints North American Training and Development Manager CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts has announced that it has named Ryan Anderson as its North American training and development manager. In his new role, Anderson will oversee training programs for CARSTAR

store owners and employees across CARSTAR’s North American network of more than 475 stores. Anderson brings with him more than 15 years of experience in the training and development fields, including time as director for training and continuing education at Everest College in Hamilton as well as director of learning and business development at Medix College in Toronto. Anderson supported franchise systems as director of training and continuing education with Servicemaster Canada. His most recent role was director of learning and organizational development for SinglePoint Solutions in Toronto, where he led training across North American and Panama. In this

role, he and his team were chosen as a mance Network as senior director of Top 125 Global Training Corporation compliance and education, where he by Training Ma-gazine. will continue to work with Anderson holds a CAR-STAR’s corporate Bachelor of Arts degree team and store owners. from McMaster University Keith was recently recogin Hamilton, and a nized by I-CAR as the recipMasters of Education ient of their annual Founders from D’Youville ColAward. The award was lege in Buffalo, New given based on his dedicaYork. tion and service to I-CAR at Bob Keith, a “As CARSTAR the recent 2016 I-CAR Vol20-year member Auto Body Repair unteer & Instructor Conferof the CARSTAR Network grows, we have ence held in Orlando, Floteam and owner an opportunity to provide a rida. Keith joined the corpoof four CARSTAR platform for training and rate team in 1996. locations, will staff development for our “We were fortunate to join Assured corporate team members have someone with Bob’s Performance and the more than 475 experience serve as part of Network as store owners,” said Michaour team,” said Macaluso. senior director el Macaluso, president of “He has helped all of our of compliance CAR-STAR North Amershops throughout North and education ica. “Ryan Anderson brings America deliver the best tremendous experience to our team possible product to our customers. and will be a true resource as we all We thank him for all of his contribuprepare the ever-changing collision tions and look forward to continuing repair industry.” to work with him in his new role.” In a separate move, Bob Keith, senior director of operations training, a 20-year member of the CARSTAR team and ow-ner of four CARSTAR locations, will join Assured Per- for-

Sorrells Body Shop in AR Voted Best Auto Body Shop by The Courier

Ray’s Body Shop was established in 1971 by Raymond and June Sorrells. “I am proud of the business that my father established,” Jamie Sorrells, president of the company, said. The business has received many industry awards throughout the years.

“The success and growth we have enjoyed at Sorrells Body Shop is because of the hard work and dedication of our employees,” Eric Hartzell, vice president and general manager, said. “Sorrells Body Shop has been part of Russellville’s business community for over 40 years, and will continue the tradition of excellence in collision repair for many years to come.” Thank you to The Courier for reprint permission.

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ABAC and Senator Blumenthal Stress the Importance of Safe Repairs at a Local Tech School A main part of the mission statement for the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) is promoting safe and dependable auto repairs, and one of the many ways they do this is by supporting automotive programs at local tech schools. The importance of a proper collision repair curriculum was stressed on Wednesday, June 1 during a press conference at HC Wilcox Technical High School in Meriden, CT, where the ABAC and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) met with students.

Tony Ferraiolo of the ABAC and Senator Richard Blumenthal address the students at HC Wilcox Technical High School on June 1

Tony Ferraiolo, President of the ABAC, noted, “Connecticut’s technical schools are the foundation of this industry and the source of many of the best and brightest technicians in our industry. It is so important for the students to be trained properly because it gives them the ability to be productive from day one. The complexity of this industry makes it very interesting and challenging. These future technicians will be counted on to repair vehicles properly and safely for the consumers.” As part of its efforts to support the collision repair program at HC Wilcox, the ABAC donated an improperly repaired car to the school for students to learn from. The vehicle, purchased from a woman whose car was unsafely repaired through an insurance company’s concierge’s facility, was deemed unsafe to operate due to poor workmanship and the use of imitation parts. When the owner of the vehicle brought her car to an independent collision repair facility, the shop ruled the car a total loss because it was completely unsafe for the road.

The ABAC acquired the vehicle and donated it to the school to use as an educational tool, demonstrating how a seemingly safe vehicle could be dangerous and unfit to drive. According to Ferraiolo, “Poor and unsafe repairs often involve the use of imitation parts or repair procedures that do not conform to manufacturer specifications. The ABAC encourages the use of OEM factory parts and repair standards. Independent shops that do not have contractual agreements with insurance companies do not get pressured to cut corners or use imitation parts. Remember, in the state of CT, you have the right to have your vehicle repaired at the repair facility of your choice.” The ABAC donated the shoddily repaired vehicle to allow students to dissect the car to determine where imitation parts were used, where poor workmanship could be found, and where corners were cut. “We want the students to learn how to properly repair a vehicle,” Ferraiolo stressed. Addressing the students, Ferraiolo stated, “This vehicle behind us is an example of what happens when insurance companies get in the business of fixing cars. This car was repaired and returned to the customer supposedly completed and roadworthy. After it was inspected by an independent repair facility, it was deemed a total loss and completely unsafe for the road. Insurance companies should not interfere with our ability to perform a safe repair. Compromising safety just to save an insurance company a few dollars on claims is completely unacceptable. Cheaper is rarely better when you’re talking about the safety of an automobile. Cutting corners and using imitation parts may compromise safety when involved in a crash. We applaud Senator Blumenthal for fighting with us on this issue and raising awareness.” He continued by reminding attendees: “Your car, your choice. You cannot rely on an insurance company to take care of your repairs. Your life may depend on it. You need to bring your vehicle to a shop that you can trust.” Next, Senator Blumenthal ad-

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dressed attendees, thanking the ABAC and everyone involved for their generously significant donation. He boasted, “There is no body that is more important than our Vocational Tech schools. I brag about our Connecticut Vo-Tech

The ABAC donated $10,000 to CT Technical High Schools for supplies and materials

Schools literally everywhere I go, on the floor of the Senate or when I meet with people. They (the schools) provide real skills for real jobs. I’m being told that there are openings for jobs, but we don’t have people with the right skills. That’s why the Vo-Tech schools are so important to our economy.” Blumenthal also pointed out, “Consumers, whether purchasing, driving, or repairing their vehicle, deserve to have choice and reliability in every

step of vehicle ownership. I commend the Auto Body Association of Connecticut – a group that I have worked with for more than a decade on these issues – for continuing the fight in Connecticut and for their willingness to highlight for consumers the need to be proactive in choosing their repair shop and ensuring that all parts are certified.” Further expressing the ABAC’s commitment to education at CT trade schools, Ferraiolo presented a $10,000 donation to the HC Wilcox Technical High School to help support and enhance the automotive program and curriculum currently in place. He said, “The ABAC has been a devout supporter of the auto program and we hope to continue supporting the development of critical and necessary trade skills in the State of Connecticut.” Additional speakers at the press conference included the school’s principal, Joyce Mowry, as well as Dave Kapitulik, educational consultant for transportation technologies and key coordinator for the CT Technical High School system.

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D.C. Lobbying Over Self-Driving Autos Revs Up by Keith Laing, Detroit News Washington Bureau

Ford, Volvo, Google, Uber and Lyft are stepping up their lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill as lawmakers begin to craft regulations for self-driving cars, and they have hired a former National Highway Transportation Safety Administration chief to be their frontman. The carmakers and tech companies have joined forces to form a lobby group called Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets in an effort to make sure regulations aren’t put in place that might suppress development efforts for autonomous vehicles. But some critics warn of a too-cozy relationship between the industry and regulators and say that rules must be sufficiently tough to keep the public safe. The industry group has tapped David Strickland, NHTSA administrator from 2010-14, to be the public face of the effort to steer Congress toward favorable regulations for selfdriving autos. Strickland said he accepted the position with the self-driving coalition

and eliminate the need for a driver to be behind the wheel when they are in motion was introduced last month in the state Senate. California has taken the opposite tack with a proposal that would require a licensed driver — and a steering wheel — to be in the car at all times. Strickland said the differing approaches between the two states shows the need for Congress to develop one set of federal rules for selfdriving cars. Strickland said the Self-Driving Coalition An autonomous Ford Fusion navigates the roads of the Mcity for Safer Streets wants Test Facility in Ann Arbor. Credit: Detroit News to ensure federal rules The former NHTSA chief pointed do not stifle the development of the out that multiple car and tech companies technology that will be used to power are moving forward with testing self- driverless vehicles. driving autos, and states like Michigan Most importantly, he said, they and California are beginning to craft want to make sure the eventual rules their own regulations. do not prohibit fully autonomous opA bill that would allow self-dri- eration of cars that may eventually be ving cars to be operated on any of built without steering wheels and foot Michigan’s 122,000 miles of roads pedals. because he believes the technology is ripe for widespread deployment in the near future and has the potential to save lives by sharply reducing the number of crashes on the nation’s roads.

“The concern for the coalition is our goal of full self-driving. That answers a lot of the problems we’ve tried to address with human error,” he said, pointing out that 94 percent of all car crashes involve mistakes made by drivers. “If you pull the driver back in, you’re not addressing human error,” Strickland said. The former NHTSA chief said he expects the process that results in federal regulations for self-driving autos to be a “collaborative” effort between his former agency and members of Congress, who have already begun hold hearings about the potential rewards and risks of the new technology. “My experience working with Congress (at NHTSA) is that they want to work with the oversight committees,” he said. “I don’t see it as an arms race. Traditionally, the conversation has been two responsible authorities who work to ensure there are no gaps in safety regulations.” NHTSA, automakers' relationship. Critics see Strickland’s involve-

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ment in the self-driving coalition as evidence of a cozy relationship between NHTSA and car companies that has resulted in lax oversight of the auto industry. “The revolving door between NHTSA and industry has become an embarrassment to the agency and the administration,” John Simpson, privacy project director at the Santa Monica, California-based Consumer Watchdog group wrote in a letter to NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. Simpson asked Rosekind to promise not to lobby for auto companies that are pushing for self-driving cars for seven years after he leaves office at the end of the year. He noted, “including Strickland, four former agency officials are now leading the race for Google to develop self-driving robot cars without steering wheels and brake pedals so a human driver can take control. “The practice has become so commonplace that potential NHTSA employees must anticipate that a golden parachute will await them when they jump ship to land at an automotive or technology company,” Simpson wrote.

He said his organization “supports autonomous vehicle policies, such as those proposed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that require a driver behind a steering wheel and brake pedal capable of assuming control of the self-driving robot technology when something goes wrong. “Data from self-driving car developers show this is a key safety provision,” Simpson wrote. “For example, in a required disengagement report filed with the California DMV Google said its self-driving technology failed 341 times during the reporting period. The technology turned over control to the test driver 272 times because it couldn’t cope and the test driver intervened 69 times because they felt the situation was dangerous.” Confidence vs. real-world tests Missy Cummings, from Duke University’s autonomy and robotics lab, agrees that self-driving cars need to be tested in real-world road and weather conditions before they can be deployed on a large scale. “They need to go up to Minneapolis for a winter or Boston for a winter or Seattle,” said Cummings, who testified before Congress in March on the need for further testing

of autonomous vehicles. “I’m not saying I don’t think these cars should be on the road, but I don’t think they’re ready.” The members of the coalition that has been formed to lobby for favorable rules for self-driving autos in Washington have expressed full confidence in the emerging technology. “We believe fully autonomous vehicles will help people travel more safely and efficiently, as well as facilitate mobility for those currently unable to drive,” Ford said in a statement when the group was first launched in April. San Francisco-based Lyft added: “Eventually, the world will move to one where autonomous vehicles are a major mode of time transportation. They’ll increase accessibility, affordability — and importantly, improve safety.” Critics like Simpson and Cummings are not so sure, however. “If the Google car can perform flawlessly in the winter in Boston, good for them,” Cummings said. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen.” We would like to thank Detroit News for reprint permission.

ACA, IHS Automotive Present “A Decade of Change” Webinar

The Auto Care Association and IHS Automotive will present their webinar “A Decade of Change – Lightweighting the Key to Compliance” on Tuesday, June 28 at 2 p.m. EST. The Webinar will be presented by Michael Robinet, Managing Director of Automotive Advisory Services, IHS Automotive. Attendees will learn how material changes will drive substantial changes in the aftermarket, including repair processes, joining/fastener technology, the ability to repair/replace, and requirements to understand the new materials. The webinar is open to Auto Care Association members. For more information, visit http://www.autocare.org/industryanalysis-webinars.

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@autobodynews

www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 31

32 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-4 joe_benson@pikespeakacura.com www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 33

Old School Know How

Industry Veteran Talks Candidly About Life as an MSO with Ed Attanasio

Frank Quadrato has 35 years of expeworking for us for almost 30 years. rience in the collision repair industry in His name is Dennis Cobb and he is northern California. He credits much of one of the most knowledgeable peowhat he learned about the inple I know in this industry. dustry to what took place at We have our own estimating Contra Costa College, where class and we’re always lookhe graduated from in 1986. ing to schools like UTI or After working for several inContra Costa College for dependent shops to learn people. Alternatively, maybe every facet of the industry, some of these candidates went to school somewhere Quadrato was hired by Cook’s Frank Quadrato else, but they have a backCollision 18 years ago, and has 35 years of today, his title at the MSO is ground with cars. They might experience in the Industry Relations. We renot necessarily even be mecollision repair cently sat down with Quadrato industry in northern chanically inclined, but if to ask him questions about California and is the they’re willing to learn and many of the hottest topics out Industry Relations they like cars, we will interliaison at Cook’s there in the industry right now. view those kids, and if they Collision think they have some talent, How do you train new techni- we will put them through our six-week cians and estimators at Cook’s estimating class. Part of the curriculum Collision? involves shadowing, where our students and new hires will watch a few We have our own program and of our veteran techs how they do rea gentleman who has been pairs and they shadow an estimator

Q: A:

34 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

once a week. After the six week course, we put them into a shop and they work with a journeyman estimator. That’s how we’re helping to generate technicians and estimators ourselves. You have to grow them and train them yourself, because that way, you know that they’re fixing cars your way.

