Your Source for Up-To-Date News and Research on the Collision Repair Industry
click here to subscribe to the FREE INSIGHT Editor's Desk News Alert Email
SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY
Today's News
Industry Stocks
INSIGHT This Month
INSIGHT Archives
Survey Center
Letter to the Editor
Business Tools
Subscription Information
CSI Reporting
Financial Analysis
IRS Audit Guide
Management/
Technical Info
Market Watch Rates
INSIGHT Inside this month's issue...
Feedback
Letter to the Editor
This article originally appeared in the August 2008 Issue of INSIGHT
©2008 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT All Rights Reserved
DuPont Becomes Newest Platinum Sponsor of DEG
Massachusetts Labor Rate Bill Ready for Governor’s Signature
I-CAR Announces New Officers and Executive Committee
Ford Adds Parts to Collision Truckload Program
PPG Supports SkillsUSA with $10,000 Donation
Mitchell International’s Jack Farnan Named San Diego’s HR Professional of the Year
Nationwide Contributes $10,000 to I-CAR Education Foundation
California Assembly Passes Capping Measure
Collision Resources Awarded Patent for CR Auto Scheduler
I-CAR Education Foundation Appeals to Industry to Raise $100,000 for Scholarships
AASP-MN Offers P-Page Seminars
INDUSTRY UPDATE
DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) has become the newest platinum sponsor of the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), and the first paint supplier to do so.
"DuPont Performance Coatings is proud to support the efforts of the DEG through this Platinum Level Sponsorship” shared Bruce Cooley, Business Development and Industry Relation Manager for DuPont. “We were encouraged by Joe Mattos, on behalf of our Champion Jobber Network, to take a leadership role in financially supporting this initiative that was bringing real world tangible value to our customer base. We believe the DEG is a great step forward in enhancing database accuracy, and providing easy communication between our customers and the Information Providers in a professional manner that supports the integrity of the Collision Repair Industry.”
“On behalf of the DEG, the collision industry, and personally as a DPC customer we greatly appreciate DuPont’s support,” stated Carroll Proctor, DEG Joint Operating Committee Member. “It is because of support from companies such as this that the DEG is able to provide its service to the industry as a free tool to be utilized by all. Support from all the DEG’s sponsors sends a clear message to the industry about who is here to support efforts that help our businesses in meaningful ways beyond just their primary product offering.”
For more information about the DEG, if you have an inquiry regarding estimating data, or if your company is interested in becoming a sponsor of the DEG visit www.degweb.org.
The Database Enhancement Gateway is an initiative which enables those who use collision repair estimating databases to provide feedback in a standardized format to the Information Providers in an effort to promote data accuracy. DEG resources include an easy-to-use website and inquiry form, dedicated administration for the processing of inquiries, and a current database of both pending and resolved data inquiries submitted to the three major Information Providers.
The DEG was created, initially funded, and is maintained jointly by the Automotive Service Association (ASA), the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). Additional funding for the DEG is provided through corporate sponsorships.
o
Language taken from the Massachusetts Auto Body Labor Rate Bill, H-1085, was included in the final version of the Budget Conference Committee and sent to Governor Deval Patrick for his signature. The Labor Rate language was included as Outside Section 108 of the Budget Conference Report, which represents the budget document sent from the state legislature to the executive branch.
Governor Patrick has ten days to sign it or reject it. Section 108 can be vetoed as a separate line item. However, leading legislators believe any veto could be overridden.
The section calls for a special commission that will study the way Labor Rates are currently set and investigate the benefits and costs of developing a rate setting system, including a shop rating system, average national rates, and using a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLR) multiplier based on Massachusetts labor wages. This commission will also look into the number of existing shops and the number that have closed since 2000.
Additionally, this document also requires the commission to hold at least two public hearings and file a report to include legislative or regulatory recommendations with various committees and officers by December 31, 2008.
The commission will consist of three representatives from the Collision Repair Industry. Two will be appointed by the Massachusetts chapter of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP MA/RI), and one from the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association (MSADA). The commission will also include three Insurance Industry representatives and five state legislators. The chairperson is to be designated by the Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regula-tion.
The bill was introduced into the state legislature in January of 2007 by the AASP MA/RI and the Central Massachusetts Auto Rebuilders Association (CMARA), and sponsored by State Rep. Robert Spellane (D) of Worcester, MA. The industry united behind the bill, organizing letter-writing and phone campaigns as well as several “Legislative Days” at the Massachusetts State House.
