Here’s to 241 years of combined service excellence
This year, as Albert Kemperle Inc. celebrates its 83rd anniversary, BASF also celebrates its 158th anniversary. We are proud of our decades of partnership with BASF and years of serving the auto paint and body industry together. Kemperle’s founders would be proud of this relationship and the growth their company has experienced because of it.
Today, as we look forward to many more decades of service to our customers, we find ourselves filled with gratitude. The creativity, hard work, and sense of responsibility of the people working for our two companies have made us what we are today.
Thank you for your many years of loyalty.
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Alana Quartuccio
MESSAGE
Now is the Time to Shop HEALTHCARE WITH SCRS
I just got done attending the “all things collision industry” week in Denver, where in addition to the Collision Industry Conference, I attended the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ Board and Affiliate Association meetings.
I know that doesn’t sound earthshattering, but it was! On top of understanding the national issues being addressed – advocacy on your behalf as repairers – we got to meet together with two dozen state associations from around the country. We discussed and debated many of the leading edge business disruptions, but one thing of urgency stood out: healthcare.
Healthcare Made for Us
Employees want to be relieved of the worry over their health. It’s also a great attractor of talent! In the Affiliate meeting, we dove into the SCRS Decisely Healthcare and 401k benefits programs, accessible to the entire industry. Already, almost 2,000 industry members are on the plan, and it’s gearing up for many more.
The SCRS group healthcare program is a partnership with Decisely, and the plan is Gravie. Either of those two names may sound unfamiliar, but the provider network
is Aetna; a name we all know. It was specifically designed by our industry, for our industry.
In my own personal experience with the plan, it touts comparable rates with $0 out of pocket (OOP) for office visits, specialist visits, ER visits, generic drugs, and more. The copay – with a max OOP - comes in when you are doing things like hospital admissions, surgeries or more complex issues, but the most important is that the out of pocket is different than traditional health plans.
They put together a top tier offering, with great pricing, and great benefits. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! You owe it to your employees to at least do a plan comparison before the 4th quarter is here and renewals are happening.
WMABA endorses and shares this benefit with our membership, because we see the value in teaming up with SCRS to make sure shops have affordable offerings for their most valuable asset: their team.
Start the 10-15 minute application process today, and get your comparison quote at scrsbenefitscenter.decisely.com.
If you’ve never had a healthcare plan for your shop before, this is the best place
WMABA OFFICERS
PRESIDENT Kris Burton kris@rosslynautobody.com - 703-820-1800
VICE PRESIDENT Phil Rice phil@ricewoods.com - 540-846-6617
TREASURER John Shoemaker john.a.shoemaker@basf.com - 248-763-4375
SECRETARY Barry Dorn bdorn@dornsbodyandpaint.com - 804-746-3928
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Steven Krieps steve@gregclineauto.com 304-755-1146
Jordan Hendler (jordanhendler@wmaba.com) 804-789-9649
WMABA CORPORATE OFFICE
P.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116
Sharing ideas & borrowing wisdom! BY
JORDAN HENDLER
“I just switched to the SCRS plan with Decisely. We saved about $15,000 per year, and the coverage is way better! They also had really competitive options for dental/vision. One of my employees, whose wife is pregnant, will save around $6,000 in out-of-pocket expenses versus the plan we had. You wouldn’t believe how elated they were when they found out what making the switch meant for them.”
– Michael B.
to start – with people who know us! The group 401(k) plan is also advertised on the SCRS website, and is a simple, easy application, too! Visit scrs.com/401k/.
Let’s show our people how much we are looking out for them and want them happy, by investing in these amazing benefit opportunities.
Jordan Hendler (804) 789-9649 jordanhendler@wmaba.com
Check the WMABA website and newsletters for regular updates and reports from the Executive Director’s perspective.
