| Publishers Message |
Right Time
W e’re well and truly in-
to spring now, even
though it seemed for a long time that winter just wasn’t going to give up the fight. I’ve always thought that spring was the best time of year to start something new. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing. The season offers collision repair facilities the opportunity to do some spring cleaning. A literal spring cleaning is probably in order, but the season also gives us a great chance to clear out our minds and the minds of our staff. Now is the ti ...
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| Point Blank |
Life or Death
As time goes on vehicle damage is getting harder and harder to repair. This is at the same time as profits are going down. Costs such as taxes, fuel, heat and hydro, paint and paint materials, are continuously going up. But our labour rates are not moving. As an industry, we must continue to invest in new tools and equipment to continue to do safe and effective repairs. We also need continuous training, which is also becoming more costly. Again, this has resulted in large increases in operating
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| Health and Safety |
Inspection Time
In the war on workplace accidents and injuries, employers must avail themselves of every tool and technique at their disposal. A key weapon in your arsenal is the monthly workplace inspection. Used properly, this tool will identify substandard conditions and practices, persons responsible for correcting these substandard activities. Just as important, it will help you determine whether or not previous corrections are being followed. Regardless of the varying provincial legal requirements, best p
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| Who's Driving |
WasteNot
At the very base of lean is the concept of waste reduction. Waste is described by way of eight types; Overproduction, Transportation, Waiting Time, Over Processing, Inventory, Rework, Motion and Unexploited Knowledge. Each of these have commonalities, and at the very centre resides the customer. Each can be identified as something the customer would not willingly pay for. Let’s start by illustrating the concept of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) with one of the above mentioned wastes, Over Processi
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| Manitoba Matters |
Streamlined
Increasing value to customers as a goal of most businesses and one Manitoba Public Insurance shares. There is a natural tendency for people to equate value with the price of something, but the quality of service they receive is also important. We’re extremely proud of our Physical Damage Centre, located on about 70 acres of land in north Winnipeg. It’s a hub of activity that ultimately increases value to customers by providing the best service possible to owners whose vehicles have been writ...
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| View of the West |
Money for something
In current economics conditions, it is more critical than ever to make sure you get paid for all the things you do to restore your customer’s vehicle to pre-accident condition. Now, there may be some insurance companies who don’t like to pay you for all the things you do. It’s important to remember that their responsibility is to put their customer’s vehicle back to precedent condition. If they tell you to do otherwise they may be putting themselves into a situation where they could be h...
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| Recycling |
Green Disposal
Today's marketplace of vehicles is comprised of an eclectic array of makes and models from various beleaguered manufacturers around the world. No matter where or how they are constructed, these vehicles will eventually reach the end of their useful lives. The way in which professional automotive recyclers have processed these vehicles in the past differs very widely from how we process them now. There’s already writing on the wall indicating that how we process them in the future will differ j
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| Profiles |
Debour Debut
“If you’re going to be successful, you have to believe in yourself. But it goes beyond that. You have to know you’re good enough, and learn to appreciate the fact that you’re talented.”
- Devin DeBoer
Lawrence Danylchuk on a regular basis. DeBoer has the full support of his family, who is very proud of his success. He has a reputation at SAIT as being a pleasure to work with. His father taught him that success is derived from tenacity and determination; DeBoer’s success is derive...
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| Profiles |
Brand Builder
Marketing as a key component of any successful business strategy, and one that has received a substantial boost at Fix Auto Barrie North in the last year. In April 2008, Kim Roberts joined the team at the family owned business, and she hasn’t been hesitant about showing what she can do. Roberts, the mother of a 5-year-old son, has brought a new set of skills to the table. “My father asked me to come on board,” she says. “He wanted me to come into the business as he thought I’d bring a ...
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| Events |
Navigating the Storm
The economy may be heading for a “perfect storm,” but collision repair center owners and managers who attended PPG’s MVP Business Solutions conference in Phoenix, Arizona have learned some techniques to navigate it. PPG’s MVP program is open to any repairers using PPG Re nish products. e conference took place March 9 to 11 at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort. Acres of Sonoran Desert pro- vided a scenic background to the three day event focused on improving shop perfo
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| Events |
Collision Repair Talent Search
Without a doubt, the collision repair industry is filled with people who have real passion and talent. Talent can be focused into work, like a custom paint job on a classic car, and talent can be focused into a performing art, like playing guitar for a local band. Some people are gifted with amazing talents, and these talents should be recognized. Collision Repair magazine is launching a national talent search for people in the industry. We’ll be giving away prizes for demonstrations of great
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| New Products |
faster information
Having the right information is always valuable, and the sooner you can get it, the better. The explosive growth of online technology has made accessing the information you need easier and faster than ever before. It’s not nice, it’s necessary. Staying up to the minute is no longer enough. To survive in today’s economic, a collision repair facility has to stay up to the second. Mitchell International has recently launched a new online application called Mitchell Information Center, providi
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| Marketing |
Future Plan
In its history the collision repair industry has gone through long periods of evolution, followed by relatively short periods of revolution, or rapid change. With the recent technological advancements in car manufacturing - the introduction of advanced high strength steels is one example - DRPs and now low-VOC legislation, I would like to suggest the collision repair industry is going through and will continue to go through another period of rapid change. In any industry it is in times such as t
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| Recycling |
OARA conference leads to Multi-industry committee to Better Market Recycled parts
Ontario recyclers gained momentum for their initiatives with the creation of a multiindustry
panel including collision repairer and insurers at the recent Ontario auto Recycling association (OaRa) convention in Toronto. The committee was born from a panel discussion on “How to increase the use of recycled parts”, a key event at the two-day conference bringing together more than 150 recyclers and suppliers. Sam Piercey, co-owner and manager of Budds’ Collision Services in Oakville, struck th
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| The Last Word |
Heal thyself
Let’s all take a moment and reflect on how incredible modern chemistry really is.
Chemists take basic elements, put them together in novel ways, and produce new products. This is only really impressive when you consider that a lot of those new products depend on what amounts to engineering on a molecular level. Today’s chemists routinely pull tricks that are the equivalent of putting a bunch of parts in a bag, shaking it, and producing a fully-functioning car stereo system. A good example
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