Nearly half of all legislators had declared their support for the bill with more than two dozen allowing the use of their names on the website, www.passthelaborratebill.org.
Due to the strong mobilization effort, the bill progressed through the political process at a very quick pace. Typically, bills take an average of nearly eight years to pass. State Senate leaders were so supportive of the bill that they decided that it should be able to shortcut the final, sometimes agonizing process of being sent through the procedural committees in the House of Representatives. By including the major portions of the bill in their version of the budget, the Senate put a spotlight on the issue by including it the final state budget.
For improved strategic purposes and better financial planning, the I-CAR International Board of Directors approved a change in the I-CAR fiscal year from July 1 – June 30 to January 1 – December 31. Implementation of this change required a shortened, interim fiscal year of July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 (termed F’08.5), with the first new calendar-based fiscal year beginning January 2009.
At its July 16 meeting, the International Board of Directors elected the following Officers and Executive Committee for F’08.5: Chairman Robby Robbs, NuCon Services Inc.; Vice Chairman Tom Moreland, Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc.; Secretary Chad Sulkala, Allstate Insurance Company; Treasurer Mike Schoonover, Schoonover Bodyworks Inc. for Automotive Service Association; Member-at-Large Elise Quadrozzi, AssuranceAmerica; and Member-at-Large Terry Angell, Warren Tech.
The remaining directors include: Bruce Bares, Hi-Tech Collision & Glass Centers; William Brower, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; Bruce Cooley, DuPont Performance Coatings; James F. Doherty, General Motors Corporation; Chris Evans, State Farm Insurance - Edu-cation Foundation Representative; Rick Jazwin, Universal Technical Institute, Inc.; Robert Keith, CARSTAR; Sam Pezzullo, State Farm Insurance – Canadian Representative; Greg Potter for Equipment & Tool Institute; Monica Rivers, BMW of North America, LLC; Eugene Scambray, Copart Auto Auctions; and Bill Stage, Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc.
Board members whose terms have expired or are up for re-election will be elected at the February 2009 annual membership meeting, with the I-CAR International Board of Directors subsequently electing the Officers for 2009 at its February Board Meeting. A Call for Candidates will be sent to the I-CAR Membership in advance of the February 2009 meeting.
The board of directors sets the overall strategic direction for the organization and assists in obtaining resources in support of the I-CAR Mission. The board of directors is comprised of representatives from each of the following six industry segments: collision repair; insurance; equipment, tools, and supplies; education, training, and research; vehicle manufacturers; and related industry services.
Ford Motor Company’s Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD) is continuing to drive down the cost of collision repairs by adding 45 new parts to its “Truckload Program” which offers deep discounts to Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers and repair shops that purchase in bulk quantities.
More than 360 popular collision repair parts are part of the program. The 45 new parts, including grilles, fascias, mirrors, exterior lights, and steel bumpers, are available at discounts of as much as 22 percent off list prices.
“The program improves with additional product and features each year,” said George Gilbert, Truckload Program manager for FCSD. “The feedback from our dealers, repairers, and insurers enables us to continually help reduce repair cycle time and lower overall collision repair costs.”
The list price reductions, in combination with reduced packaging costs, are passed on to all collision repair shops that purchase the high-volume truckload parts through participating Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers.
PPG Automotive Refinish has donated $10,000 to SkillsUSA, a national nonprofit organization serving teachers, high school, and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. The organization acts as a link between education and industry, helping students excel in their chosen fields and qualify for jobs in the real world. More than 300,000 students and instructors join SkillsUSA annually.
The PPG donation was earmarked to support the 2008 National SkillsUSA Champ-ionships held in Kansas City, Missouri June 25 – 26. The Championships is a national-level competition that involves over 5,000 students vying in 91 hands-on skill and leadership contests including collision repair technology and, for the first time, a separate automotive refinishing contest. Each SkillsUSA Championships contestant is a state-level gold medalist.
Tom Holdsworth, SkillsUSA, director of communications, said, “We appreciate the continuing support we receive from PPG. They have been instrumental in our automotive collision program, and this year, they played an important part in creating a separate automotive refinishing contest to challenge our students and to match ever-evolving industry needs and expectations. Involvement by prominent industry sponsors such as PPG helps our technical instructors stay on top of developments in refinish technology. They then pass that knowledge on to their students who, in turn, are able to keep up with the industry and acquire the skills they’ll need, and are expected to have, when they enter the work force.”
