By Mike Davey
Anaheim, California — July 18, 2016 — Scanning is a hot topic in collision repair, with a number of OEMs calling for scans to be performed both pre- and post-repair to ensure all repairs have been performed safely. The American arms of Honda, Nissan and Toyota have all made it clear that these scans are part of their recommended procedures. The Canadian divisions of those automakers have yet to confirm this policy here, but it seems likely that it will happen sooner rather than later.
True to form, NACE 2016 has added a panel discussion on the importance of scanning and calibration/recalibration. The panel will be led by Mike Anderson, President of Collision Advice. The topic has been under discussion in the industry for some time, but Anderson first brought this issue to the attention of the wider Canadian industry during his presentation at CCIF Toronto in January. Please see “Technical advances, KPIs and the need to scan hot topics at CCIF Cars & Technology Showcase” for more on this.
“Shops need to understand that it’s more important to research OE procedures to fix cars properly. Research the OE standard. The new Toyota Tundra has 14 pages that you have to go through to complete a repair. You don’t know what you don’t know. You have to research this stuff,” Anderson said in an interview with Collision Repair magazine prior to his presentation at CCIF. “You have to scan every vehicle, pre- and post-repair.”
Anderson will be accompanied by panelists from the OEMs and insurance companies. According to a statement from NACE show management, the intent is to reduce the friction between shops and insurers by educating the attendees about what does or does not need to be done and when.
This panel discussion is a first for NACE and will take place Thursday, August 11. The panel discussion will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and will be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session. The panel will take place at the Central Stage on the Expo Floor. It is open to any attendee with an expo pass.
“There is a lot of talk in the industry about whether or not it is necessary to scan every vehicle, pre- and post-repair. Do we really need to perform a calibration on vehicles such as Toyota or Honda? And what if it is not even occupied? Are there parameters to these items?” Anderson said. “Quite often the OEMs tell us in their repair information that we need to do these things, however insurers do not always pay for this work, and shops sometimes wonder if it is really necessary. This panel discussion is intended to educate all parties in the collision repair industry – insurers, shops and technicians.”
It’s quite a line-up. Confirmed panelists include Chris Toby of American Honda, Eric Mendoza of Toyota USA, Brian Wayne of FCA, John Eck of General Motors, Mark Allen of Audi of America, Mark Zoba of Nissan North America and Clint Marlow of Allstate.
“This is the first time the industry has had a panel comprised of this level of industry expertise and the largest collection of OEs to ever participate. NACE | CARS is proud to offer such a panel, and we are excited to be working with industry expert, Mike Anderson, on bringing together this important topic and key players for discussion,” said Dan Risley, ASA President and Executive Director. “Shop owners will want to take part in this program as it directly affects their business.”
For more information on NACE 2016, please visit naceexpo.com.