HAMMER & DOLLY STAFF
PUBLISHER Thomas Greco thomas@grecopublishing.com
SALES DIRECTOR Alicia Figurelli alicia@grecopublishing.com
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Alana Quartuccio alana@grecopublishing.com
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING Chasidy Rae Sisk EDITOR chasidy@grecopublishing.com
Tracy Dombrowski (tracy@collisionadvice.com) 571-458-0648 Bill Hawkins (hawkinswilliamjr@gmail.com) 510-915-2283
OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco donna@grecopublishing.com
PRODUCTION Joe Greco
COORDINATOR joe@grecopublishing.com
www.grecopublishing.com @grecopublishing
THOMAS GRECO PUBLISHING NAMES ALANA QUARTUCCIO EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Thomas Greco Publishing Inc. (TGP) is pleased to announce that Alana Quartuccio, an established member of its editorial team, has been promoted to the role of Editorial Director.
Quartuccio joined TGP in May 2018 as the team’s Editorial/ Creative Coordinator, a role she has expanded and grown since. A career journalist, she has more than 25 years of professional writing and editing experience, having produced content for magazines, newspapers, websites and organizations. She also possesses marketing and event planning experience which provides additional benefits to the TGP team.
“Alana has been an integral part of Greco Publishing for over six years,” TGP President Thomas Greco says. “We are thrilled to
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Quartuccio is “truly grateful to have this opportunity to take this next step with my TGP family. Since coming on board six years ago, I have become attached to the automotive and collision world. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with so many amazing people along the way. I am excited to continue in my new role, and I can’t wait to see everyone in person real soon.”
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D&V AUTOBODY INC. Recognized for Continued Dedication, Involvement and Growth
WMABA continued their commitment to recognizing one of their very own member shops for their hard work and longstanding commitment to the association when they gave the 2023 Most Improved Member Award to D&V Autobody Inc. of Sterling, VA during the Southeast Collision Conference this past May.
During the award ceremony, WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler and WMABA President Kris Burton highlighted the many great qualities D&V exemplifies. Hendler commended this family-owned-and-operated business for their growing dedication as an active member of the association that often has as many as eight shop employees regularly attending WMABA events. Burton championed the shop for their dedication to taking the certification route and commitment to growing their team.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling of pride,” expresses Kevin Maharaj, D&V co-owner, about the recognition and how proud he is of the entire team. “We value training greatly, so I feel that our commitment to training and our overall development has led us to this point. It’s a great feeling of validation.”
The Maharaj family has grown the business substantially over the past four decades. What started out as a side business in a home garage is now a thriving operation in two locations – D&V Autobody Inc. on Overland Drive and D&V Autobody Masters located on Trade West Drive. It all began with Kevin’s parents, Dave and Vena, who lend their initials to D&V Auto Body’s company name
“My dad was working a standard body shop job but when he finished there, he’d come home and do work on the side in a separate garage next to our home,” Kevin explains. “It caught on in such a way that it led him to realize he didn’t have to work for anyone and could do it on his own. So, in 1986, he and my mom started D&V Autobody out of a small 3,000-square-foot building. We wound up expanding that building about four times until 2007 when we moved to a commercial property. Ten years after that, we opened a second location.”
Kevin and his brother Ron grew up in the business, and today, both brothers and their sister, Jenna Hardin, are all involved with the D&V operation. Kevin runs the D&V Autobody Masters location, while Ron runs the Overland Drive shop. Although their sister didn’t necessarily grow up in collision repair, she wound up joining the team to bring her financial expertise into it and leads that aspect of the business. “It’s a godsend to fill that role with our sister, someone who is not only qualified but motivated to help the family business,” he says.
According to Kevin, his parents’ influence has kept the entire family going in this business through good times and bad. “We gained their motivation to keep rolling through tough times, including a couple recessions and COVID. Our drive combined with our passion to stay trained and focused on the industry’s newest, latest and greatest has evolved – not just through the family members but the entire team. Our management truly gets it and runs with it, and that mentality permeates through the entire company.”
The Maharaj family has an enthusiasm for cars that elevates their threshold for what they believe top-quality work should be: nothing less than perfection.