As a graduate of the collision Q: repair school at Contra Costa College, you know the value of edu-

cation and training in this industry, because you’re one of the school’s real success stories. Tell us about that and your journey.

With some of the students in their second year that have some knowledge about how to R & I (remove and install) a car, we can bring them into one of our shops and have them work with the other techs to learn their way of fixing cars. As far as estimators, the whole trade is now based on customer service. If you have a customer-oriented individual with some computer skills, that person can probably be a good estimator. You can teach them how to write an estimate, but they need some basic skills in order to succeed. Not everyone is suited for each role in a body shop, so finding the right people for the right job is essential.

Definitely. Contra Costa College has an excellent program, A: Have you been able to retain and their former director, Peter Lock, Q: people over the long term and really led the way there for decades how do you do it?

before semi-retiring a year ago. Today in this job, I am active at Contra Costa College, and each quarter, I will sit in on classes there and talk to the kids.

We lose people, we absolutely A: do. It’s the nature of the business right now, so we have to deal with

it. This is obviously a touchy subject and all I can say is we do whatever we can to retain our people. In some cases, it’s not all about the money. By empowering some of our younger techs and estimators, we’ve had some real success there. They’ve got so much room to grow and when they get in there, they see the opportunity. They’re just busy growing, so they’re not out there looking for another job or getting a job offer because they’re still growing and anxious to learn. So we give them that opportunity and it really pays off. You look at some of these kids making $14 an hour and they may say, “I can get a job making more somewhere else.” Well, you might, but guess what? In about a year, you’re going to be stuck at $14 an hour in some other job without real opportunity to advance. But as a tech, you can be making $50,000 to $60,000 annually in a few years if you’re good. You’ll never get that at another job. So to keep your people, you’ve got to have an internal system to promote and teach them skills and help them to grow. We have people that were answering a phone maybe five or six years ago and now they are running a shop, because we gave them responsibility and they

proved themselves at every level. If you’re an employee at Cook’s Collision, we are going to do whatever we can to help you in your career.

tionships with. I’m what you might call a “relations guy” because everything I do is based on establishing and maintaining relationships.

all of the insurers as well.

Cook’s Collision and I ran their Pine Street location in Sacramento. A year later, I became an area manager, handling several stores. We had four stores at the time and now we have 37. I worked for a few independent shops before that, where I had some good mentors who helped me. I’ve worked in pretty much every capacity in this industry. I was a body man, a painter, an estimator, a parts guy, I cleaned cars– did it all. I’ve done every job, and that helps me to manage people, because I’ve been there. Now, in Industry Relations, I work with our DRPs. I am the single contact person for all of our insurance relationships and it’s a role I really enjoy. I work closely with all of the insurance companies, our vendors and the dealerships that we have rela-

ufacturers’ specifications, and that dictates the way we fix them. In the end, it all comes down to doing a good job for the customer, and that’s our main priority. If any part isn’t 100% safe and correct for that particular vehicle, we won’t install it. It’s just that simple. I have never met anyone in this industry that said they wanted to make subpar repairs, and that includes

consumer. And the parts industry has changed a lot, too, with so many options now for body shops to choose from. Aluminum, the newer vehicles and the new repair techniques that come with them–those are also big changes, and the future will be bringing many more. It is an exciting industry right now and that’s why I love being in it!

What are the biggest changes Q: you’ve seen since you entered the industry more than 30 years ago?

You worked your way up at What is your feeling about the Collision too, correct? difference between OE and afQ: Cook’s Q: Without a doubt, it has to be the termarket or used parts? A: technology. Also, transparency Absolutely. When I started for is a big thing. This industry has been A: the company 18 years ago, I I don’t really have an opinion better and better when it comes to unnever thought we would be where we A: on that. We need to perform derstanding customer service and proare today. First, I was a manager for quality repairs based on the car manviding a better experience for the

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The Student Returns as the Teacher at Contra Costa College by Ed Attanasio

Laura Salas graduated from Contra Costa College’s Automotive Collision Repair Technology Department six years ago, and now she is returning the favor by going back to the school as an instructor. The co-owner of Black Diamond Collision Center in Pittsburg, CA, Salas credits her favorite instructor and her highly supportive father for her progression within the collision repair industry. The instructor Salas is referring to is Peter Lock, her former teacher at Contra Costa College (CCC). “Mr. Lock taught me a lot about life and helped me to become a better person. He also gave me the knowledge I needed to be successful as a shop owner,” she said. “By graduating from the program at CCC, I was able to start this shop with my father, who has been in the trade for 30 years. Mr. Lock is an incredible teacher because he truly cares and he shows it. He gave us the resources to succeed. I wanted my welding certification and he helped to make it happen. I owe him a lot because he played a big role in helping me to get to this point as an owner of a shop.” After going through a series of interviews and performing demonstrations for school officials, Salas was recently hired as a Body and Refinishing instructor at CCC, a nationallyrenowned automotive tech school located on campus in San Pablo, CA. With many of his former students

flourishing at body shops all over the country and leading the collision industry in various roles as owners, managers, estimators, body techs and paint techs,

Laura Salas, co-owner of Black Diamond Collision Center in Pittsburg, CA, was recently hired as an instructor at Contra Costa College’s Auto Tech School, the same college from which she graduated in 2010

lifelong tech instructor and department head Peter Lock retired from CCC after 36 years as a leader, mentor and educator who taught more than 3,500 students over the years. When Lock left the program, there was definitely a void, even though he is still involved on a part-time basis. Now, one of Lock’s star graduates is replacing him at CCC, and Salas couldn’t be happier. Peter Lock is also obviously delighted by the appointment. “Laura was one of my best students ever,” Lock said. “She always did the best she could

do in classes, getting her welding certificates, and she was awarded over $10,000 in scholarships. She went on to owning her own business and now she has been chosen through a rigorous interviewing process to lead the CCC Collision program into the future. It is very gratifying to have an alumnus of CCC come back to teach where she received her degree. All of us in the automotive technology department are looking forward to working with her.” Tiffany Silva, the owner of Accurate Auto Body in Richmond, CA is the president of the East Bay Chapter of the California Autobody Association as well as a member of CCC’s review board for the auto tech department. “I met Laura several times in the past, but was unsure if she would have the necessary skills needed to fill Peter’s position,” Silva said. “Laura’s interview for the position was amazing! Her teaching demonstration not only proved she has the skills needed to teach, but it impressed me tremendously. The welding demonstration she gave proved she had the knowledge and ability, and I believe she will be able to connect with the students and carry on this incredible program.”

Salas will be starting her new role as a teacher at CCC this month, and although she’s a little nervous, she’s poised and prepared to take on the challenge. “I have zero teaching experience, but attending the same program that I will now be teaching will help me a lot,” she said. “I received a lot of firsthand exposure from Mr. Lock, my fellow students and all of the other great people out in the collision industry who play a role at CCC. Much of what is learned there is still very fresh in my mind, so I am ready for this job.” Will Salas be able to still work at her shop while teaching at CCC? “Yes, although I realize I am going to be busy,” she said. “I will be teaching five hours, six days a week and then I will be working at the shop. My father will still be helping me and we have a good crew, so it will definitely work.” Becoming an instructor at CCC is a dream fulfilled, Salas explained. “My ultimate goal was to become a teacher at CCC, but I never thought it would happen. Now I know that it’s real, so I am really excited. This is a great industry and I’m proud to be a part of it as well as being a teacher now.”

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RBGA Names Freer Auto Body in IL as Small Business of the Month

The RiverBend Growth Association has named Freer Auto Body its Small Business of the Month in Godfrey.

The RiverBend Growth Association selects a small business to honor each month. Winners are se-

lected based on a scoring system that awards points for number of years in business, number of employees, overcoming adversity and community service. For information on Freer Auto Body, contact them at (618) 466-6151 or visit www.freerautobody .com. Do you know a small business worthy of this honor? Nominate them by using the form on this page: http://www.growth association.com/page/ recognitions-and-awards/. We thank RiverBender.com for reprint permission.

36 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 37

Southeast News

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@chasidyraesisk.com.

What Does Photo Estimating Mean for the Collision Repair Industry? with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Photo estimating is the newest hot topic in the collision repair industry, causing quite a stir after Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware passed laws allowing insurers to write estimates based on photos of vehicle damage submitted by the insured. Advocates of photo estimating praise its convenience while those in opposition are concerned about supplement increases and its impact on the reputation of collision repair facilities. So how does photo estimating impact shops, consumers and insurance companies? To find out what this new trend really entails, Autobody News spoke with CJ Przybyl, president of Snapsheet; Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of SCRS; Dan Risley, executive director of ASA National; and Tony Lombardozzi, president of CCRE. These industry leaders shared their perspectives on photo estimating to help shops understand how this will impact business going forward. The consensus on the benefits of photo estimating was that it offers convenience for consumers, providing “the option to get an estimate on their own time,” according to Przybyl. Schulenburg expanded on that idea, stating, “The perceived benefit from consumers is that it would increase convenience and reduce time spent going to a professional repair facility for a physical inspection. Many consumers, especially those in younger generations, are looking for mobile options that create increased efficiencies. While some claims settlement processes that avoid a physical inspection may appear to provide the advantage of convenience to consumers interested in settling their claim quickly, these same processes can lead to lower appraisals from insurance companies and claims settlements that don’t reflect the cost of repairs. The average consumer would likely be unaware of such deficiency until they entered into the repair process. Consumers are best served by a process that protects them with thorough diagnosis of damage at the onset of the claim and repair process.” Risley, whose past career with Allstate provides a global perspective on this conundrum, likened photo es-

timating to drive-in appraisals. “With a drive-in estimate, they only write the damage they can see, and this can be more convenient for the customer, but a full estimate requires complete disassembly of the vehicle,” he said. “The key caveat is ensuring that the customer understands that the photo appraisal is a preliminary estimate and that their vehicle will require a full teardown for an accurate estimate.” When it comes to the drawbacks of photo estimating, Lombardozzi fears it could lead to a lessening of the actual cash value of the loss because a photo estimate prevents the ability to see actual damage, such as gaps and suspension. “We need a physical inspection to see the necessary repairs, and consumers can only recuperate the loss if they repair the vehicle, but they aren’t required to get it repaired and may refrain from doing so based on the belief that the damage is minimal and only cosmetic.” Schulenburg also expressed concerns over possible complications with the quality of settlements resulting from photo-based appraisals. “The process fails to account that consumers are generally unfamiliar with the damage evaluation process and what would represent a fair or comprehensive damage analysis. Further, physical inspections allow for customers to be notified if the damage incurred inhibits the safety of the vehicle or impacts vehicle functionality, something that one has less opportunity to address in a photo estimate.” As evidence of these safety concerns, Schulenburg referred to the 2015 repeal of a similar measure in Massachusetts that only remained in effect for 14 months. According to Schulenburg, the repeal was “Based on concerns that the process could result in inaccurate appraisals and provided a way around the MA requirement that vehicles with at least $1500 in damage were personally inspected by an appraiser.” Risley pointed out, “Photo estimating is less accurate than drive-in estimates, and in this case, a photo is worth a lot less than 1,000 words. There is a higher potential for fraud because consumers could potentially

38 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

manipulate angles to take advantage of the system. If the consumer is not educated about the accuracy of photo estimating, it will likely create distrust if the shops estimate is significantly higher than the insurance companies’ estimate. It’s important to educate the consumer on the front end so they understand the process and eliminate potential friction and confusion on the back end.” For Przybyl, the drawback lies in the fact that, “Photo estimating is a lot harder than it seems. Carriers may find huge gaps in their technology and the ability to service a customer when nobody is there in person. If photo estimations are not done timely with clear communication and proper metrics, it can be detrimental to a carrier.” Conversely, Przybyl observed that customers are demanding photo estimating because it is fast and simple. “A customer who is happy during a claim is less likely to churn,” he

stated. “When carriers give their customers what they want, satisfaction goes up. Customers have accepted photo and virtual estimating much faster than carriers expected, so there is a lot of work to do to catch up! After producing over 250,000 photo-based estimates, we have found that photo estimating also adds huge operational benefits to insurance carriers. Our vehicles are regularly physically re-inspected by field inspectors and score 98% on accuracy. The reality is that if a car is not torn down, there is no difference between a photo inspection and an in-person inspection.” Looking at the impact on the insurance industry and consumers, Schulenburg believes that photo estimating “Certainly provides advantages that offer greater ability to mitigate claims costs and loss adjusting expenses. It also provides a greater advantage to limit damage identification with the hopes that the consumer elects not to

