By Mike Davey
Hamilton, Ontario — January 31, 2017 — There’s never been a time in collision repair when measuring wasn’t important, but we’ve certainly come a long way from the time when the term “rule of thumb” could be taken literally. Our most recent survey asked our readers about the preferred methods of measuring in their facilities.
Our next survey focuses on industry events and which provides the most value to you as a professional repairer. It should take less than two minutes to fill out. You can find the industry event survey here.
The measuring survey started off with a broad view, asking respondents to let us know which method, electronic or mechanical, was used in their facility.
The results show 60 percent using both electronic and mechanical systems, with 40 percent of respondents relying solely on mechanical measuring systems. There may be shops in Canada that rely solely on electronic measuring, but they did not show up in this survey.
We also asked which brands of systems readers use. The most common answers included Chief, Dent Fix, Car-O-Liner and Blackhawk.
Next, we asked our readers to let us know about both accuracy and ease-of-use. Please note that these responses do not indicate that any testing has been performed on the systems to determine whether one type gives more accurate results or is easier to use. This is simply how our survey respondents perceive the systems.
Overwhelmingly, our survey respondents informed us that electronic systems provided more accurate results and were easier to use. This raises questions about the survey respondents who are only using mechanical measuring systems in their shops. It seems likely that the expense of electronic measuring systems plays a role.
Our next survey focuses on which industry events provide you with the most value. You can find the latest survey here, and watch for results next week on collisionrepairmag.com!