“We are huge car enthusiasts. Since the early days when my brother and I were
D&V Autobody Masters Location, Sterling, VA
playing around on the shop floor, we’d go along to car shows and events. You name it, we were in the automotive circles, and that bleeds into our work day to day. Our passion shows there.” Along with offering nothing less than an excellent customer service experience with constant communication, the team strives to provide high quality standards. “Our shop believes that the vehicle must look absolutely like the way it left the factory originally. Nothing less. It’s as simple as that.”
That quality workmanship has built their reputation around other car enthusiasts because they take such great care to go above and beyond to “buff little scuffs and scratches, or touching up little rock
chips.” Because D&V Auto Body treats every car the same, no matter the customer, both average vehicle drivers and avid car fanatics alike are ultimately “blown away” by the amazing detail. “We’ve been impressing car enthusiasts with our quality and customer service for decades, so it’s inevitable that non-car enthusiasts can see and feel the passion and love. That’s why we feel we’ve been successful –because our passion bleeds through. You can see it and feel it.”
Their involvement with WMABA has been a great resource for networking, and they truly appreciate being part of the association.
“It’s a great relationship. We’ve met a lot of key contacts through WMABA. Rubbing elbows with shop owners, managers or technicians and getting insight from different people is key.”
Kevin enjoys interacting with those who have different backgrounds and, therefore, different perspectives. “I don’t have the experience that a lot of my peers have in working at different facilities. Most people have had a combination of experiences from different work places. My brother and I have not had that, so it’s refreshing to go to [WMABA] training events or the golf outing and share war stories, talking about things that work and don’t work to expand our horizons through others’ experiences.” H&D
D&V Autobody Inc.’s Overland Location, Sterling, VA
WHAT IS ADAS CALIBRATION? PRECISION IN EVERY CALIBRATION.
calibration is the precise adjustment of your vehicle’s sensors cameras, essential for the optimal functioning of advanced safety This process is especially following significant repairs, replacements, collisions, or windshield replacements, as these can disrupt sensor alignment. important to avoid driving without sensor calibration. Uncalibrated sensors can compromise vehicle’s safety features, leading potential malfunctions and hazards.
ADAS calibration is the precise adjustment of your vehicle’s sensors and cameras, essential for the optimal functioning of advanced safety systems. This process is especially critical following significant repairs, part replacements, collisions, or windshield replacements, as these events can disrupt sensor alignment. It’s important to avoid driving without proper sensor calibration. Uncalibrated ADAS sensors can compromise your vehicle’s safety features, leading to potential malfunctions and driving hazards.
calibration of ADAS can be performed main ways: static and dynamic. calibration takes place in a controlled environment, ensuring accuracy consistency. Dynamic calibration, on hand, involves driving the vehicle specific conditions to fine-tune sensors in real-world scenarios. This comprehensive approach ensures that vehicle’s safety systems are reliable effective, providing peace of mind road.
The calibration of ADAS can be performed in two main ways: static and dynamic. Static calibration takes place in a controlled environment, ensuring accuracy and consistency. Dynamic calibration, on the other hand, involves driving the vehicle under specific conditions to fine-tune the sensors in real-world scenarios. This comprehensive approach ensures that your vehicle’s safety systems are reliable and effective, providing peace of mind on the road.
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LOCAL FEATURE Overcoming Adversity to Take A Family’s Legacy TO THE NEXT LEVEL
It’s the dream for many – open your own auto body shop to provide a nice life for your family. One day, when you retire, your children will take over to continue your legacy. Sounds lovely, but sometimes life has other plans. Although no father intends to burden his 22-year-old child and her new spouse with a floundering business, there’s no doubt that the late Roland O’Haran Sr. would be extremely proud of his daughter and sonin-law, Jenn and Kyle Goad, for turning a struggling shop into a success story by overcoming the odds after being unexpectedly thrown into ownership.
O’Haran, along with his father George O’Haran Jr. and brother George O’Haran III, founded G & R Collision Center (Waldorf, MD) in 2006 with an emphasis on good, old-fashioned elbow grease and values like taking care of customers. His wife, JoAnne, ran the office, while he repaired the cars, offering smalltown service and generating new business by word of mouth. “Roland was an old-school bodyman, especially when it came to how he ran the business, recalls Kyle Goad.