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repair the vehicle, and thus avoid fully indemnifying the insured loss. It also appears to offer the opportunity to take advantage of consumers’ limited scope of understanding of collision repair requirements in the first place, under the auspices of convenience.” Lombardozzi agreed, saying, “Photo estimates allow the insurer to under-indemnify losses, and it will be used by consumers who want things easy and believe their insurance companies will take care of them.” Additionally, Lombardozzi sees this as a way for insurance companies to exert more control over repair payments. “If the shop finds more damage than the photo estimates, they’ll have to create a free supplement to identify necessary repairs, but this should have been done at the beginning of the process! Now, shops are doing the appraiser’s work at no charge, so it definitely gives the insurers more control over expenditures, but it will increase the number of supplements. Currently, we write supplements for 70% of jobs, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that go up to 100%. Insurance companies claim that photo estimating helps keep premiums down, but I haven’t seen any proof of that, and we all know the

insurance industry wouldn’t spend the money to fight for this in legislation if it wasn’t benefitting them.” Risley agreed that the less accurate nature of photo estimates will create a “dynamic negative impact on supplements and will increase the number of days to repair a vehicle, leading to increased friction between shops and insurers.” Schulenburg shared some of the same concerns. “Aside from the diminished quality of initial settlements, which has the likelihood of increasing supplements, and confusion of the disparity between insurer and repairer damage analysis, photo estimating also opens the door to other more contentious settlement techniques,” he said. “Desk reviews are certainly another avenue that often couple with photo appraisals and increase friction in the process. It is much easier to deny necessary repair costs in an attempt to mitigate claims expenses when you are not face-to-face with the consumer or the repair facility conducting the repairs.” Continuing, Schulenburg noted, “Some major carriers have openly discussed in industry forums that information about an accident gleaned from

a vehicle’s own systems, coupled with historic claims data, could potentially reduce the need for the traditional estimating process. It is our belief that the push for photo estimating and campaigns to repeal consumer protections offered by physical inspection requirements opens the door for settlement practices that produce much greater advantages to insurers interested in mitigating losses than they do to consumers in search of convenience.” Przybyl believes photo estimating is “A good thing, and it doesn’t really impact much for the collision repair facility. At the end of the day, they will receive an accurate estimate and a car to repair. We have found that photo estimation does not impact the customer’s decision to repair the vehicle. In fact, most customers already have multiple estimates from repair facilities before they use the self-service photo option.” When it comes to supplements, Przybyl suggested, “The supplement process can be significantly expedited by utilizing photos and services like Snapsheet. If a facility submits photo documentation and invoices, they can get approvals immediately and significantly decrease the time to get paid

for the repairs. Repair facilities can actually use photo estimating themselves, and companies like Snapsheet offer the service of performing total loss option and condition reports to help shops avoid extra work that is heavily scrutinized for quality by insurance carriers.” There is no debate that vehicles will, at times, require a physical inspection to ascertain the damage, and although these requirements vary by state, Przybyl confirmed, “Physical inspections are still required from time to time. Photo estimating enables carriers to have all of the information about that specific vehicle and repair in fewer than three days. From there, unique cases can easily be triaged to an in-person inspection as needed.” According to Risley, insurance companies will need to impose limitations on when photo estimates are allowed. “My understanding is that a triage process for photo estimating will trigger a systemic alert to require a physical inspection in certain cases, such as when the car is not drivable. Of course, there will be a learning curve, but the intention is not to make life miserable for the collision repair See Photo Estimating, Page 59

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7802 Broadway • Galveston, TX 77554 www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 39

Social Media for Shops Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly Enough Yet?

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

with Ed Attanasio

“I searched for you on my smartphone and some other shops came up.” “I couldn’t read your website from my cell phone, so I didn’t call you.” “I want to be able to call you quickly and going to your website is too timeconsuming.” Last year, I warned collision repairers about the onslaught of complete mobilization with my May column entitled “Are You Prepared for Google’s Mobilegeddon?” You can read it on our website, but the bottom line is, we’re now deep into the mobile age, and if you haven’t made your website mobile-friendly yet, you’re missing out in a big way.

more testing, according to Middendorf. “I recently analyzed the device data that we accumulate from all of our clients,” he said. “On the low end, 50% of all of this traffic originated from a mobile phone or a tablet. With some of our clients, that figure was closer to 80%. So we can safely say that at least half of their total traffic is coming from mobile devices, and we believe that number will keep going up.” Why are more and more people using their smartphones instead of laptops and desktop computers to access the internet? “Because the information is truly in your hand,” Middendorf said. “It’s all about the instant connection and speed. People are relying on their smartphones for their information more and more and making them a larger part of their daily lives.” Another factor that has made this mobilization rampant is the fact that the newer smartphones are more powerful and affordable. “If you have a 4G smartphone with basic Wi-Fi, it’s essentially a laptop in your hand,” he said. “These Peek Testing (www.peek.usertesting.com) provides a devices are getting faster, with service where you can easily have your website tested bigger screens and more feaon either a desktop computer or mobile device to gauge tures that make searches much how mobile-friendly you actually are easier.” In 2010, experts predicted that In addition to all of this mobilizamobile traffic would trump desktop intion, Google utilizes mobile-friendliternet usage by 2015, and it looks as ness as a ranking criterion for searches though the experts were 100% right on conducted on mobile phones. Websites the money. Mobile digital media usage that are mobile-friendly are given in this country is now significantly strong preferential treatment. This is higher at 51% compared to desktop at good overall because they offer con42%. sumers a much better user experience Luke Middendorf is an internet when viewing them on our mobile deexpert and the owner of WSI Connect, vices, Middendorf explained. a marketing agency that strives to deSo let’s say you haven’t made liver solutions–through digital maryour website mobile-friendly enoughketing–for a wide range of clients, -or at all–and you fear that people are including collision repair. By leveragnot finding you on their smartphones? ing various strategies and tools such as Well, that should be a concern, so we search engine optimization (SEO), onasked Middendorf what to do for those line pay-per-click advertising (PPC), shops that are late to the mobilization email marketing, social media, website party. design and optimization, Middendorf First, Middendorf suggests that is helping shops to achieve great things you take your smartphone and search online. for your website on the device. It’s a Part of any company’s success simple task, but it will reveal much. online involves testing, testing and Just pull up a browser on your mobile

40 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

phone and search for your shop’s name. “Notice that each result has ‘Mobile-friendly’ next to the meta description,” Middendorf said. “This indicates that Google considers that particular page to be mobile-friendly. However, even if you see that tag, it is

Google’s handy mobile-friendliness test is an excellent tool in order to check if each page on your website is mobile-friendly

still very important to test your site further so that you can ensure that your visitors have the best experience possible.” To drill a little deeper, Middendorf recommends three tools that will

help you to test the mobile-friendliness of your site.

Peek User Testing This is a service where you can enter your website and have it tested on either a desktop computer or mobile device by using www.peek.usertesting .com. For the purpose of this exercise, be certain to select “Test My Mobile Site” on this site, according to Middendorf. Once the user hits start, your test will be submitted to their community and a real person will record their experience as they navigate through your website on a mobile device. You may request up to three recordings each month, according to the company’s website. “I recommend getting a couple different recordings of your mobile device, and Peek User Testing will help you to do this,” Middendorf said. See Mobile-Friendly, Page 42

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Mike’s Auto Body’s Training Program in Full Swing combines classroom instruction with hands-on training. A limited number of applicants To fill a growing need for new, fresh talent and to create the metal techni- were interviewed and selected to parcians and estimators of the future, ticipate in the company’s inaugural Mike’s Auto Body will soon be hold- six-month training session. The training their first graduation from its new ing curriculum is delivered within a training program at its Auto Damage condensed time frame that has been Assessment Center (ADAC) in Anti- expressly designed so that participants can enter the industry with a complete understanding of the collision repair process. After successfully completing the program, graduates will possess the skills and knowledge to physically perform entry-level, hands-on vehicle repairs, according to Brennan Rose, the company’s CEO. The six-month program provides a combination of class“For the past five years we room instruction and hands-on training, which involves achave been faced with the same tual vehicles challenge–finding talented och, CA. With a 10,000-square-foot technicians,” Rose explained. “Every facility dedicated to training the re- year, we threaten to break the mold and gion’s newest collision professionals, start over, but we never do it, because this 15-location MSO is proud of their the cost of creating and sustaining a program and currently looking for long-term, full-time training program new candidates to enter the industry is overwhelming for any small busiby completing its curriculum, which ness. Not only did we have to hire two by Ed Attanasio

Continued from Page 40

Mobile-Friendly

“Just because your website looks great on an iPhone doesn’t mean that it works well on Android devices. Another factor to keep in mind is that the viewer is landing on your website without any previous information. On the contrary, if someone hits your website through a Google search, they can expect that it is closely related to the keyword they entered while conducting their search.”

Google’s Mobile-friendliness Test Google’s handy mobile-friendliness test is simple to use. Input the page you would like to check and the tool will tell you if the page is mobile-friendly. It will also give you a preview of how the page will look on a mobile device and give you tips on how to make the page more mobile responsive.

Google’s Search Console For many of his clients, WSI Connect accesses a Mobile Usability report from Google in its Search Console. “This nifty tool lets you know if your

entire site is mobile-friendly, not just a single page,” he said. “It lets you know about common usability issues such as the presence of flash content that is incompatible with most mobile browsers, the absence of a viewport metatag to control site layout on mobile devices, hard-to-read fonts and clickable links that may be too close together. This allows us to see each individual page that may still have some issues. We can then drill down on the individual page to test them using Google’s mobile-friendly test.” So if you did not heed the warning about Mobilegeddon last year, fear not, because it may not be too late. Affordably and rather quickly, you can mobilize your website to become as mobile-friendly as you want it to be.

Your leading source for SOUTHWESTERN Collision Repair News! southwestern.autobodynews.com

42 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

full-time trainers and purchase tools and equipment, but allocating 10,000 square feet of production/classroom space is hard to justify.”

Mike’s Auto Body will soon be holding their first graduation from its new training program at its Auto Damage Assessment Center (ADAC) in Antioch, CA

Although the investment in starting the program was substantial, Brennan Rose is proud of what his company has already achieved. “As we close out our first class and see how far these four young men have

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come, I now know that this will be part of our business strategy and culture for years to come,” Rose said. “Not only are we building techs and estimators to help us grow in the future and giving them the necessary skills, we are also supporting our local community for those young folks who have no college ambitions.” David Wedding, the company’s business development manager as well as the program’s coordinator and head instructor, has played an integral role in the development of this program. “The students are going to learn every aspect of the industry–metal and plastic repairs; safety techniques; efficiency; panel removal and vehicle construction,” Wedding said. “They also have the luxury of using cars provided by LKQ, right in the same location as our training facility. These participants will also receive I-CAR training through Pro Level 1 and be Car-O-Liner certified when they graduate. After they complete this sixmonth program, they will be prepared for employment and ready to hit the ground running.” The instructors in the program are

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“By going through our program, they will be 100% prepared to excel.” Mike’s Auto Body is looking for the right people to embrace and take advantage of this opportunity, Dearlove stated. “We’re going to have top teachers training on the industry’s best cutting-edge equipment so that these students will be set up to succeed. We want to enable them to pursue a lifelong career in collision repair, and by committing to this program, they can achieve exactly that.” With many of its business partners onboard to provide assistance with their training program, Brennan Rose is The training curriculum is delivered within a condensed pleased and grateful. “I’d like time frame that has been expressly designed so that to take this opportunity to participants can enter the industry with a complete give a huge thank you to our understanding of the collision repair process local vendors who have been some of the most knowledgeable peo- supporting this program,” he said. ple in the collision industry, Mike’s “We could not accomplish this withAuto Body will have one of the best out the help of 3M, LKQ, Finishmastraining programs of its type in the ter, PPG, the Rose Family and PFC, country. just to name a few.” “This program is ideal for young For more information about this people who are just out of high program, contact either David Wedschool, the military or junior college,” ding at dwedding@mikesautobody Dane Dearlove, the company’s mar.com or Dane Dearlove at dane@mikes keting and sales manager, explained. autobody.com. highly experienced and certified in their respective fields of expertise to ensure this condensed program fully impacts the students. One of the instructors is Lupe Algood, a journeyman technician with more than 20 years in the industry. By tapping into

AAAS Awards 20 Scholarships for 2016-17 Year The Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast (AAAS) recently awarded 20 scholarships for the 20162017 academic year. Fifteen general scholarships were awarded through the AAAS Education Foundation (AAASEF) while the remaining five were memorial scholarships honoring past association members who have had a profound and major impact on the association and the industry as a whole. AAASEF scholarships are awarded to students who are sponsored by members of the association. This year’s AAASEF scholarship recipients include Jordan Battee from Clayton, DE; Kyle Beasley of Honoraville, AL; Stephanie Burgett from Pinson, AL; Adrian Day of Montgomery, AL; Andrew Golfos from Daphne, AL; Taylor Griffin of Andalusia, AL; Cambria Matthews from Pinson, AL; Frances Reilly of Brandon, MS; Emmalee Richards from Lake Whales, FL; Taylor Swindle of Warrior, AL; Kirsten Terhofter from Tallahassee, FL; Cole Turner of Wetumpka, AL; Haley Turner from Wetumpka, AL; Steven Trunec of Hoover, AL; and Emily Quattlebaun from Midland City, AL. AAAS Memorial Scholarships are endowed by AAAS members,

family and friends. The 2016 Dick Bell Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Rachel Berbert of Marianna, FL, and Olivia Kampwerth from Birmingham, AL received the Gertrude Ellis Memorial Scholarship. The Stan Waits Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Justin Lee of Union Grove, AL, while the Al Hines Memorial Scholarship went to Luke Liles of Tallahassee, FL. Alex Ward from Bainbridge, GA received the 2016 Memorial Scholarship. The AAASEF also reserved scholarship funds for association members and their employees who wish to continue their education or enhance their skills through a variety of forums, including trade schools, junior colleges and manufacturersponsored clinics with the goal of expanding and enhancing the skills and knowledge of AAAS members and their employees. AAAS collaborates with the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship Committee, which allows students to complete a single online application at automotivescholarships.com/AAAS to be eligible for the AAAS and GAAS scholarships as well as other industry awards.

www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 43

Historical Snapshot

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a body shop in the family and 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.

