| Publishers Message |
World View
I 've just returned from IBIS 2009 and I’m chomping at the bit to share everything with you. That’s going to be a little difficult on one page, because this was truly the best and most information packed symposium yet. One of the most exciting parts was a roundtable discussion headed by the symposium’s international Publisher Partners. I’m not saying that because Canada’s Publisher Partner is Collision Repair magazine, but because it raised some really fascinating issues. It was great ...
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| Feature |
Certified Parts
Over the past few years there has been a noticeable decline in the demand for CAPA certified parts. In fact,
the demand for certified parts which exactly match the OE material and fit has never been what it should be. It is impossible to pin point one specific reason for low or decreasing demand for CAPA parts, as there are a variety reasons. While many insurance companies recommend the use of certified parts, very few make a real effort to educate collision repairers or their policy holders ab ...
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| Health and Safety |
Hands Off
AzA young worker was cleaning out an industrial sized dough mixer. A second worker, not knowing that the mixer was being serviced, turned on the switch and activated the mixing machine. The first worker, cleaning the machine, was pulled into the device by the turning agitator blades and died from massive head injuries.
The immediate cause of this accident was the second worker’s negligence. However, the root cause was that there was no lockout system in effect at the time.
Lockout/tagout is a w
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| Feature |
Sustainability
Content at IBIS 2009 has been constantly evolving over the past few months to ensure that it reflects the needs of the collision repair market as a whole and IBIS delegates in particular. The 2009 International Bodyshop Industry Symposium runs from June 10 to June 12 at Hotel InterContinental in Berlin, Germany. The theme of IBIS 2009 is “Platform for Stability.“ IBIS 2009 will open with Dick Cross, the Harvard educated CEO of CARSTAR’s U.S. organization. Cross will reveal how somebody can ...
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| Events |
Industry Events
Fix Auto franchisees and employees from across Canada and the UK came together at the Westin Bayshore hotel in the heart of Vancouver for the 2009 Fix Auto Conference. Held every year in a different Canadian city, Fix Auto’s conference brings the network together to share in future ideas, reflect on the year and celebrate the networks success.This year the conference theme was “Champions in the Collision Repair Industry.”
“Fix Auto franchisees continue to impress our partners,” said Mik
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| The last Word |
World Training
IBIS is in full swing as we go to press. The international gathering of collision repair industry professionals has quickly become a destination of choice for those who need to keep their finger on the pulse of the worldwide collision fraternity.
As the Canadian Publisher Partner for
IBIS, Collision Repair magazine is uniquely positioned to bring you the latest news from overseas.
Situations vary from country to country, but there are constants that apply no matter where you are. Certain th
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| Point Blank |
Team Effort
Just recently we held a roundtable discussion in the boardroom at Budds’ Collision. Present were several shops, recyclers, and insurers. The meeting was organized by Collision Repair magazine. Our discussions centered on helping the recyclers to better market their Like Kind Quality (LKQ) parts, and give them a heads-up on how shop owners and insurers look at using recycled parts.
One of the first speakers was Benjy Katz of LKQ Dominion Auto Recycling. He found himself in a collaborative env
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| Prarie View |
Miscommunication
Have you ever participated in one of those communication exercises where something is whispered to one person, then another until finally the last person says out loud what they were told? It is usually something that is so far removed from the original statement that it is absurd! A message can start out as “Reduced Cycle Time,“ and in the end come out as “Purple Monkey Dishwasher.“
It appears that something really similar to this is happening right here in my home province. SGI’s tech
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| Profiles |
Bridge to lean
Sometimes the only way to learn how to do something is to dive right in. That’s what Bill Williams did, and he’s never had cause to regret it. Williams is the manager of Bridge City Collision & Repair, the collision repair division of Bridge City Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Williams began his professional life not in collision repair, or in any of the automotive trades. In fact, he spent the first five years of his working life at a men’s wear store in Taber, Alberta. A
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| Profiles |
Rise to Flame
What began as a passion soon became a way of
life for Canadian custom painter and airbrush artist, Ron Gibbs. He uses his skills to make a difference and transform traditional airbrush art.
Hailing from Ontario, Ron Gibbs had a special fondness for cars ever since he was a child. As a teenager, he was intrigued by the craze of custom painted vans in the 1970s. A background in art helped Gibbs focus his artistic skills into airbrushing and pin striping, learning both skills at the same time. W
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| Profit Centres |
Storm Chasers
Auto body repair is something we usually think of as being rooted to the earth. It’s a bricks-and-mortar business, not something you can do online or on the road. Or can you? The days of online dent repair may never come, but there is are companies in Canada that take things on the road as a matter of course.
Auto Dentist is a Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) company based out of Ottawa. The company itself may have a central location, but its hail crew travels all over Canada, the United States and
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| Recycling |
Hybrid Safety
In preparation for the wave of hybrid vehicles that I expect to receive at our auto recycling operation I decided to better educate myself on the inner workings of these vehicles. The main message that resonated from these various training seminars that I attended centered on the issue of safety. It was not uncommon to hear that handling a hybrid in the wrong way could seriously injure or kill you.
These harsh words are very important and spreading the message of hybrid
safety is essential
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| Parts |
Canned Goods
Spray can systems for use in auto refinish have been around for years. After all, there will always be times when the spray gun simply isn’t convenient. However, some users have been known to complain about the mess. There’s also a concern for some that the quality will not be up to standard.
A new product that has recently come on the market may have the answer. Called FillClean, it is a filling system for SprayMax 1K & 2K FillClean Aerosols. All you need to do a “no mess” filling i
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| Whos Driving |
Mindset
In this issue I would like to focus on what is referred to as the “lean mindset.” When this is fully embraced, the process of examining our efficiencies and inefficienceisbecomes quite a bit simpler.
Many people have the idea that lean is something that they do, whereas the reality is lean is something that you think. Once the thinking is in alignment lean-type actions follow.
This is because acceptance comes into your thinking processes. Acceptance doesn’t meant that you let life walk all
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| Woman of the Industry |
Life Balance
Michelle Dupuis has faced many challenges in her life, but has learned that perseverance is the key to success. Dupuis and her brother
Cameron are the owners of Harold’s Auto Body.
The 10 000 sq. foot shop is located in Edmonton and has a team of 18 employees. It was established in 1973 by
Dupuis’ father Harold, and has been in business for 36 years.
Even though Dupuis today has a very deep interest in the collision repair industry it did not start out that way. “By no means did i
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| World Skills 2009 |
Green Machine
There’s an innate human urge to compete. This urge extends to almost every area of life, including the skilled trades of collision repair and auto refinishing. The world’s biggest competition for the skilled trades is undoubtedly WorldSkills. This year, the competition takes place in Calgary, and Daniel Green will represent Canada in the Car Painting category.
Although this is his first WorldSkills competition, Daniel is
something of an old hand when it comes to skills competition in
ge
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