After studying auto body refinish and performance chassis fabrication at WyoTech (Laramie, WY), Kyle graduated in 2009 and joined the team at G & R in January 2011. JoAnne O’Haran saw something more in the young painter, and in addition to advancing him to perform some office work, she introduced him to her daughter, Jenn, a high school senior who worked at the dance store around the corner. The pair spent a few months getting to know one another and began dating after Jenn graduated. When JoAnne and Roland separated in 2013, Jenn went to work in the shop alongside Kyle and her father, tending to the accounting needs of the business and other office work.
As romance blossomed between the young couple and even led to an engagement, tragedy struck when O’Haran was diagnosed with a rare prostate cancer in 2015. “Kyle and I pretty much took over everything at that point,” Jenn shares. “There was a lot to learn when Dad got sick. Because he was old school,
we saw a lot of room for improvements, but we didn’t make many changes right away because we were trying to figure it all out, plus we had a lot going on in our personal life.”
Roland mustered the strength to walk his daughter down the aisle when she became Jenn Goad on July 30, 2016, despite his failing health. The prostate cancer metastasized into bone cancer and spread to his liver, ultimately taking his life. “He passed away October 12, 2017, two weeks before my birthday,” Jenn mourns. “It really sucked because he was my absolute favorite person on this earth! I was the legit definition of a ‘Daddy’s Girl.’ He was the best father you could ask for.”
Although Roland’s battle had ended, the Goads’ journey to preserving his legacy had only begun. “The transition was rough,” Kyle admits. “We wanted to make some improvements to the business, but a few months after Jenn’s father passed away, we found out we were pregnant, and that wasn’t the only surprise we weren’t expecting!”
“We encountered some unforeseen financial burdens, which caused us to have to close the original business and start East Coast Collision LLC,” Jenn laments. “We used our personal savings to establish the beginning structure for East Coast and even received a small loan from Kyle’s father to help us through those first few months of the transition. Kyle was in the front office doing estimates and dealing with customers, and I was working on all the paperwork for the transition and everything else behind the scenes that needed to be done. It was literally just him and I in the office. We still had a body tech and a painter, but essentially Kyle ran the office and did all the estimates. We were determined to make this new business succeed.”
Fortunately, O’Haran had developed a lot of great relationships that carried over to the new shop. “We already had good relationships with the dealers that we used for parts, so that helped us out a lot. We also had good DRP relationships with several insurers, so they were willing to stay and work with us
through the transition,” Kyle says, adding, “Most importantly, we received a lot of support from our families and our employees at the time.”
“It’s all about the help,” Jenn agrees. “We have some of the most amazing employees who are willing to do whatever they can for us. Kyle and I cannot thank them enough for everything they do for us day in and day out. It helps that all of them are like family.”
East Coast Collision opened its doors in 2018 with some significant advancements compared to its predecessor. “We started with some equipment upgrades and new management software,” Kyle notes. “Recently, we upgraded our paint booth, and things really took off once we switched paint lines and started using AkzoNobel in January 2022. When it came to media and advertising, Roland was extremely old school; G & R had no online presence, so that’s something we’re currently working on. We hired someone to handle our social media accounts, and they are building our website as well.”
The Goads are also exploring the possibility of OEM certification, though they’ll first need to upgrade additional equipment and acquire some I-CAR training. Kyle has invested time into attending industry conferences as well as training classes
hosted by AkzoNobel, and he’s hoping to start “a training program for entry level youth to help bring young new talent into this trade,” Jenn shares. “The idea is in its infancy for now, but he’s so passionate about finding a way to help get the younger generation interested and trained to work in this industry. He wants to make it fun and interesting so that way they go to work doing what they love and hopefully make good money out of it.”
