CALGARY—CLASS IS IN SESSION
Fix Network Canada has opened its third training centre in Calgary, Alberta. The Calgary facility includes industry-leading equipment like a Car-O-Liner frame machine, Hunter wheel alignment systems, GFS spray booths, ADAS equipment and more. With two classrooms, welding facilities, and a focus on maintaining a clean, high-tech environment, the training centre is designed to provide a comprehensive learning experience. Fix Network Canada will offer courses in nearly every segment of automotive repair at the new facility including estimating, repair planning, parts procurement, ADAS training, plastic welding, adhesive repair and 3D measuring.
UNDERSTANDING SOLERA BLEND UPDATES
In late November, Audatex/Solera reported that changes to its blend refinish threshold had been fully implemented. The company has since offered further insight into the changes made to its Database Reference Manual (DBRM) Blend update. While the previous version of Audatex/Solera’s blend refinish service automatically calculated blend refinish at 50 percent of Audatex refinish labour, Audatex/Solera has continued to expand. Under page 140, section 4-4 Refinish Guidelines Regarding Blending, Audatex will now allow repairers to specify the blend refinish percentage to be used when calculating blend refinish labour at the profile level. Audatex/Solera notes that by using the updated service, repairers can enter a value between 50 percent and 150 percent. This value is used to determine the blend refinish labour by multiplying it against the full panel refinish time. Features during this month also included the ability to quickly copy OEM part numbers, license plate number field searches, and user setting updates including the ability to use special characters, email validation and a start page all in user settings. Furthermore, when generating an estimate, the blend refinish will be calculated using the value specified at the profile level. If no value is specified, a default value of 50 percent blend refinish will be used. As before recent updates, an estimator can manually override the blend refinish percentage specified at the profile level and it will be denoted with an asterisk on the estimate.
PENNY PINCHING
A new survey commissioned by the RAC indicates that 26 percent of drivers aged 17 to 24 have put off necessary repairs to save money. The survey, which polled 2,538 U.K. drivers and was carried out by the research company Online 95 for the RAC, found that 28 percent of drivers aged 17 to 24 are also not having their vehicles serviced as frequently as needed. Across all age groups polled. 38 percent of drivers said they have reduced spending on their cars, whether that be switching to cheaper insurance, servicing their vehicle less often, or putting off repairs. However, for young drivers, this figure increases to 64 percent with 6 percent of respondents aged 17 to 24 even admittingng to illegally putting off annual mandatory safety checks.