ABRA’s Expansion Plans, Tech Wages, Flat Fees for Repair, BMS v EMS with John Yoswick

20 years ago in the collision repair industry (August 1996) ABRA Auto Body and Glass’s present owners Rollie Benjamin and Tim Adelmann have purchases the interest of former shareholder Randy McPherson. Under the new ownership, ABRA plans to sharpen its focus on expanding across the country, with a goal of 300plus shops by the end of the year 2000. – As reported in Auto Body Repair News. ABRA was not the first and certainly not the last consolidator to make what turned out to be wildly-over-optimistic growth projections. ABRA didn’t pass the 300-shop mark until last year, 15 years later than it anticipated. Adelmann is the company’s executive vice president for business development; Benjamin, the company’s founder, most recently served as a director on its board. McPherson went on to launch CARA Collision & Glass, another Minnesotabased MSO that in mid-2000 locked the doors on its remaining 13 shops and filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

15 years ago in the collision repair industry (August 2001) Technician wages are keeping up with the cost of living – and shop employee benefits are also improving – according to the latest in an ongoing series of surveys by the I-CAR Education Foundation. Although there is a wide spread in technician annual incomes, the industry average for technicians over 20 years old is $41,268, Ron Ray, executive director of the Foundation, reported at ICAR’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore. “From 1995 to 1998, we saw about a 11 percent increase in that average, and from 1998 to 2001 about another 9 percent,” Ray said. “So it’s keeping up with the cost of living or inflation.” The latest findings were based on survey responses from about 400 shops with an average of just under eight employees. Ray said the top 10 percent of the nearly 1,900 technicians represented in the survey had annual incomes of about $72,000. – As reported in Autobody News, August 2001. Ray left the Foundation in 2007 and is now an instructor at Nashville Auto-Diesel College in Tennessee. The industry average compen-

sation for technicians had risen 28 percent to $52,997 by the time the Collision Repair Education Foundation had conducted its most recent survey in 2013. But had wages held steady with inflation over that time, the 2013 average would have been just over $56,000. Department of Labor estimates for 2015 wages for painters ranged from a low of $32,000 in Nebraska to a high of $61,000 in Virginia. For body technicians, Arkansas has the lowest state average for 2015 at just

In 2001, Ron Ray was the executive director of the I-CAR Education Foundation, which later was renamed the Collision Repair Education Foundation. He is now an instructor at Nashville Auto-Diesel College in Tennessee

five years working for Allstate before becoming executive director of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) in 2013. The capitation model he describes has been only on a limited basis in the United States. But insurers have more recently been experimenting with “predictive analytics,” combining data about the crash from the vehicle with historical claims data to potentially reduce the need for traditional estimating.

5 years ago in the collision repair industry (August 2011) Fred Iantorno of the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) says the information providers’ failure to switch to the “BMS” standard for estimate data transfer rather than the older “EMS” standard means the industry is stuck still using the equivalent of 1990s cell phone technology. The EMS file includes every scrap of data included in an estimate; so if a shop, for example, orders parts elec-

tronically, the parts vendor receiving the parts list via the EMS file also gets information about the customer and his or her insurance. Because the newer BMS standard provides shops with more control over what data gets shared – thus making it easier to protect data privacy for customers, insurers and the shop itself – collision repair organizations have for years asked the information providers to enable shops to use BMS rather than EMS. At last month’s Collision Industry Conference (CIC), Jack Rozint of CCC Information Services said his company has implemented BMS in some limited instances. “There are some large collision groups that are using it to consolidate data, and there’s a couple paint company value-added programs that are using our implementation of BMS to get repairer data to support their 20 groups,” Rozint See ABRA’s Expansion, Page 47

shy of $32,000, while Maryland had the highest average of nearly $64,000.

10 years ago in the collision repair industry (August 2006) Give some thoughtful people who are knowledgeable about the collision repair industry a chance to shine up a crystal ball and look into the future, and you’re likely to hear some interesting things. “I think we might see someone pilot a program where participating collision repair facilities will be given a standard flat fee to repair vehicles regardless of the amount of damage,” said Dan Risley, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), when asked to look at where the industry might be in five to 10 years. “The thought behind that is that it would simplify the repair process, reduce cycle time and reduce overall claims costs,” Risley said. “For example, the repair facility wouldn't have to spend the time and resources writing and submitting supplements and waiting for approvals.” – As reported in Autobody News, August 2006. Risley went on to spend

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Shop Strategies with Stacey Phillips - ASSISTANT EDITOR

Stacey Phillips is the assistant editor at Autobody News magazine. She has more than 20 years of experience writing for a variety of publications. She can be reached at sphillips@autobodynews.com.

DCR Systems Creates Streamlined Process for Body Shops happen.” When you walk into a collision repair After receiving a customer’s car, shop powered by DCR Systems, it shops dedicate a lot of time, effort and doesn’t make a difference if you are in resources up front during the diagnostic Ohio or Massachusetts. You’ll still find process in order to uncover everything a progressive operation run in a nonthat could be a result of the accident. All traditional way. of the parts, materials and equipment Established by Michael Giarare collected and the steps to repair the rizzo, Jr. in December 2004, DCR vehicle are lined up in a cerSystems sets up accident retain sequence. Giarrizzo said pair facilities for automotive this eliminates redundancy dealerships looking to outand simplifies the entire source their operations. process. (DCR stands for Diversified Rather than the traditional Collision Repair.) The commindset where a vehicle is pany uses a process-focused assigned to a technician who collision repair operating Michael Giarrizzo, Jr. is largely in control of the remodel, developed by Giarpair, employees work together, inrizzo after many years of working in cluding the entire production and the industry. administration staff. Giarrizzo, the president and CEO Giarrizzo realized that as vehicles of the Ohio-based business, said his become more complex, it would be proprietary system eliminates many of virtually impossible for a single techthe inefficiencies associated with auto nician to know everything about every body repairs. vehicle produced and all of their adIt is based on the principle of lean vanced systems. manufacturing systems. Lean manuInstead, no single technician is facturing, often referred to as “lean,” responsible for everything on the reis a systematic method for the elimipair side. “We can bring support team nation of waste within a manufacturmembers in and teach them a smaller ing system.

“We operate each location within a process-centered environment that standardizes and streamlines each procedure,” said Giarrizzo. “It doesn’t mean it’s easier, it’s just more simple. It takes a lot of discipline and complete team engagement to actually make it

handful of skills so they can add value to our process in a relatively short period of time,” said Giarrizzo. “Over time we help them acquire more and more skills.” Giarrizzo got his start in the business working at the family body shop

46 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

– JSI Collision Center. Eventually, the business expanded to include four locations in Northeastern Ohio. In 1999, the shops were acquired by Sterling Autobody Centers and two years later Allstate Non-Insurance Holdings took over Sterling. Giarrizzo became COO for the division and helped the business grow to 65 stores. After spending practically his entire working career in the collision repair business, Giarrizzo asked himself: How could we do things differently if we had the opportunity? He got that opportunity in 2003, when he resigned from his position as COO of Sterling and decided to form DCR Systems. His business now works closely with dealerships to either build a brand new collision center or convert their existing one. DCR Systems sets up their entire operations, including purchasing equipment, hiring employees, managing payroll, and P&L.

“Our stores are all about replication,” said Giarrizzo. Everything is consistent, from the way the desks are set up to the way tooling is positioned and displayed and the facilities are layed out. Currently, DCR Systems has set up eight locations, referred as “operating cells” in four different markets— Ohio, Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina. Each of the operating cells are approximately 10,000 square feet of production space and have 1416 total employees. “We partnered with DCR purely to increase customer satisfaction,” said Jim Brown, president of Classic Auto Group in Mentor, Ohio. “We wanted to eliminate the clog in the body shop— cars just didn’t move.” Jay McFarland, chief financial officer at Mike Johnson’s Hickory Toyota in Hickory, NC, also established a DCR collision center. “We were immediately impressed and excited by

DCR’s process and quality. Partnering with DCR allows us to continue to take care of our customers at a very high level and to create customers for life by closing the customer service loop,” said McFarland. During the course of a typical day, workers wear many different hats. “We try really hard to stay away from having specific roles where they have a primary responsibility, but instead train and cross-train a lot of people to be able to adapt and respond to where the work is dictating its needs,” said Giarrizzo. He said one of the main advantages of operating in a process-centered environment is that shops become more adaptable to the constantly evolving vehicles. “Every year, every make and model seems to advance at a pretty astounding pace and we’re able to put different standards and things in place at the right step in the process to accommodate that,” said Giarrizzo. By completely outfitting each cell with all of the tooling and equipment, there is no investment required by technicians. Giarrizzo said this makes it more conducive for employee development and attracting potential

hires into the industry, especially students from vocational schools. He said the process not only helps in recruiting new employees, but assists in their development. “The biggest thing I see is employee quality of life because no single person in our operation or any of our operations is responsible for carrying the load; it’s a team environment so you’re using complementary skills and efforts to potentially remanufacture the vehicle.” His vision is to reinvent the collision repair industry by returning the body shop’s revenue stream to dealers seeking to retain loyal customers. “It’s a group of courageous people who have dared to do away with the status quo and do things because they made sense. They act without fear and with the belief that doing the right thing for the right reasons will ultimately pay out,” said Giarrizzo. For more information, contact Michael Giarrizzo Jr. at mgiarrizzo@ dcrsystems.net, or call DCR Systems at (888) DCR-9902.

www.autobodynews.com CHECK IT OUT!

ASA Webinar Addresses Impact of U.S. DOL Overtime Rule

On June 15, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) held a webinar on the new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime Rule. The rule updates the regulations governing which executive, administrative and professional employees are entitled to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime pay protections. Participants heard from Brian Farrington of Cowles & Thompson’s Employment Law Practice Group in Dallas on the rule’s impact and implications. Darrell Amberson, president of operations at LaMettry’s Collision in Minneapolis, MN, and Ed Cushman, president of C&H Foreign Auto Repair in Spokane, WA, also presented. Following the presentations, the participants had the opportunity to engage in a question -and-answer session with panelists. The primary concerns consisted of variations in the rule’s implementation from state to state, the effects of commissions on the salary test, and the necessity of logging hours. A recording of the webinar can be found at https:// youtu.be/tpmBHLK9kPE. For more information, visit ASA’s legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.

Continued from Page 44

ABRA’s Expansion

said. “To be frank, the majority of our customers are using applications on the other end – receiving the data from the shop – that are still using EMS, so all our systems still support EMS.” But Iantorno said it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation; those receiving data from shops, he said, won’t switch from EMS to BMS until the information providers enable shops to use BMS. Tony Passwater, chairman of CIC’s Data Privacy Committee said CCC, Mitchell International and Audatex should do what companies in other industries have done to push for a shift to new, better technologies. “They just need to say that as of a certain date, the EMS standard will be sunsetted, and that starting on that date, only the BMS standard will be supported,” Passwater said. – As reported in CRASH Network (www.CrashNetwork.com), August 22, 2011. Five years later, there has still only been limited implementation of the BMS standard while the 1990s EMS standard continues in wide use.

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Oregon DMV Rules Make State Ripe for Fraud, Auto Theft by Nick Budnick, Portland Tribune

gent who now works for the insurerfunded National Insurance Crime Bureau, says most state DMVs do more to verify ownership when transferring titles. “I’m going to give up the NICB and move out to Oregon and start buying and selling cars,” he quips. “That sounds like the Wild West out there.”

Crystal Toner was aghast to find an empty carport outside her Southwest Portland condominium in March, her supposedly theft-proof Subaru missing. When she reported her car stolen, she received an even bigger surprise. Nearly two weeks earlier, her vehicle title had been transferred to someone else without her knowledge— fraudulently, according to police. Toner had unwittingly stumbled upon a section of Oregon law regulating vehicle ownership documents that, while unknown to many people, law enforcement officials have been concerned Crystal Toner about for years. It’s easy for anyone to persuade the Oregon DeToner, for her part, says she wants partment of Motor Vehicles to sign to share her story to warn consumers, off on transferring a car title, with lit- noting that even after the theft was retle or no proof of ownership neces- ported and her car located on a local sary. Oregon works on the honor used car lot – having been sold for system, with applicants certifying an $10,800 using the bogus title – it still ownership claim without having to could have been towed at any time, provide the verified documentation since the DMV wouldn’t give her the necessary in other types of property title back without a court order. foreclosures. It’s “amazing to me that this is alArmed with an ill-gotten title lowed to exist,” Toner says of Oregon’s forked over by Oregon DMV, it’s often laws. “It is unjust beyond belief.” possible to get a car dealer to issue you Larry Purdy, chief of investigaa key to a car that in reality you don’t tions at Oregon DMV, says the agency own, law enforcement officials say. is well aware that the title process is A more common scenario is that open to fraud, especially through the the DMV is persuaded to issue a title “possessory lien” or mechanic’s lien based on bogus information, one that’s process. DMV essentially operates on then used to make a stolen car look le- the honor system, allowing anyone to gitimate while selling it at an auction. claim title to a car as long as they cerThe same trick also is used to “wash” tify they are owed money for services a title so it no longer warns potential related to it—such as a tow truck compurchasers that the car has been to- pany or an auto body shop. The pertaled or reconstructed. son filing the claim must certify— Members of Portland’s thriving sign a document stating—that they inauto-theft underworld and illegal tow formed the owner via registered mail, truck industry are well aware of the then waited 30 days, allowing the soft spot in Oregon DMV consumer owner to put in a claim before the veprotections, and it is “common prac- hicle is sold at an auction. tice” for people to use bogus DMV“We understand that it’s a flawed approved documents in an effort to process. There’s no doubt about that,” trick the police, says Kevin Demer, a Purdy says, conceding that people comMultnomah County Deputy District monly lie on the lien form when they Attorney who has handled high-pro- certify to have met DMV requirements. file cases involving auto theft and ilTo fix things, he says the Oregon legal tow trucks. While declining to Legislature would need to pass a new comment on Toner’s case, Demer says law balancing the interests of legitiif Oregon would adopt safeguards as mate businesses seeking to recover other states have done, consumers their losses, while not adding burdenwould be better protected. some requirements that lead to higher Frank Scafidi, a former FBI a- taxes.