These days, Kyle “pretty much oversees everything,” according to Jenn, who stresses, “It is a big team effort though, and everyone pitches in. We now have 17 employees, including Kyle and myself. We have an amazing team that backs us up, and if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be as successful.”
While his official role in the shop has changed since he started working for Roland in 2011, Kyle still loves to paint and has no qualms about jumping in the booth if the shop’s painter is out for a day or two. “I really love the paint side of the industry and the challenges that come with it,” he insists. “I like to do anything from painting a car to custom work.”
He also brags on his wife for juggling “the work she does for the shop and taking care of two boys at home.” Grayson was born in 2019, and Dawson followed just two years later. Although their
and Jenn Goad were thrown into shop ownership when her father was diagnosed with cancer, but through their passion and determination, they’re building a business to be proud of.
Kyle
LOCAL FEATURE
continued from pg. 15
sons are still young, the Goads dream of passing on East Coast Collision’s legacy to the next generation. “Grayson is more into video games at this point, but I think Dawson will want to work in the shop someday because he enjoys going and helping one of our body techs whenever I bring them up to the shop,” Jenn says.
With the lessons learned through overcoming adversity these past years, it seems likely that preparations for a smoother transition will be made for the third generation’s foray into ownership! H&D
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COVER STORY BEYOND WHAT THE EYES CAN SEE:
Common ADAS Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The phrase “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” may be accurate in certain cases, but in the complex world of ADAS, it could not be farther from the truth! Because truth be told, these advanced driver assistance systems need attention – even if the damage is not visible to the repairer’s eye.
Although these systems are not new, they are evolving and complexifying at accelerating rate. Yet many collision repairers still neglect to treat these systems if they don’t see a DTC code or believe a sensor was compromised in some form. That’s just one of the many misconceptions out there. As ADAS continues to filter its way into the collision repair universe, repair professionals need to open their eyes to what they are doing wrong, and start to perceive beyond what their eyes can see.
Problems can begin with where one gets their information from.
“First and foremost, just because there isn’t a light on, doesn’t mean ADAS calibrations are not required,” insists Josh McFarlin (AirPro Diagnostics). “Look at what was done to the vehicle and what the manufacturer says, and then evaluate what is needed. Don’t look to – insert Facebook group here – as your only source of expertise and awareness about what to do on the vehicle. I don’t want to suggest there is only misinformation in those groups, as there are some people who have a good handle on what they are talking about, but there are some who are way out in left field…or maybe not even in the stadium.”
McFarlin has seen conversations in these groups where someone posts their struggles involving a calibration on a forward-facing camera after replacing the glass. A response will direct them to disconnect the battery before they start and leave the camera plugged in, hanging from its wires. After they replace the windshield, they don’t see any codes and question, “Why are we doing this?”
“It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of why the calibration is needed,” McFarlin says. “I think it’s because people look at the process and say, ‘Well, I’m recalibrating the camera, but I didn’t change the camera. So why do I need to calibrate it?’ But that camera is now looking through a new piece of glass, and maybe even more importantly, it’s looking through a different piece of glass. The clarity on that glass may be a little different.
“It’s also attached to a bracket that may be installed on that new piece of glass a little differently,” he points out. “So the point of the calibration is to train the camera to see the world as mounted on that new bracket, looking through that new piece of glass that may have been installed a little differently as well. All those factors affect how it sees the
world, and that is why you calibrate. Just because there aren’t lights on the dashboard doesn’t mean you don’t have to do the calibration.”
What it boils down to is many shops and shop personnel are just not identifying all the ADAS components involved in a vehicle. “If you don’t identify the systems at the start, the process will just fall apart after that,” Frank Terlep (OPUS IVS) analyzes. “The industry is still behind on that understanding.”
Pinpointing what needs to be done is not only critical toward a proper repair; it’s necessary in order to educate the vehicle owner on what needs to be done.
“If a shop does not properly identify a vehicle’s ADAS systems at the start, they can’t have the appropriate conversation with the consumer about ADAS,” Terlep notes. “You want to be able to tell them, ‘Hey, Mrs. Smith, you have these ADAS systems that may need specific calibrations, so your repair may take longer.’ Also the shop needs to explain it’s their responsibility to put the ADAS systems back to OEM settings. But this conversation has to happen at the beginning of the process.”