PPG has actively supported SkillsUSA for many years. PPG employees and distributors frequently serve as judges at local, state, and national skills competitions. PPG personnel have held key positions on the SkillsUSA advisory committees since the organization’s start in 1965.
Bill Troyer, PPG training manager, said, “We’re very pleased to make this donation to SkillsUSA. They help develop well-rounded, motivated young people with the desire to attain the skills and competency levels required to succeed in our industry. This year, with the introduction of the automotive refinish contest, the skills the students learn and develop will be particularly important for our customers—and the whole industry—down the road. We are happy to support SkillsUSA and to participate in their activities and competitions.”
Mitchell International, Inc., a provider of information, workflow, and performance management solutions to the property and casualty claims and collision repair industries, has announced that Jack Farnan, the Company's Senior Vice President of Human Resources, has been named "HR Professional of the Year" by the San Diego Business Journal.
Farnan competed against many other distinguished professionals in the local San Diego business community and was selected as one of ten honorees out of forty finalists to win this prestigious award.
"Jack is highly respected throughout the entire San Diego business community as a leader, and we are honored that The San Diego Business Journal has also recognized his wealth of achievements," said Alex Sun, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitchell International. "We are extremely proud of Jack's accomplishments and wish to thank him for his extraordinary efforts and personal investment in our company, which has been a key driver in affording Mitchell with the title of 'The Best Employer in San Diego.' These distinguished awards are thanks to Jack's contributions, which we congratulate him on achieving."
Mitchell has also received the highest distinction from the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in partnership with The San Diego Union-Tribune as the Grand Prize Winner of the "San Diego Human Resource Management Workplace Excellence Awards."
Farnan added, "I am honored to be named HR Professional of the Year, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that winning such an award is only possible when you have an outstanding team of Human Resources professionals to work with and your company has an enlightened CEO like Alex Sun who strongly supports Human Resources initiatives because he believes in the value and importance of every Mitchell colleague."
o
The Nationwide Insurance Company contributed $10,000 in May to support the I-CAR Education Foundation mission. This contribution to the Education Foundation’s Industry Partners Annual Fund will support many Education Foundation activities that promote and enhance career opportunities in the industry.
"Nationwide Insurance Company has been a strong supporter of the Education Foundation for over 10 years," said Chris Evans, Chairman of the I-CAR Education Foun-dation Board of Trustees. "Their recent donation will help the Education Foundation to pursue its new mission which includes elevating the collision repair education system through school curriculum grants, instructor training grants, and student scholarships."
“Nationwide is pleased to add a new chapter to its long history of supporting the I-CAR Education Foundation. We see this as a way to extend our important work in the collision industry,” said Nationwide Associate Vice President of Claims, Terry Fortner.
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $160 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks 104th on the Fortune 500 list.
The California Assembly unanimously passed California Senate Bill 1371 – the fifth version of the bill – that prohibits insurance companies from placing caps on payouts for collision repairs. The problem for the past two years has been that lawmakers cannot agree on a definition of capping.
The latest definition of capping, which was approved July 14 by the State Assembly, is “… offering or paying an amount that is unrelated to a methodology used in determining paint and materials charges that is accepted by automobile repair shops and insurers.”
The methodologies, which must be accepted by both automobile repair shops and insurance companies, are determined by multiplying the cost of paint and other materials by the refinishing rate.
Although the California State Assembly has approved this latest version, it must now be passed by the Senate.
Some states have paint capping regulations that are clear but there are many states that either do not address the paint cap issue or have vague statutory language. Virginia collision repairers were successful in acquiring the most recent paint cap law.
Collision Resources, Inc., specializing in cycle time reduction and process improvement within the collision repair industry, has been awarded a patent for CR Auto Scheduler(R). The patent, issued on April 15, 2008, recognizes the uniqueness of the scheduling methodology employed by Collision Resources within CR Auto Scheduler as developed by David McCreight and Kent Carlson.
According to a company press release, CR Auto Scheduler is a product that learns from every repair a shop performs. The knowledge gained about supplements and about how repairs of various sizes and from various sources flow through the collision repair center is used to fine-tune the scheduling of each subsequent repair. When this knowledge is combined with an understanding of the facility’s capacity and the amount of work already scheduled or in process, CR Auto Scheduler generates multiple scheduling options for each repair that will maintain a balanced workflow.
