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Vol. 37 / Issue 11 / November 2019
Montana CRA Supports Collision Repair Training Program, Urges Other Associations to Get Involved
Speakers Discuss Need to Know, Follow OEM Calibration Steps for ADAS
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
by John Yoswick
This fall, the Montana Collision Repair Association (MCRA) announced its partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) to
support the state’s only collision repair training program at Montana State University (MSU) – Billings
City College. MCRA President Paul Flores stated, “The MSU-Billings Collision Program is the only postsecondary automobile collision repair and refinishing program available in the state of Montana. The collision repair industry is in a unique era of growth, consolidation, and advancement in technology. At the same time, the industries talent pool lacks the volume to support the extensive personnel needs of collision repair facilities.” MCRA offers its support of MSU-Billings’ auto collision repair See MCRA Supports, Page 12
Will California Establish Ratings Systems for Body Shops? by Ed Attanasio
The numbers are staggering—The Bureau of Automotive Repair’s (BAR) backlog has tripled within the last three years, with 436 cases in 2016, 561 in 2017 and 1,314 from last year. And what’s even more shocking is that all of those shops cited in 2017 for significant violations are still up and running like business as usual. These figures concern a lot of people, including the folks in Sacramento and that’s why California Assemblyman Evan Low, D-San Jose,
CA, is taking the high road by looking for a solution to a stalled system. He chairs California’s Assembly Committee that oversees the BAR. They’re considering legislation that would devise a ratings system for all automotive repair shops, including collision shops. Low wants transparency and full accountability as well as a way to speed up the process. “I do think we can do a better job at publicizing whether or not a particular repair shop might be above reproach,” Low told NBC Bay Area. “One violation
George Lesniak, Autel’s director of sales and training, said one of the biggest challenges for shops working to follow OEM collision repair procedures – in particular, the steps necessary for calibration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – is the variation among automakers. “There’s a complete lack of consistency across the different OEMs when it comes to their service information: where that information is located, where you find the procedures and specifications,” Lesniak said during the recent Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) “Connex” conference. But some of the challenges shops encounter in following OEM proce-
dures, he said, has little to do with that inconsistency in how the information is organized. “The one thing that I’ve found to be very consistent is technicians’ ability to skip steps,” Lesniak said. “The key skill set required to do calibrations is the ability to read, interpret and follow complex instructions and make detailed measurements. Knowing how to use a metric tape measure is absolutely foreign to most technicians. We’ve found that 50 percent of calibration failures come down to missing or skipping steps in those preliminary instructions.” Those steps, he said, include having the required space with the right environmental conditions, such as proper lighting, and ensuring that nothing is interfering with the field See Speakers Discuss, Page 20
Collision Repair Shops Learn How to Attract, Retain Military Veterans by John Yoswick
Collision repair businesses of all sizes have a potential talent pool of new employees, including those conclud-
See Ratings Systems, Page 32
Roxann Griffith of the Department of Labor said military veterans can be a good source of new employees for collision repair businesses of all sizes.
ing their service in the U.S. military, according to a speaker at this past summer’s Collision Industry Conference in Indianapolis.
Roxann Griffith, with the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment and training services, said Texasbased Service King, which operates more than 340 shops in 24 states, has hired hundreds of veterans over four years. Griffith encourages body shops to hire those who have served our country in any capacity by sharing tips and resources with collision repair businesses on how to hire and retain those who have exited the military. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program, for example, offers free hiring fairs on military bases and at other locations around the country, she said. Those looking to hire veterans should check out the advice and resources included in the free 22-page See Military Veterans, Page 40
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