It’s concerning to Greg Peeters (Car ADAS Solutions) that some repairers would risk putting cars back on the roads in unsafe conditions.
“When the safety systems aren’t working correctly, they won’t perform the way they are meant to,” he explains. “Yet, some repairers are willing to send it on the road, putting people in danger, and that is the biggest mistake repairers can make on a vehicle right now.
“The second biggest crime is thinking they can solve the problem with a fly-by-night solution that happens to come around and provide a discount or something like that. It may solve an immediate problem, but there’s no way it is being done correctly, which is just about as bad as not doing it at all. So, now you have this false assumption that the safety systems were all restored and calibrated properly, but in fact, they were not, and there is no documentation that it was ever done.”
Peeters stresses that shops can’t afford to disregard the fact that they are ultimately responsible for any consequences that could occur as a result of a faulty repair. “No matter how you accomplish it, you are responsible. If you send it to a dealer, you are responsible. If you sublet the work, you are responsible,” he notes.
An absolutely essential component in the process, documentation goes beyond protecting the shop and helping to educate the customer. As Terlep points out, it also educates the insurers. “The insurance companies have the
same problems that shops do. They don’t understand ADAS all that well, either, so you have the blind leading the blind. It’s really about knowledge and understanding.”
Shops who are not embracing ADAS are likely also missing out on the opportunity it can bring to their businesses. “It seems to be gaining momentum; however, there are still examples of people seeing it as more of a nuisance than an opportunity,” McFarlin observes. “If you are looking through a glass-half-full point of view, opportunity can maybe sound like taking advantage of the system, but that’s not the point. The point is that it is work that needs to be done on the vehicle that you should get paid for and be profitable on. It is an opportunity.”
McFarlin says he’s been left scratching his head and wondering why some chose not to perform this work when there is documentation that supports that one can and should do so. “Are you not in the business of performing work on a vehicle to get paid for it? If you are, then why are you looking for reasons not to perform certain items? What’s your objective? There’s plenty of documentation that you can use to support the need for it to be done. Why are you looking for a reason not to do it if you’re doing it correctly? You should be making additional revenue.”
By 2030, the calibration business is expected to be a $3-to-$4 billion business, according to Terlep.
“The typical mix of work for most collision repair businesses is vehicles five years or newer. Five years means 2018, 2019 and newer is the typical vehicle one has in their shop, which means approximately 40 to 50 percent or higher of the vehicles will need some type of calibration, so there is a big opportunity there. The number one problem is that 80 percent of these businesses –mechanical, collision or dealerships – don’t have the proper space, which provides an opportunity for someone to come in and do the work or for the shop to invest in additional space.”
According to Peeters, bringing ADAS calibration work in-house is ideal because, “You control your own business by doing it yourself. You control quality, cycle time and costs. You are in business to control your destiny and your repair process, and ADAS is definitely part of that repair process.”
Of course, adding calibrations to your business plan presents challenges as well. “Space and financial constraints may not make it accessible for all body shops to do so,” Peeters acknowledges. “It’s also an ever-changing industry. The equipment continues to develop, get more expensive, and larger. The accuracy required is getting more defined, the steps more intricate. It’s not getting easier. It’s continuously changing and evolving.”
McFarlin recognizes how much expertise collision repairers need in order to work on vehicles.Therefore, many repairers are likely seeing ADAS as “just one more thing” to add to the list.
“There’s all these things that they need to know and be good at, not to mention using the estimating system and so on. They have to research all those repairs and make sure they have the right parts and the right paint code. They need to have expertise in a lot of different things. I think part of repairers’ resistance is that
they just don’t want to have to figure out another thing.”
It results in shops sending the work to a dealer, calling in a mobile company or “standing by the belief that, because there isn’t a DTC code, I don’t have to do anything.”