48 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

“It’s unfortunate that it’s not a difficult process to wade through,” Purdy says of the lien process used by scammers. “It takes a lot more work to do it right than it does to submit the fraudulent forms and walk out with a good title.” While people engaging in fraud to claim a car title are subject to class-A misdemeanors, cops and prosecutors rarely have the time to wade through the paper trail necessary to prove the low-level crime. But in Purdy’s experience, the applicants who certify to meeting the DMV requirements rarely do in reality. Toner got her Subaru back, but for weeks has been worried that it would be towed by the auto dealer who bought it. She breathed easier last week when Demer filed charges against the man alleged to have engaged in title fraud to obtain and sell her car, Omar Abu-Neel. Abu-Neel could not be reached for comment, but on Monday he pleaded not guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Abu-Neel, 51, is not a stranger to law enforcement, having been arrested for prostitution. He was also investi-

gated for odometer fraud in 2013, though prosecutors declined to press charges. According to Detective Ken Yohe of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated Abu-Neel for changing an odometer to lead to a lower mileage, the man appears to make a living by buying cars at auctions and reselling them. Toner’s former partner of five years had given her the car more than 18 months ago, letting her change the title to her name. The two broke up a year ago. Her ex-partner, who could not be reached for comment, worked in auto sales and knows Abu Neel, according to Toner. Investigating how the Subaru changed hands, Portland Police Detective Mitch Hergert found evidence that the DMV accepted and processed a forged lien notice allegedly used by Abu-Neel to sell the car. The notice claimed the lien was based on debts from repairs made by a Portland auto dealership. The DMV also accepted an odometer form. Contacted by Hergert, the owner of See Oregon DMV Rules, Page 51

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www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 49

Lean Operations

The Fastest Shops in the World! with David Luehr

David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consulting firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry. David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory of Constraints methods. Email him at dluehr@msn.com

Even with loads of lean information formation to do so. Cars are scanned being thrust at us for over two for diagnostic trouble codes and minor decades, our collision repair industry’s disassembly is performed (with the with Jennifer Driscoll-Chippendale average cycle time is still hovering at customer in the waiting room) then just over ten days. This is just the av- safely reassembled. Assuming there erage; some shops are running at close are no safety concerns, the customer to 15 days or more while a small is put back in the car until all parts handful of innovative thinkers are able have arrived and they can schedule a to produce repairs in only four days on date to immediately start the repairs. withthe Erica Eversman average. Surprisingly, fast and the People first hearing of VDA are slow shops are often very similar in quick to discount its effectiveness, citmany respects and face many of the ing the many reasons it won’t work insame challenges. So why the huge stead of trying it first. Blueprinting is difference in performance? still the popular choice, and underThere are no unfair advantages, standably so for many fast shops, but just different thinking. In my consult- nothing I have seen will reduce vehiwith Edto Attanasio ing business, I am proud say I get cle inventory and allow smaller jobs to work with some of the fastest shops to fly through the shop as compared to in the world, and I promise you these what I have seen with VDA. guys are not necessarily smarter, or have bigger buildings or even better Scheduling technicians. And if you think they are The single biggest influence on a performing this well by delivering shop’s cycle time performance is quite with Ed Attanasio poor quality repairs, you would be de- simply inventory. Or, in other words, ceiving yourself; they have just been how many cars you have sitting able to overcome bad thinking. around the shop that are not being There are three primary differworked on. Little’s Law states that ences I notice between good shops cycle time performance is calculated that are fast and good shops that are by dividing the number of cars on slow, and they are: damage with Ed appraisal, Attanasioyour property by your average daily scheduling, and continuous workflow. throughput. The fastest shops in the world are very familiar with this law and use Damage Appraisal Blueprinting is critical to ensure an ef- scheduling practices that ensure that ficient repair process, and most fast cars show up as they need them inshops are excellent at the blueprinting stead of sitting around collecting adwith Victoria Antonelli process of meticulous disassembly ditional cycle time days and racking and damage analysis, but there is also up the additional expense of managa new animal that is quickly gaining ing these vehicles. Say you have no popularity and may have even greater control over when people wreck their benefits than blueprinting in some cars? Good point. It is nearly imposcases. Vehicle Damage Appraisal, or sible to know exactly when tow-ins “VDA” as it is called in the U.K., has and non-drives come in. You can prewith Chasidy Rae Sisk become a necessary way of life in dict to some extent, but yes, it is imother parts of the world, and a hand- possible to know exactly. It is, ful of shops in the U.S. are adopting however, quite possible to schedule these methods to gain a competitive most drivable cars which are typically advantage and also reduce vehicle in- a majority of your total workload. The ventory around their shops. fastest shops in the world take full adEdknow Attanasio While there with is a lot to about vantage of bringing in the damaged performing a proper damage appraisal vehicles and their pre-ordered parts using this method, VDA essentially right before they need them. can be done on drivable cars where the customer is scheduled for an ap- Continuous Workflow praisal appointment that lasts approx- All of the world’s fastest shops place imately 45 minutes. The process a tremendous emphasis on achieving with Ed Attanasio begins by understanding the proper re- what is called continuous workflow. pair methods and utilizing OEM in- The goal here is that once a damaged

The Legal View The Legal View

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vehicle is placed into production flow, it can be worked on continuously. No supplements, no missed or wrong parts, no stoppages! Sound like fantasyland? Ask the fastest shops in the world if it’s possible and see what they tell you. Clearly, continuous workflow is achieved by placing extreme emphasis on the previous two principals. You can’t continuously flow a vehicle that hasn’t been properly appraised, and you can’t flow a car when you have too much inventory causing it to sit there for several days waiting to be worked on. For many of the very fastest of the fast shops, technology has found its way into the shop. Proponents of this technology will tell you that continuous work flow is impossible if you can’t get fillers, primers, and paint to dry instantly. New gas catalytic drying robots are now being used to achieve this very thing in a minute or less, making continuous workflow

possible. Some of America’s most respected shops are now using this technology with amazing results. Cycle time improvement is not a fad; it is serious business. Improvements with cycle time can also mean improvements with customer loyalty, insurance relations, stress reduction, and profitability. No offense to the fastest shops in the world; like I said earlier, these guys are not necessarily smarter or more talented, but they do have the ability to continually challenge their beliefs and the many beliefs that are cast upon us by people in the industry who are more interested in maintaining the status quo than improving. I challenge you to move out of your comfort zone, challenge your beliefs, and try some things that could improve your business today! As always, I am here to help. To learn how you can increase your business potential, visit www .elitebodyshopsolutions.com

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Continued from Page 48

Oregon DMV Rules

the auto dealership—who had not been asked by the DMV to verify the lien— said “his company doesn’t know anything about this car, never had possession of the car and never did work on the car. ... The company name and the owner’s signature was forged on the form that were provided to DMV,” according to an affidavit filed by Demer. On March 1, the title allegedly secured by Abu-Neel was placed in the name of someone else who also was not required to provide the DMV with proof of an ownership interest. “Neither the certificate or the (odometer) form required notarization of any signatures, or the submittal of companion paperwork such as proof of compliance” with legal requirements, Demer wrote in the affidavit.

We thank the Portland Tribune for reprint permission.

CDS Names Dan Young VP of Sales and Marketing

Collision Diagnostic Services (CDS) announced the appointment of Dan Young as vice president of sales and marketing. Young will assume responsibility for sales, marketing and business development. Young has more than 33 years of management experience in the insurance and automotive industries. He served most recently as brand president of CARSTAR. Prior to this role, Young spent ten years as senior vice president, leading all aspects of insurance sales and client management. Prior to CARSTAR, he spent 20 years with Allstate Insurance Company, where he held key management positions in sales, claims and risk management. “I am very excited to be joining CDS. The company is perfectly positioned to provide the technology and operational expertise required to support repairers, the insurance industry and the customers they both serve,” Young said. “The complex operating systems running today’s vehicles are only going to get more and more sophisticated. CDS can help. By providing master tech expertise and OEM diagnostic tools on-demand, CDS can ensure repairs are done correctly the first time. I can’t wait to get started.”

CCC Creates Electronic Interface Between CCC One and Würth’s SIS™ Software

CCC Information Services Inc. According to Rich Tanchyk, (“CCC”) has announced that it has cre- assistant vice president, H&V Colliated an electronic interface between its sion Center, “We started working CCC ONE® Repair Workflow shop with Wurth USA a year ago to create management software (“CCC ONE”) more organization in how our onand Würth’s SIS™ invoicing and in- hand materials are stored and acventory management software. Ac- cessed in our seven locations. When cording to CCC, the interface will we learned Würth’s SIS software provide their shared customers with would be connected to CCC ONE, more accurate and efficient job cost- we got onboard right away. We want ing by automatically and electronically to embrace any system that allows us importing the Würth supplies used for to improve and better serve the cusrepairs into the appropriate CCC ONE tomer. This interface does just that. repair order. On-hand supplies (such We’re writing more accurate estias fasteners and clips) used in collision mates more efficiently and our job repairs account for $600 million annu- costing has improved. It’s a great use ally in the U.S. of technology.” “Repairers are busy and have a “Wurth USA is an important lot of moving parts to manage at any supplier to collision repairers,” said given time,” said David Gibson, na- Bill Langley, director of automotive tional sales manager at Wurth USA. network partnerships, CCC. “CCC’s “Recording all of the on hand sup- focus is on bringing together the tools plies used while repairing a vehicle and information repairers need to can be cumbersome and imperfect, drive efficiency throughout the repair which often results in inaccurate job process. By creating interfaces with costing and inefficient workflows. their suppliers, our repair customers By creating an interface between can save time and create more accuWurth USA and CCC’s industry- rate, complete estimates, while gainleading software, repairers can bet- ing better visibility and control over ter manage their time while making job costs.” your with surePromote they account forbusiness the supplies For more information, visit www theyan use.” exclusive article featuring.cccis.com.

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NABC Members Team Up to Present Multiple Recycled Rides, First Responder Demos at NACE The National Auto Body Council (NABC) announces it has scheduled multiple opportunities at NACE | CARS Conference & Expo for repairers and others in the collision industry to personally experience the impact of its program initiatives and learn how they can collaborate with business partners to bring these community service programs into their local communities. NABC members will be teaming up with local Orange County, California nonprofit organizations and fire departments to showcase the Recycled Rides™ and First Responder Emergency Extrication (FREE™) programs. “All of us in the collision industry

benefit when these life-changing programs are implemented across the country. They are inspiring and rewarding and they exemplify the professionalism and integrity of collision professionals. We encourage NACE attendees to schedule time to attend these presentations and talk to us about how to become involved and make a difference for their businesses and in their communities,” said NABC Chairman Domenic Brusco. Recycled Rides - NACE Center Stage Thursday, August 11 at 11:30 AM Friday, August 12 at 1:00 PM Newly refurbished cars will be presented

to five local area veterans and families in need. Vehicles were donated by Hertz, Insurance Auto Auctions, State Farm, GEICO and Allstate, and repaired by MAACO-Lake Forest, Pacific Elite Collision, Platinum Collision Center, Fix Auto Tustin and Service King-Placentia. First Responder Emergency Extrication (FREE) – Back area of Expo Floor Thursday, August 11 at 10:00 AM. Friday, August 12 at 3:00 PM Accident scenes will be staged to provide first responders from the Anaheim Fire Department with hands-on training of extrication techniques specifically

suited for the intricacies of new materials and technology used in today’s vehicles. Late model cars for the extrication demos are donated by State Farm. “We appreciate the contributions and collaborative efforts of so many in our industry who have stepped up to help advance our mission,” said Chuck Sulkala, NABC Executive Director. “We look forward to more opportunities at NACE to meet, chat and share with even more individuals and organizations how they can introduce NABC program initiatives into their company and community programs.” NABC will be located at booth #374 at NACE | CARS Conference & Expo.