Many shops feel the pressure to repair vehicles faster and to repair more vehicles with their existing assets. Unfortunately, much of their existing capacity is wasted because shops have been unable to manage their workflow and to match it to their capacity. CR Auto Scheduler offers a solution for these shops. By using a sophisticated algorithm to control workflow through scheduling repairs more efficiently, CR Auto Scheduler delivers reduced cycle times and greater productivity to collision repair centers.
“As the industry has looked to improve operations over the past several years, two approaches have garnered significant interest - the Theory of Constraints and lean manufacturing,” said Kent Carlson, an owner of Collision Resources. “A critical element of each of these approaches is to maintain a balanced workflow. In the Theory of Constraints, the workflow is balanced to the pace at which the bottleneck produces. In lean manufacturing, balancing the workflow is known as heijunka and, quoting from The Toyota Way, ‘…when you try to apply lean manufacturing, the first thing you have to do is to even out or to level the production.’ The recent interest in both of these systems and the awarding of this patent merely confirms what CR Auto Scheduler users have experienced since its release in 2002 - everything works better when the workflow is balanced with capacity.”
“After 32 years owning a collision repair facility, I couldn’t run my shop without CR Auto Scheduler,” said Dave Jacobus of Jacobus CARSTAR. “It has created balance in my facility. It’s a great tool. Support of the program is awesome.”
Due to the tremendous success of the scholarships and grants awarded this past spring, the I-CAR Education Foundation has set a goal to award $100,000 worth of curriculum grants, instructor training grants, and student scholarships in the spring of 2009 as part of its Collision Repair Education Campaign.
“Through the generous support of the Collision Industry at both the national and local levels, the Education Foundation was able to provide curriculum to 23 collision repair school programs, instructor training for ten school instructors, and scholarships for 12 collision repair students to continue their education,” said Russell Thrall III, Interim Associate Director of the Education Foundation. “The future workforce of the collision industry needs the support of the industry to assure that schools, instructors and ultimately, students who become the industry’s employees, have access to the latest curriculum and training necessary to succeed.”
Frank Thomas, an I-CAR volunteer who delivered the curriculum to one of the winning school programs comments on the positive experience he had. “It was like I was Ed Mc McMahon from Publishers Clearing House delivering a big check. The school welcomed me with a tour of its facilities and classrooms, and relayed again how important this grant was for the students of their program.”
“The I-CAR Education Foundation is appealing to the collision industry to help support career and technical education,” said Chris Evans, Chairman of the Education Foundation Board of Trustees. “With the cost of education rising, these scholarships and grants can help make a difference for students, instructors, and schools.”
There are several ways that organizations and individuals can contribute to the Collision Repair Education Campaign. Groups can host community events such as golf tournaments, casino nights, or awareness events with the proceeds going to the campaign. Information on hosting a fundraising event is available from the Education Foundation.
The Collision Repair Education Campaign can also accept donations directly from individuals and industry organizations to help fund these scholarships and grants. Any collision repair business or individual member of the industry can make a tax-deductible donation at the website: www.ed-foundation.org or download a form and mail a donation to:
I-CAR Education Foundation
ATTN: Melissa Marscin
5125 Trillium Blvd.
Hoffman Estates, IL 60192.
If you know of a school in your area that you would like to support, please contact the I-CAR Education Foundation at 888.722.3787, Ext. 282.
The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN) is sponsoring a series of seminars to prepare its members for the upcoming implementation of the association’s legislation that prohibits insurers from disregarding a repair operation or cost identified in an estimating system. The seminars will be offered July 28 – 30, 2008, in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Duluth.
“Know Your P-Pages” will be presented by industry expert Mike Anderson, of Wagonwork Collision Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The program will take an in-depth look at all three of the estimating systems – Audatex, CCC and Mitchell – and the similarities and differences among them.
Anderson will guide attendees through a proven, systematic approach to:
- Identify and capture all of the “not included” items
- Audit the quality of estimates by monitoring KPIs
- Utilize the re-keying options available for data entry
- Avoid last-minute parts delays.
Feedback
Have a comment about this article? Send Email to Editor, INSIGHT's Editor
©2008 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT
All Rights Reserved
FEATURED
LINKS:
INSIGHT Supports the NABC!
Do You?