Another hesitation may lie in not having to get into the ring with the insurers over ADAS costs. “If they do the work, they have to argue about getting paid for it. They may believe it has to be done, but they don’t want to get the tooling for it and don’t want to have to defend it. If they send it to the dealer, the invoice gets paid. That doesn’t seem to get challenged very much, so they’ll just send it to the dealer to avoid arguing about getting paid.”
Ultimately, it’s up to what works best for that particular business. “One must take a look at their business and make a personal decision to see if they want to take on this work,” suggests Terlep. “Then you have to go through a list of things to see what equipment is needed, what type of personnel training is required and what facility changes must be made. The shop needs to understand their own business, their goals and objectives going forward. It’s my opinion, but I honestly believe ADAS is the biggest opportunity I have seen in 25 years, and I’ve been saying that for about four years now.”
Also, it’s an opportunity that should be seized now as things will change in the future. “One thing people need to be prepared for is that it’s only a matter of time before the insurance companies start to put pressure on pricing which means the business model as it stands today will be different in the future because the revenue will be lower,” predicts Terlep.
He compares the evolution of today’s vehicles to the original laptop that has been slimmed down dramatically since its original square box form. “The price was high, and they were big. Vehicles are going through that same stage, so we’re going to see more and more technology. It’s going to get smaller and more powerful, and it will become less expensive. I think it’s going to force specialization. I think you’re going to see more and more businesses get into the calibration/diagnostics business, as the ‘typical’ collision repair facility doesn’t have the knowledge.”
Certainly, auto body repair facilities have much to consider when it comes to avoiding mistakes by knowing what they should be doing and how to best go about it in order to be proficient and profitable. Ultimately, the best fix for managing the ADAS calibration world is perhaps best summed up by Terlep: “Those who invest the time, money, energy and training will be fine. The ones who don’t, won’t.” H&D
Executive Director’s Thoughts
Diagnostics and Calibrations should ALREADY be a part of your business, and checked for all repairs. Checking means finding out what the OEM requirements are, loading that into your repair order / repair plans, and making sure they are fully complete and functional prior to delivery. I would take these contributors further and say you should already be on this path! - Jordan Hendler
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“Gary, I wanted to thank you for your continued support for my latest purchase of the Autel ADAS Calibration system. You provided the training we needed and most importantly you provided a direction when calibrations needed a little more technical advice. I’ve had the good fortune of finding you many years ago to supply my necessary computer scan tools to stay current and relevant in this everchanging environment.
I use the analogy of running a business is like being a captain of a ship. My job is steering the ship and plugging the money holes all while navigating into calm profitable waters. After 36 years in business, I can say buying from you and attending many of your Technical Training classes has directly facilitated my continued success in the Auto Repair business.
I’ve owned the Autel ADAS system for over a year. HUGE Success.
Your extensive technical training background has led you to a great business opportunity to provide a valuable needed service that many garages and body shops don’t provide. Most cars leave body shops and repair facilities not getting the necessary Calibrations. The more I know the more I see the opportunity to make cars safer for everyone. One of the lessons I’ve learned is that business owners don’t tell other businesses where their Honey hole is. Buying from you with your training and after purchase support is a honey hole they don’t have to miss out on.”
Bill Murphy, Owner Auto Clinic -Pepperell, MA
ADVICE INDUSTRY ASK MIKE:
What Does a Strong In-House Apprenticeship Program Look Like?
This month, we “ASK MIKE” to share his thoughts on how shops can develop and implement effective in-house apprenticeship programs. We at Hammer & Dolly hope you find the following exchange useful, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have a question for Mike on this or any industry-related matter that he can answer in a future issue.
Hammer & Dolly: You’ve mentioned in-house apprenticeship programs here and there in past conversations, but let’s take a deep dive into that topic. What does an effective in-house apprenticeship program look like, and how do shops go about establishing one?