Industry Panel to Discuss Importance of Pre- and Post-Repair Scans, Calibration/Recalibration at NACE | CARS 2016

Mike Anderson, industry consultant and president/owner of Collision Advice, will lead a panel of OE and insurance representatives in a discussion about the need for pre- and post-repair scans, calibration/recalibration, and more. The intent is to reduce the friction between shops and insurers by educating the attendees about what does or does not need to be done and when. This first-ever roundtable program will take place during NACE | CARS 2016 in Anaheim Thursday, August 11, 9:30–11:00 a.m., followed by a 30-minute Q&A period, at the Central Stage on the Expo Floor. Anyone with an expo pass can attend this special panel discussion. “There is a lot of talk in the industry about whether or not it is necessary to scan every vehicle, pre- and post-re-

pair. Do we really need to perform a calibration on vehicles such as Toyota or Honda? And what if it is not even occupied? Are there parameters to these items?” said Mike Anderson, president/owner of Collision Advice. “Quite often the OEM’s tell us in their repair information that we need to do these things, however insurers do not always pay for this work, and shops sometimes wonder if it is really necessary. This panel discussion is intended to educate all parties in the collision repair industry.” “This is the first time the industry has had a panel comprised of this level of industry expertise and the largest collection of OEs to ever participate. NACE | CARS is proud to offer such a panel, and we are excited to be working with industry expert, Mike Anderson,

on bringing together this important topic and key players for discussion.” said Dan Risley, ASA president and executive director. “Shop owners will want to take part in this program as it directly affects their business.” Those participating on the panel as of press time include: Chris Toby, American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Eric Mendoza, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.; Brian Wayne, FCA; John Eck, General Motors; Mark Allen,

ASA Partners with the Auto Care Association to Present Young Auto Care Network Group

Hosted by NACE | CARS 2016 and organized by the Auto Care Association and Stone Fort Group, a Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) Meet-Up will take place on Thursday, August 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. YANG was formed in January 2014 and provides auto care professionals in their 20s and 30s with the opportunity to network with industry peers, enhance knowledge, and improve leadership capabilities. According to the Auto Care Association, YANG participants are future executive-level staffers of the auto care industry that see the value in establishing connections with other young professionals who will one day be business owners and key decision makers. “The YANG Advisory Council is extremely excited and honored to be holding a regional experience at the International Autobody Congress and

Exposition this August in Anaheim,” said Alena Van Cleave, chairman, YANG. “This event will afford the young members of NACE and the auto care industry an opportunity to connect with one another at a unique venue. We would like to thank NACE for offering to host this event and encourage everyone in the under-40 crowd to attend.” The schedule for the meet-up is as follows: 3 p.m.: Check-in at Registration for YANG Attendees, Visit NACE Expo and Demos 4 p.m.: Meet at NACE Central Stage 4:05 p.m.: Welcome Address 4:10 p.m.: Industry Leader Address with ASA Chairman Donny Seyfer 4:30 p.m.: Networking “ASA is very happy to partner with the Auto Care Association in hosting YANG,” said Donny Seyfer, chairman, ASA.”

52 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

Audi of America, Inc.; Mark Zoba, Nissan North America, Inc.; and Clint Marlow, Allstate. This special program will provide a frank discussion, with insight and an information exchange unique to NACE | CARS 2016. It offers shop owners, management, and technicians an opportunity to gain repair knowledge important to their businesses. No other event offers this level and diversity of repair programming.

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MSO Symposium Announces Final Program, Adds Insurer Panel The final program for the MSO Symposium to be held during NACE | CARS 2016 has been completed with the guidance of the MSO Advisory Board. Mike LeVasseur, director of corporate development, ABRA Auto Body & Glass, is once again master of ceremony for the Symposium. Executives representing MSO's, multi-location and single location collision repair executives, and insurance professionals are invited to attend this closed meeting. “This year's program was developed with a combination of input from the industry, guidance from an incredible group of leaders on the advisory board, and past history of the event,” said Mike LeVasseur. “Those who attended in the past will be impressed with the new program, while those attending for the first time will have a lot

to take in.” Vincent Romans, founding principal and managing partner of the Romans Group LLC, will open the program with an industry update. Vincent's insight and statistics will highlight MSO activity and impact on the collision repair industry. This year's MSO Symposium offers new content in a key segment. The Insurer Panel, moderated by Marcy Tieger, principal, Symphony Advisors, will cover topics including DRP strategy, evolution of self-managed programs, short and long-term plans to address certification, how insurers envision working with large MSO's, and telematics and how it is changing the insurance industry. “Understanding the insurance segment of the repair market is critical to business success,” said Tieger.

“This panel, along with the Q&A opportunities, will provide helpful insight for repair leaders and owners.” The MSO Symposium will also include an MSO Panel, an OE Panel, and a panel discussing collision repair around the world and how business models compare to those in the U.S. market. “There are many meetings and conferences throughout the year. This is the only event that is exclusive to the leaders in the collision repair industry,” said ASA president and executive director Dan Risley. “The advisory board has made a huge impact in developing content relative to the needs of these leaders. Some businesses are preparing for expansion through growth or acquisition while others are preparing for merger or divestiture. This symposium will provide infor-

dustry. Jim Cokonis, senior curriculum developer with CARQUEST Technical Institute and ASE Certified Master Technician with over 22 years of experience in the industry, will lead the 2016 Symposium. The CARQUEST Technical Institute will offer a scan tool diagnostic class that gives every technician the opportunity to be hands-on with their own scan tool. Using the latest vehicle simulator, CTI instructors will teach the students how to read and interpret scan data in as close to a live environment as is possible.

“ASA and CARS are very excited about this year’s installment of the Young Technicians Symposium,” said Donny Seyfer, chairman, ASA. “Our partners at CARQUEST Technical Institute have a really great program lined up for working technicians who are ready to make that next-level jump from

mation essential to understanding market conditions and preparing for the future, regardless of the size of the business.” The MSO Symposium will open at 12 p.m. on Thursday, August 11, with a private lunch followed by presentations and panels beginning at 1 p.m. The event will conclude with a private reception for attendees and sponsors at 6 p.m. Now in its 34th year, NACE | CARS 2016 will feature numerous opportunities for technical training, business education, demonstrations, networking and technology showcases for stakeholders, owners, managers and technicians in the collision and service repair industries. For more information, visit www .NACEexpo.com or www.CARSevent .com.

Young Technicians Symposium, Powered by CARQUEST, Returns to NACE | CARS

CARS, the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service, has announced the return of the Young Technicians Symposium (YTS), taking place on Friday, August 12 during NACE | CARS in Anaheim, California. In its third year, the Young Technicians Symposium brings together a group of promising technicians with at least two years of real world experience for a full day of intensive training. According to CARS, each year, the training is focused on utilizing the latest teaching techniques to accelerate the learning of this critical part of the in-

Assured Performance Hosts OEM Certification Symposium, Aug. 10-11

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 1:00 – 5:00 PM – Leveraging Your OEM Certification - Partner Presentations & Panel Discussions.

6:00 – 9:00 PM – OEM RoundTable Reception & Special Assured Performance Concert.

Thursday, August 11, 2016 8:00 – 12:00 PM – Leveraging Your OEM Certification - OEM Presentations & Panel Discussions.

Discussions will address strategies and insights to the future trends in OEM Certification and Automaker Consumer Awareness Education and Customer Referral Programs.

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maintenance and light repair to diagnostician. Repair shop owners can reap great benefits by investing in their future, and CARS and CTI promise a program that is very affordable thanks to support from CTI.” For more information, visit http:// www.naceexpo.com/.

2-Day $35 NACE Expo Pass Includes:

● Admission to the ALL NEW industry-wide reception Wednesday evening, 6:30 pm–9:30 pm to kickoff the 2016 event —the Party on the Plaza! Hosted by the OEM Collision Repair Roundtable, there will be cars, food, drink, music, and networking. ● More OEs than ever will be displaying their latest technologies and offering free classes with your Expo Pass on how to repair their 2016 and 2017 vehicles...including many classes that will happen for the first time ever ● Custom and classic cars on display ● Access to our beer garden with domestic, import and craft brews ● Live spray booths with daily demonstrations by the pros, including Rich Evans, television personality and custom automotive designer ● Access to KEY classes, including the BAR discussion of Alt-OEM issues and the CA Department of Insurance presentation covering key issues affecting shops for timely Therepair source

information that every body shop needs!

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PPX Reps Plan to Drive Hundreds of Repair Shops’ Staff to NACE CARS in Anaheim PPX Reps’ (Pacific Produx, Inc.) elite sales team for the automotive aftermarket has been hitting the streets and visiting with repair shop owners and managers throughout Southern California to personally invite them to attend NACE | CARS 2016 and visit the PPX Reps’ colocated booths. All attendees may visit them at the NACE | CARS Expo, taking place Thursday, Aug. 11 and Friday, Aug. 12 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. This year, PPX Reps has several leading automotive aftermarket compa-

nies represented at the show, including: ● Presta Products - Booth #346 ● Motorguard/Microflex - Booth #344 ● SEM Products - Booth #342 ● Mirka USA - Booth #338 ● Herkules/Vibac Tape - Booth #340 ● Anest Iwata/One Shot/EMM Specialties - Booth #915 “Since the NACE | CARS Expo will be in Anaheim, we want to make sure that our California customers are aware of this valuable opportunity for industry training and education that’s happening right in our backyard,” said

DEMOs Abound at NACE CARS

Demos provide opportunities to view the latest technology, tools, and equipment, with companies including: ● I-CAR, hosting a series of live welding, rivet bonding, and other repair demonstrations at the I-CAR stage on the expo floor and in the outdoor display area ● ProLine Tool and Supply, demonstrating their specialty lift products ● Pro Spot International, featuring a series of demonstrations, including spot welding, aluminum repair, riveting, rivet removal, and plastic welding ● First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.), providing demonstrations on how emergency response

personnel addresses vehicle accidents and how to safely remove victims ● Shop-Pro, once again providing a prep-booth for spray demonstrations showing waterborne technology, gun technology, and cleaning procedures ● Ford Motor Co., bringing their 2017 Super Duty for an exclusive opportunity to learn about and drive before it is available at local dealerships ● Toyota, bringing the Mirai, a hydrogen powered vehicle, for test rides ● Recycled Rides, giving away vehicles both days from the Central Stage ● Federal-Mogul will bring a Garage Gurus demonstration van

Danny Votel, PPX Reps Regional Sales Manager, Southern California. With PPX Reps comprehensive distribution channel, networking in the West gives them the right connections to draw industry leading shops to this year’s Expo and Training. NACE | CARS Show Director Brian Nessen said, “Their excellent rapport with customers makes them a valuable resource for the extensive grassroots marketing campaign for NACE | CARS 2016.” All of the many grassroots market-

ing partners are working both digitally and on the street, spreading the message about NACE | CARS 2016. No other event offers this level and diversity of repair training while bringing together all facets of the automotive industry like NACE | CARS. Targeting business owners, management and technicians, this exposition and conference brings together all market segments for the latest and most comprehensive repair solutions, services, education, products and technology. Go to www.NACEexpo.com or www.CARSevent.com.

2017 Ford Super Duty®: “Drive the Future of Tough” Tour

NACE CARS offers an exclusive opportunity to drive the All-New 2017 Ford Super Duty before it’s available at local Ford Dealerships. The 2017 Ford Super Duty features a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body, a fully boxed high-strength steel frame, and advanced technology. Make sure to enter the sweepstakes to win your very own at www.superdutydrive.com if you register online and attend, you will receive 10x the chances to win! 2017 Ford Super Duty will be available to drive:

■ Wed., Aug. 10 — Party on the Plaza ■ Thurs., Aug. 11 & Friday, Aug. 12 — Outdoor Demo (behind the Expo, Hall B)

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Risks in Auto Repairs With Aftermarket Parts [Consumer Article] by Adam Graves, The Legal Examiner

The automotive aftermarket is big business—estimated by Autocare Association to be worth $273.4 billion in 2017—that includes manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, tools, equipment and accessories for vehicles, after the sale of the automobile by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to the consumer. One aspect of the automotive aftermarket is non-OEM replacement parts. These are commonly available through auto parts stores like Advance, O’Reilly, NAPA, and also through used-parts dealers (“junkyards”), and auto body repair shops. The primary “advantage” of aftermarket parts is price—they are substantially less expensive than their OEM counterparts.

However, one must consider the real cost of choosing cheap replacement parts.

Insurance Companies Cutting Corners? Just last year, CNN reported that auto insurers were trying to take advantage of cheap prices by forcing repair shops to use aftermarket parts when repairing crash damage. Repair shops from some 36 states are joining a lawsuit against these insurance companies alleging the repairs forced by some insurance companies are dangerous.

Buddy Caldwell, attorney general of Louisiana, has filed suit against State Farm insurance, saying its lowcost repair program could be dangerous for customers who get back on the road in vehicles that are not roadworthy. He said he fears thousands of Americans could be driving around in vehicles repaired with what he calls junkyard parts after seeking repairs from body shops recommended by their auto insurance companies who took their premiums and picked up the bill. The issue is a nationwide one, said John Eaves, the lead attorney for the body shops involved in the lawsuit. “It involves people from Maine to Mississippi to California. Every state in the Union has experienced the same sort of struggle here between the body shops trying to do the work the right way, and the insurance companies trying to cut corners and force them to use unsafe parts and unsafe methods on their cars,” he said.

OEMs Do Not Approve Ford Motor Company issued a 2010 press release regarding non-OEM parts which included the results of tests performed by Ford’s Material Composition and Computer Aided Engineering department comparing OEM bumper beams, bumper isolators, bumper brackets, and radiator supports to their aftermarket equivalents. These Ford tests found major differences between genuine Ford original equipment replacement parts and aftermarket copies. Ford found that non-OEM parts performed differently in crash tests because the aftermarket parts were not of like kind and quality as Ford’s original equipment

Gerber Opens New Repair Location in Georgia Gerber Collision & Glass has announced the June 28 opening of a new collision repair location in Dallas, Georgia. The center is located on the Charles Hardy Parkway, about 20 miles west of Atlanta. “We are very pleased to add this greenfield location in Dallas, which will add to our strong presence in the Atlanta metropolitan area,” said Tim O’Day, president and COO of Gerber Collision & Glass. “This is one

of the fastest growing regions in the country and this new location will help us serve our customers and insurance partners by providing more local options.” Gerber Collision & Glass is continuously looking to add new collision repair locations to its existing network. Interested collision repair center owners are asked to contact Kim Allen at(847) 410-6003 or kim.allen@gerber collision.com.

