Saskatoon, Saskatchewan — The Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers (SAAR) held its annual Fall Conference last week, featuring a host of helpful sessions for the Prairie province’s collision repairers.
This year’s Fall Conference was held both in-person and online as SAAR executive director Tom Bissonnette led the event. Sessions were broadcasted via Zoom for all attendees to enjoy.
The event kicked off on Thursday, Sept. 10 with a burger and beer lunch followed by a golf tournament. Following the tournament, SAAR director Tom Bissonnette took the stage to announce the day’s top scorers, Rebecca Fyfe of AutoHouse Technologies and Lloyd Giles of Giles Midtown Auto Body in Elrose Sask..
Festivities ramped back up on Friday morning as SAAR and Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) executives hosted their annual general meeting over Zoom, allowing both in-person and virtual attendees to witness recent insights and conversation between Prairie repairers and the public insurer.
SGI representatives including Ciaran Downes, senior director of national appraisal operations for SGI; Ryan Smith, vice president of SGI’s claims and salvage operations; Lyle Andrusiask, director of appraisal image audit and accreditation and more took time to discuss ImageDesk audits and answered questions on the Safe and Quality Repair Program, which requires Saskatchewan facilities to reach I-CAR Canada Gold Class certification by March 1, 2021, lest they suffer slashes to labour rates.
Following the SGI session, Dave Luehr, president of Elite Bodyshop Solutions, joined the live-streamed event to deliver a two-hour talk on his five pillars of success: financial health, cultural health, customer sustainability, process stability and risk.
“While many business owners spend time attending to every distraction in a world that’s overwhelming with distraction, successful people will stay calm, cool and collected through high-leverage activities,” Luehr told the audience, promoting a positive pandemic mindset. “This industry favours people who are as passionate about their business as they are about working on cars.”
Following Luehr’s presentation, SAAR members and attendees were treated to another presentation by SGI, this time on paintless dent repair in the province.
Trade show doors were then swung open, allowing attendees to network and inquire with top industry brands from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday evening.
I-CAR Canada director started the Saturday session by delivering a brief update on Saskatchewan’s progress toward I-CAR Gold certification for all its collision repair facilities. Shepherd delivered surprising statistics on how many shops have yet to hit Gold Class status. According to I-CAR Canada’s statistics, 25 facilities have reached Gold Class certification and 19 have met Gold Class Aluminum standards while a further 10 stand at ‘Gold Class in Progress’ status.
Nonetheless, Shepherd has few fears that those still seeking the seal will meet it come March. He says the required program can be completed in as little as six weeks.
“We’re on the doorstep,” said Shepherd.
Following Shepherd’s update, attendees got a virtual visit from Dave Flockhart, BETAG Innovation’s chief operating officer who covered the exciting new features that come with BETAG’s online training portal, including its Ask a BETAG Trainer service.
SGI then returned to the stage as Ciaran Downes and Ryan Smith provided a Safe and Quality Auto Repair Project (SQARP) update and dove into topics like SGI’s sanitizing allowance, the Collision Repair Accreditation program and how SGI plans to reward high performing shops.
The insurer currently has no plans to extend the Gold Class deadline, though a few shop owners shared their concerns about securing their spots in the welding classes required for the certification.
Following SGI, Leanne Jefferies called in to discuss the details of the Certified Collision Care program and how it ties into the incoming changes to Saskatchewan’s repair landscape.
OEMs began to deliver their discussions at 11 a.m., beginning with Gary Lin of BMW Group Canada and followed by Paul Stella of Toyota.
3M’s Peter Wrong followed the automakers to discuss 3M’s ongoing efforts in the automotive aftermarket, followed by SunLife’s Leslie DeBoice and the Automotive Retailers’ Association’s Ken Campbell.
Paul Carter and Scott Kucharyshen of Saskatchewan Polytechnic closed out the day to clarify how in-person welding sessions will work as the I-CAR Gold Class deadline draws nearer, and SAAR president Terry Beattie closed out the successful event at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Click here for more information on the Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers.