Mike Anderson: The first thing that comes to mind is I’ve never believed in stealing fish from another man’s pond, because you never know what you’re going to catch. The best thing you can do for your shop is to grow your own team internally. That’s where apprenticeship programs come in. Shops need to understand that you sometimes have to go backwards before you can go forwards. When someone at the shop leaves or retires, the owner often wants someone new who’s already fully trained because they don’t want to lose full production. But when you take on an apprentice, your sales and productivity may drop. Unfortunately, you may have to go through a few apprentices before you find out who sticks, but there are many benefits to having an apprenticeship program at your shop. When we took on apprenticeships at my shops, we wanted people to continually grow. You practice during practice, and you play the game during the game. Sometimes, shops expect apprentices to practice during the game. Let’s say you’re
teaching a body apprentice disassembly. You don’t want them to feel like they’re not being challenged and end up leaving. You need to continually challenge them. Maybe you teach them a new skill one night a week after work.
Above all, having structure – along with providing constant feedback – is the key to a successful apprenticeship program. When I say ‘structure,’ it means having a career path for everything an apprentice needs to learn – where you can check the boxes along the way – versus just trying to reach them based on whatever car is there that day. Apprentices should also receive constant feedback, so they know how they’re doing and the areas that need improvement. I’m not saying you need to sit down with them every day, but it’s something to consider doing at least monthly. You should also do employee reviews and ask them where they need support.
When we think of apprentices, we often think of just young people. An apprenticeship program can be for adults – perhaps a military veteran or somebody who wants to work full-time to supplement their income after retiring from another career. We shouldn’t restrict our thoughts on apprentice programs just to people who are getting out of high school.
H&D: It’s also critical to establish benchmarks and timeframes for apprentices. You don’t want someone to think they’re on track and doing a great job when they’re six weeks behind the point where you’d like to cut them loose in the shop. An apprentice shouldn’t be left wondering how they’re doing – they should know.
MA: I agree 100 percent. People need constant feedback – but that feedback needs to be balanced. You can’t just point out the things they’re doing wrong; you also need to point out the things they’re doing well.
H&D: No two mentors are alike. You have plenty of technicians who are social, and you have plenty of others
who prefer to work in the back away from the public. What are some common personality traits that generally make for a good mentor in this industry?
MA: I had a technician named Chris Browning who was an exceptional mentor and teacher. There was a company called hireMAX that did personality assessments. When I used that to identify the things that made Chris a good mentor, I also used an assessment to find those traits in other members of my team.
Not everyone is cut out to be a mentor. A lot of technicians are afraid of how taking on an apprentice will affect their productivity. They worry about slowing down and not making as much money. You need to consider how your technicians are compensated if you want them to become a mentor. Maybe you give that mentor a nice bonus when the apprentice goes out on their own. Those problems can be solved, but they need to be discussed in advance.
H&D: There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to much in this industry, but how long should apprenticeship programs typically last? You don’t want to throw someone into the ring after two weeks, but you don’t want to wait five years for them to catch up either. What’s the best middle ground between those two extremes?
MA: Technicians, estimators and CSRs [customer service representatives] are all going to have different time periods for development. You can probably get a CSR up to speed in six months. That’s the same with someone who’s working in parts. Estimators never quit learning, because an estimate controls your profitability. You really need to oversee them for a minimum of a year. The time it takes to teach someone refinish is much shorter than the time it takes to teach a collision technician, who’s going to take the longest. I would say it takes a good three to five years to train an apprentice before they become a full-fledged collision technician
Mike Anderson is an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and the former owner of Wagonwork Collision Centers, two highly acclaimed shops located in Alexandria, VA. He has served as a member of many industry organizations throughout his career, including the WMABA Board of Directors, the Mitchell Advisory Board, the MOTOR Advisory Board, the ASE Test Review Committee, the National Auto Body Council, the Collision Industry Conference and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. Additionally, he is a past Virginia SkillsUSA chairman, serves as a facilitator for Axalta Coating Systems’ highly recognized Business Council 20 Groups in both the US and Canada and facilitates numerous courses for Axalta Coating Systems’ Educational Series. He currently offers expert industry consulting via his latest venture, Collision Advice (collisionadvice.com). H&D