56 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

and certified replacement parts. Paul Massie, the powertrain and collision product marketing manager at Ford, said the tests “highlight the dangers of being penny-wise and

pound-foolish, as less-expensive copy parts could lead to much higher repair costs down the road. All drivers should be aware that copy parts can compromise both the safety performance and the long-term repair costs of your vehicle”.

Counterfeit Parts on the Rise To make matters even worse, consumers now have to worry about

counterfeit or knock-off parts making their way into the stream of commerce. These parts are often sold in branded packaging and carry brand markings, but are in fact cheaply made and potentially dangerous fakes. In June, Chinese police seized 33,000 counterfeit parts – worth almost US $750,000 – destined for sale in Australia. “While this seizure is shocking, sadly, it’s not uncommon, and using counterfeit parts, knowingly or otherwise, means you’re taking a huge risk,” he said in a statement. It offers a clear reminder to consumers that just because they see a branded box, bag or label they shouldn’t assume they’re buying a genuine part. The way to avoid safety concerns posed by fake parts is to ensure you or your repairer sources genuine replacement parts from the vehicle maker’s authorized supply chain. We thank The Legal Examiner for reprint permission.

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Telsa CEO Elon Musk Says About ‘500,000 People Would Have Been Saved (Last Year) If Tesla’s Autopilot Was Universally Available’ by Fred Lambert, electrek

Following the news of the fatal accident in a Tesla Model S on Autopilot, which happened in May but only came to light last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims that about half of the approximately one million people who died in auto accidents last year would have been saved if the Tesla Autopilot was universally available. He made the comment in a somewhat strange email conversation with a retired journalist. Fortune Magazine published a weird article (www.for.tn/29VzODr) today trying to tie Tesla’s $2.3 billion secondary offering announced on May 18 with the recent fatal accident in a Model S on Autopilot. The author, Carol J. Loomis, highlights that Tesla didn’t publicly disclose the news of the crash, which occurred on May 7, until June 30, when NHTSA announced that it will be investigating the accident. Loomis, an 87 year-old financial journalist retired from Fortune in 2014 after a 60-year tenure at the publication, says that the crash should have been disclosed, as it is a “very

material fact” somehow relevant to the offering because “Tesla had marketed vigorously [the Autopilot] as safe and important to its customers” – implying that it is not? It’s true that Tesla didn’t make a

public affair of the accident, but it never does of any accident involving its vehicles and it did inform NHTSA of the crash after it occurred. The federal regulators didn’t launch an evaluation until last week. It wasn’t clear at the time if regulators would launch an investigation. Fortune reached out to Tesla for

a comment on the assertion that the crash should have been considered material during the stock offering. Loomis says that a spokesperson pointed her to Tesla’s stock closing up the day following the announcement of the crash and the NHTSA evaluation, but then Elon Musk jumped in the email conversation. Loomis somehow didn’t disclose her side of the conversation, but published an excerpt of Musk’s response after he said that the event “is not material to the value of Tesla”: “Indeed, if anyone bothered to do the math (obviously, you did not) they would realize that of the over 1M auto deaths per year worldwide, approximately half a million people would have been saved if the Tesla autopilot was universally available. Please, take 5 mins and do the bloody math before

you write an article that misleads the public.” He clearly sounds irritated by the media’s response to the accident, which is understandable after reading a few misleading headlines. Musk is referring to the fact that the accident is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated compared to about a fatality for approximately every 60 million miles globally. It’s not a perfect sample size, but it roughly indicates that driving with Tesla’s Autopilot is at the very least 50% safer than without. We published a summary of the fatal accident for a better understanding of the situation titled Understanding the fatal Tesla accident on Autopilot and the NHTSA probe. Update: Elon commented on the Fortune article via Twitter directly to the publication’s top editor: I think it’s noteworthy to add that Fortune is or was participating in the Koch brothers’ multi-million dollar PR offensive on electric vehicles by selling them sponsored articles in the magazine. We thank electrek for reprint permission.

ASA Joins Forces with NAPA Auto Parts

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The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced a new member benefit in cooperation with NAPA AUTO PARTS. According to the ASA, the purpose of their partnership with NAPA was to develop a membership benefit program aimed specifically at scan tools and subscription costs to access OE information. Due to the enormous popularity of Mopar’s TechAuthority Online program, NAPA has agreed to help offset the annual subscription cost for ASA members. Mopar’s TechAuthority offers diagnostic tools for 1981-and-latermodel Chrysler Group vehicles. It makes the same information that Chrysler Group dealerships rely on available to other service technicians and independent shops.

“NAPA has been supporting ASA through exhibiting and as one of the sponsors of the recently-launched ASA Regional Training Events,” said Dan Risley, ASA president and executive director. “Many of our members are NAPA AutoCare Centers, so this new program is a natural fit, and we’re excited to be working with NAPA.” There are more than 6,000 NAPA AUTO PARTS stores and 16,000 NAPA AutoCare Centers across the United States. “Thousands of ASA members support their local NAPA AUTO PARTS stores every day across the country,” said Dan Askey, NAPA president. “We recognize that and are committed to working with ASA to provide a benefit that membership will value and find meaningful.”

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www.autobodynews.com | AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS 57

Globaljig®, Presented by Chief®, Introduces Light-Duty Quick Pull Bench for Collision Repair Shops

The new Globaljig® Presented by Chief® Quick Pull scissor lift bench is designed to handle most sheet metal and other light-duty pulling jobs within the bay, keeping the frame bench free for larger jobs.

The new Globaljig® Presented by Chief® Quick Pull bench is designed to handle most collision repair shops’ sheet metal and other light-duty pulling jobs within the bay, keeping the frame bench clear for major jobs.

According to the company, the mid-rise Quick Pull bench easily lifts a vehicle to a comfortable ergonomic working height of up to 4 ft. 5 inches. The compact Quick Pull has a lowered height of just four inches, so no access ramps are needed – simply drive over the bench, swing out the lift arms, raise

the car and get to work. When the job requires a light or medium-duty pull, the Quick Pull has what’s needed: a five-ton pulling tower, complete with chain, foot pump, clamp and safety cable. “The Globaljig Quick Pull bench can handle about 70 percent of the jobs that come into the typical shop,” said Bob Holland, director of collision sales in North and South America for Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG). “It’s perfect for average fender bender jobs like estimating, panel or dent repair, some welding, refinishing operations, even parts replacement. The Quick Pull is a productive, versatile and costeffective addition to any bay.” “The Globaljig Quick Pull bench has a 5,500 lb. capacity and offers a variety of productivity features to accommodate a wide range of vehicles, including adjustable height sill clamps, articulating arms with adjustable rubber lift pads and extendedheight rubber lift pads,” a statement from the company read. For more information, visit www .chiefautomotive.com.

Chief to Showcase Computerized Measuring, Benches, Joining Equipment and More at NACE 2016

Chief will show NACE | CARS 2016 attendees how the OEM shift to lighter-weight materials such as aluminum, carbon fiber, high-strength steels and magnesium is driving the

Chief® to showcase computerized measuring, joining equipment and the Globaljig® Presented by Chief® Koala bench in booth #215 at NACE | CARS 2016. Attendees can also cash in on several show specials for select Chief equipment at the show.

need for new equipment and repair techniques to perform proper collision repairs. NACE | CARS 2016 takes place August 9-13 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Chief will be in booth #215. According to the company, the mild steel floors and high-strength steel cabin structures of many of today’s new vehicles require holding without using traditional pinch welds. Chief offers several new bench solutions, such as

the compact Globaljig® Presented by Chief® Koala bench that will be on display with the LaserLock Live Mapping in the Chief booth. Chief representatives will demo Chief joining equipment periodically throughout the show. Also on display will be Chief equipment designed for aluminum repair, including the Chief Fume Extractor, Dust Extractor and MultiMig 511 welder. “As vehicle design and repair methods evolve, collision professionals must invest in new tools, equipment and training to properly repair the latest vehicles,” said Bob Holland, director of collision sales in North and South America for Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG). “NACE provides us the opportunity to showcase the equipment that shops need to help them grow and prosper in the future, as well as the support provided by our local distributors like Southern California Collision Equipment.” Additionally, Chief is offering show specials on bench systems, frame racks, measuring systems and other new collision repair equipment. For more information, visit http:// www.chiefautomotive.com/.

3M Automotive Aftermarket Division Introduces 3M Total Automotive Sanding System

In February, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division (AAD) announced a strategic collaboration with TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG, maker of Festool brand products, in order to provide customers in the global automotive collision repair industry with a new and comprehensive surface preparation and finishing system. 3M AAD is now introducing the first new solutions through the partnership. According to the company, the collaboration brings together 3M’s best-in-class abrasives, global sales and distribution capabilities with Festoolbranded premium power tools, dust extraction technologies and exceptional customer service to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of offerings to customers in the automotive aftermarket. The 3M Total Automotive Sanding System is engineered to support the continuing need for cleaner, safer, more efficient and profitable collision repair shops. “At 3M, we spend a tremendous amount of time studying the way collision repair shops run today, and how they could run in the future,” said Todd Bailey, marketing manager for 3M AAD. “We continually look at process

improvements, new standard operating procedures and new solutions for getting repairs done more quickly and efficiently without sacrificing quality. The new 3M Total Automotive Sanding System is a reflection of that research and development, integrating our innovative abrasive products, advanced repair processes and new collaboration with Festool’s premium power tools. This system is a great example of the shop of the future, with mobile workcenters, a focus on dust extraction and the ability to deliver an excellent repair more productively, efficiently and cleaner than before.” The 3M Total Automotive Sanding System is designed and equipped for three specific areas of today’s collision shop: body repair, paint prep, and paint finishing. There are five systems offered. The Body Repair Set and the Paint Prep Set are available with recommended Festool pneumatic and electric products, accessories and 3M consumables, as well as dust extraction equipment. The Paint Finishing Set is available with Festool pneumatic products, accessories and 3M consumables. For more information, visit www .3Mcollision.com.

58 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Continued from Page 39

Collision Repair Education Foundation Issues Mid-Year Report

The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) has issued a mid-year report highlighting developments within the first half of 2016.

Career Fairs To help connect collision students with industry employers and display the array of career opportunities students have within the industry, CREF organized and supported 10 high school and college collision career fairs throughout the country. Stu-

dents were able to distribute resumes and meet local employers. There are six career fairs planned for the fall, and the Foundation intends to track the events to report back their success to the industry. To assist those students who aren’t able to attend, CREF piloted the Collision Student Resume Database program, where collision students seeking full-time, part-time, or internship work could submit their contact information to

be included in a database provided to industry supporters.

Student Scholarships and Tool Grants Over $250,000 in high school senior and college collision student scholarships and tool grants were awarded this spring to help the future professionals of this industry with needed financial support for their technical education and/or provide them with the entrylevel tool sets they need in order to be successful when beginning their career.

Makeover Grant/New School Readiness Benchmark Program After hearing feedback from donors and members of the industry about an immediate need for entry-level staff, the Foundation created a new designation system for schools in which each school that applies for the Makeover grant will be given a Collision School Readiness Benchmark designation (Tier 1: Advanced, Tier 2: Proficient, or Tier 3: Developing). The designation will be determined by the school completing a collision program profile through the application, which includes tools/ equipment inventory, student contact

hours, continuing education hours, and more. CREF will work with those schools that apply and provide funding to help them advance in the tier program to assist in their ability to graduate students who will be productive upon employment.

Strategic Planning The CREF Board of Trustees is working together with the staff on multiyear strategic planning that includes enhancing work with schools as well as increasing efforts to speak with parents, guidance counselors, and students at a younger age.

Industry Reception at SEMA Join CREF the evening of Tuesday, November 1st during SEMA at their annual industry reception, where they will be awarding over $100,000 in school grants and student support. Chicagoland Speedway and additional Career Fairs This fall, CREF will be in Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Columbus continuing their career fairs in addition to planning events for 2017. Visit http://collision educationfoundation.org/

Photo Estimating

industry – they want to make things easier for the consumer. The key to making this transition work smoothly is educating consumers.” Educating consumers may seem difficult, but consumers are, after all, the reason photo estimating has become so trendy. Przybyl stated, “Consumers are demanding this method, and it just makes sense. Estimating by photos has been a standard practice for years in the industry; mobile technology just made it easier and involved the customer. With all the benefits of happier customers, lower cycle times, an optimized triage for every car, and the ability to provide estimates that are just as accurate as in-person inspections, it makes perfect sense that photo estimating is here to stay.”

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Allstate Reveals the Safest Cities for Drivers in 2016 For the first time ever, Brownsville, Texas, is the safest-driving city on Allstate’s 12th annual America’s Best Drivers Report®. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found the July Fourth holiday is the deadliest day of the year on average for drivers. Based on Allstate Insurance Company claims data, the 2016 report measures vehicle collision frequency in America’s 200 largest cities to deter-

mine which cities have the safest drivers. The average driver in Brownsville, Texas experiences an auto collision every 14.6 years, which is 31.4 percent less often than the national average of every 10 years. “With millions of drivers hitting the roads nationwide during the July Fourth weekend, our report demonstrates the importance of always putting safety first,” said Glenn Shapiro,

60 AUGUST 2016 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

executive vice president of claims, Allstate. “The Best Drivers Report spotlights America’s safest cities as we continue to heighten awareness around increasing roadway collisions that have unfortunate consequences, such as rising fatalities and potentially higher insurance costs.”

(National Average: 10) 1. Brownsville, Texas 31.4% less likely 14.6

2. Kansas City, Kansas 26.3% less likely 13.6 3. Madison, Wisconsin 24.7% less likely 13.3

National safety experts say drivers are now spending more time on the road and suffering more fatal collisions than in recent years. The U.S. Department of Transportation says that from March 2015 to February 2016, Americans drove 3.15 trillion miles, an increase of more than 3 percent over the previous 12 months and the largest year-to-year increase in over two decades. According to the National Safety Council, more than 38,000 roadway fatalities occurred last year, the highest count since 2008. Preventable human factors, like drunk, distracted or drowsy driving; speeding; and failure to use safety features contribute to 94 percent of car crashes. IIHS says intoxication is a significant factor in Fourth of July crash fatalities, with 42 percent between 2010 and 2014 involving at least one driver with a blood-alcohol concentration over the legal driving limit of .08. “While July Fourth is consistently the deadliest day on the road, the toll of crash deaths goes on every day, all year long,” said Adrian Lund, president, IIHS. “If everyone buckles up, avoids distractions, obeys the speed limit and doesn’t drink and drive, we can make July Fourth and every day on the road a lot safer.” Each year, Allstate commends the cities that have the safest drivers on the report. The following are the top 10 safest driving cities, according to Allstate’s 2016 America’s Best Drivers Report: City & Overall Ranking Collision Likelihood Compared to National Average Average Years Between Collisions

4. Cape Coral, Florida 22.3% less likely 12.9 5. Boise, Idaho 22.1% less likely 12.8

6. Huntsville, Alabama 21.4% less likely 12.7

7. Port Saint Lucie, Florida 20.1% less likely 12.5 8. Wichita, Kansas 19.7% less likely 12.5 9. Olathe, Kansas 19.6% less likely 12.4

10. Reno, Nevada 18.3% less likely 12.2

According to the company, Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers Report® is the result of an in-depth examination of company claims data to determine the likelihood that drivers in America’s 200 largest cities will experience a vehicle collision compared to the national average. This year, Allstate actuaries analyzed property damage claims reported during the two-year period of January 2013 to December 2014. A weighted average of the twoyear numbers determines the annual percentages. The report defines a collision as any auto crash resulting in a property damage claim. Allstate’s auto policies represent nearly 10 percent of all U.S. auto policies, making this report a realistic snapshot of what’s happening on America’s roadways.

Post-Collision Diagnostic Scan And Calibration Requirements For Honda And Acura Vehicles It is the position of American Honda that all vehicles involved in a collision must have the following minimum diagnostic scans, inspections, and/or calibrations done to avoid improper repair: ● A preliminary diagnostic scan during the repair estimation phase to determine what Diagnostic Trouble Codes DTCs may be present, so proper repairs may be included. See Background On Scan Requirements paragraph for more information. ● A post repair diagnostic scan to confirm that no DTCs remain. - Any repair that requires disconnection of electrical components in order to perform the repair will require a post-repair diagnostic scan to confirm if the component is reconnected properly and functioning. - Damage that requires body parts replacement will always require a post-repair diagnostic scan. ● Some safety and driver assistive systems will require inspections, calibration, and/or aiming after collision or other body repairs. See page 2 for additional information. *A collision is defined as damage that

exceeds minor outer panel cosmetic distortion.

Background On Scan Requirements Honda and Acura vehicles include numerous electronic control systems, including those that operate safety and driver assist systems. Most of these systems include onboard self-diagnostics that monitor the state of health and/or rationality of input and output circuits. When monitored circuit values fall outside predetermined thresholds, DTCs may be set in one or more electronic control unit (ECU). The mechanical forces encountered in a collision can damage electrical circuits and components in ways that are not easily diagnosed with visual inspection methods. Here are some other electronic control system self-diagnostic facts: ● The proliferation of electronic control systems has increased the number of potential DTCs beyond the point where a dashboard indicator can be installed and/or illuminated for every DTC. Dashboard indicators are intended for driver notification, not vehicle diagnostics.

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American Honda Position Statement Diagnostic Recommendations The recommended way to accurately determine the post-collision status of all Honda and Acura vehicle electronic

control systems is with the i-HDS. ● The i-HDS has an “All DTC Check” feature that will scan available electronic control systems for DTCs in one operation. ● American Honda does not test other scan tools and cannot comment on their capabilities or accuracy. NOTE: Not all electronic control systems can be scanned using the iHDS. For example, Honda LaneWatch™ and earlier model air conditioning and climate control systems have self-contained diagnostics that are not accessible using the i-HDS. For systems such as these, refer to the published diagnostic procedures in the appropriate service information available on the Honda Independent Repair/ServiceExpress website: (techinfo .honda.com).

Inspection/Calibration/Aiming Requirements Safety and driver assistive systems that will require inspections, calibration, and/or aiming after collision or other body repairs include, but are not limited to the following: See Post-Collision Diagnostic, Page 63

Terence Crawford’s Trial Set for August 9 by Wil Esco, SB Nation

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● Therefore, the presence or absence of dashboard indicators/warning lights is not an acceptable method to determine if post collision diagnostic scans are necessary. ● Many DTCs do not illuminate any dashboard indicators, but an electronic control system may still operate improperly or be completely inoperative. ● Because of the complexities of serial data networking, dashboard indicators that do illuminate may appear unrelated to the actual vehicle problem. ● Some self-diagnostics require multiple failures, or other criteria such as a number of drive cycles, to be met before illuminating any indicators. ● Low battery voltage and/or repair procedures may inadvertently set multiple DTCs. Clear the DTCs and determine which ones reset after battery voltage is stabilized.

Despite junior welterweight titlist Terence Crawford undergoing preparation for the biggest fight of his career against fellow titilist Viktor Postol on July 23, he still has a criminal case hanging over his head. That case stems from an incident in April where Crawford was accused of causing thousands of dollars in damages to a hydraulic lift after he forcibly removed his car from an auto body shop while allegedly refusing to pay an outstanding debt for a paint job. As reported by RingTV.com, Crawford’s criminal trial on several misdemeanor charges – including theft of services, criminal mischief, assault in the third degree, and trespassing – has been scheduled for August 9th. Crawford had originally been scheduled to begin trial the week of July 11, but was granted a continuance by a local judge. In a phone interview, Crawford’s attorney Steve Lefler had this to say about the status of the case: “He was charged with a couple of misdemeanors and I’m negotiating with the city attorney now. We’ll probably resolve something. If we

don’t, we have a trial set for August 9th, but I’m reasonably confident — I think the city attorney’s office is discovering the case isn’t as strong as they thought it was, so they’re (willing) to negotiate a little bit.” Lefler continued by saying that their side could end up reaching a private settlement with auto shop owner Michael Nelson, and that if they do, that could potentially change the priorities for the prosecutor’s office (insinuating that they may drop the criminal charges). “The city attorney’s office in Omaha doesn’t want to become a collection agency,” Lefler said. “So their position is we’re here to do justice. If this were a very serious case, it would be a felony. It wouldn’t be a misdemeanor. So I don’t want to say it falls in the ‘no-big-deal-category,’ but it’s pretty close. And if I am able to resolve the financial matter with (Nelson) then I don’t think the city attorney is going to care at all.” We’ll have to see if this issue becomes a noticeable distraction for Crawford, as he has his title unification fight on July 23 on PPV. We thank SB Nation for reprint permission.

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Continued from Page 61

Post-Collision Diagnostic

After reconnecting the 12-volt battery: After collision repairs are complete and the battery is reconnected, some electrical systems may not operate properly. These may include, but are not limited to the following: ● Navigation systems ● Engine idle speed learn ● Power window, power tailgate, moonroof, power sliding door position and/or pinch detection ● Keyless access and immobilizer/security systems Since the reset procedures vary by vehicle and system, enter the vehicle information into ServiceExpress and search the keyword “Reset”. This search will retrieve a list of reset procedures required after parts replacement and/or a battery disconnect. Some reset procedures can be done without special tools. Others may require scan tool software.

Front passenger’s seat weight sensor Inspections and calibration: These sensors control passenger’s front airbag operation and the PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator based on the occupant’s weight. Like any scale, weight sensors are a precision device. ● The service information may refer to these sensors as the seat weight sensor (SWS) system or occupant detection system (ODS) depending on model and year.

● This inspection requires a scan tool to fully check the seat weight sensor's operation using the following criteria: - Empty front passenger seat weight to confirm the sensors can detect this condition - Seat weight with a known calibration weight amount if necessary ● This check must be done after any collision, regardless of damage even if no airbags deployed. ● The check confirms sensor operation and that no binding or damage exists in the relationship between the seat frame, weight sensors, and floor pan. ● Weight sensor calibration is also required when front passenger seat components have been removed or replaced. Refer to the service information for procedures.

● Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) ● Blind Spot Information (BSI) ● LaneWatch™ (Honda Only) ● Multi-View Camera System (MVCS - Acura Only) NOTE: Rearview (backup) cameras do not require any aiming procedures after removal or replacement unless the vehicle is also equipped with the Multi-View Camera System (MVCS). These procedures may require special tools and/or the i-HDS to complete. Refer to the service information for specific information. The chart below shows damage areas where driver assistive system components may be located in close proximity. Collision damage in these areas should be given particular attention because certain repairs and/or parts replacement may require aiming procedures to be done.

use on laptop or desktop computer hardware. These may be purchased in three time intervals: 1 day, 30 days, and 365 days. NOTE: The i-HDS software requires the use of a Bosch MVCI or Denso DST-i vehicle communications interface (VCI) device between the vehicle and your computer, which must be purchased separately. To purchase i-HDS diagnostic software and/or a vehicle interface device do the following:

1. Access the Honda Independent Repair/ServiceExpress website: (techinfo.honda.com).

2. Click the link under the “Diagnostic Tools” heading (near middle of page). 3. Confirm your computer meets the system requirements and/or pur-

Driver assistive system aiming: Some models use one or more of the following camera and/or radar based driver support systems that require software-based aiming and/or calibration to ensure proper operation after certain components have been removed and/or replaced: ● Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) ● Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™) ● Forward Collision Warning (FCW) ● Lane Departure Warning (LDW) ● Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)

How To Obtain Service Information, iHDS Diagnostic Software and Interface Hardware i-HDS software, as well as other service information, is available to independent repair facilities and others for

chase a VCI device by clicking the link(s) under “Hardware”.

Center towing company in Altoona, PA. Professionals was represented by Jonathan Rose, an associate attorney at Forr, Stokan, Huff, Kormanski & Naugle in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Rose said the plaintiff’s amended complaint failed to state any cause of action or any legal theory against the body shop. In May 2015, Debra Howard and Monica Devett were involved in an accident and according to court documents, Howard was at fault. Devett’s 2012 Chevrolet Malibu was towed to Altoona Emergency and then towed a second time by KarPro to Professionals Auto Body. Professionals paid the cost for both towing companies, which included a 911 response tow, recovery, debris removal, service fees and storage. Perretta said KarPro’s tow manager marked up the first tower’s invoice 25 percent, which came to $167.50. Before the vehicle was brought into the body shop for disassembly, Profession-

als asked Howard to come in and authorize the rates and charges. After disassembly, the vehicle was declared a total loss. Howard’s insurance company, Nationwide, paid all of the charges for the services provided. According to court documents, Nationwide alleged it made the payments only “under protest” and declared the charges unnecessary and asked that they be refunded. In the complaint against Professionals, the insurance company claimed that the costs were not agreed to by Howard or Nationwide and requested that certain charges, including the markup amount be refunded, which amounted to $837.50. “Nationwide wanted a breakdown of that sum probably with the idea that they would reimburse KarPro for the amount originally charged by Altoona Emergency but a denial of any markup,” said Rose. “All items were very reasonable

and necessary charges,” said Perretta. “Our defense for the charges were simple and easily justified. We use our money for their benefit and deserve a markup.” In addition to staffing fees, Perretta said the body shop needs to cover a variety of other costs. These include maintaining secure lots that are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, paying for the liability of each vehicle from theft or damage, insurance and taxes on their property and costs associated with protecting the environment. Nationwide provided the following statement to Autobody News in regards to the claim and the decision by the arbitration panel: “Nationwide evaluates the facts and circumstances of each claim individually and pays for covered losses that are reasonable, claim-related and supported by documented evidence. Nationwide does not publicly discuss claims litigation.”

4. Click the link under “Software” to purchase i-HDS software and follow the directions.

Arbitration Panel Rules in Favor of PA Body Shop Over Nationwide’s Claim of “Excessive” Fees by Stacey Phillips

After Nationwide Insurance filed a claim against a Pennsylvania body shop for charging “unreasonable and excessive fees,” a county arbitration panel in that state ruled in favor of the collision repair center in May. Nationwide filed the original complaint against Professionals Auto Body in October 2015 in Blair County, PA Court of Common Pleas. According to court documents, Nationwide was disputing a towing bill in the amount of $837.50, as well as the reasonableness of a daily storage fee of $75 per day. The costs also included a 25 percent markup fee on a towing charge, which amounted to $167.50. “It’s the cost of doing business and those costs have to be covered and passed on,” said Ron Perretta, who owns Professionals Auto Body as well as a full mechanical facility and KarPro Tire and Auto

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