Sottsdale, Ariz.--After a three-year absence from discussions at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the use of nondeployed salvage airbags once again this summer was the focus of a committee's presentation at CIC in Scottsdale.
"The committee or CIC does not intend this information by any means as an endorsement with regard to whether (salvage) airbags can or should be used," CIC Parts Committee Chairman Ken Weiss said in opening the session. "Our purpose today is to provide information so each repair shop out there can make its own independent decision based on the merits of the information available to them."
Jim Watson, an Illinois auto recycler and a past president of the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), presented an overview of the association's "ARAPro Airbag Protocol," developed to assist recyclers with technician training and certification and a formalized system to remove, inspect, document, certify, and store airbag modules before sale for vehicle repair.
Watson said use of nondeployed airbag modules makes good sense because of the quality and reliability built into the product by the automakers.
"An OEM (airbag module) from a franchised dealer and a recycler are the same part," Watson said. "It's simply a different sales and supply chain. In appropriate circumstances, with customer consent, certainly they will reduce total losses and retain customer loyalty."
Under the ARA protocol, Watson said, all modules are assigned a unique, traceable record in an accessible database. All donor vehicle information is recorded to ensure that they are sold for use only in a matching vehicle (no repair or painting of covers is allowed). Modules from flood-damaged vehicles are not allowed; a visual inspection by the recycler must confirm that there is no corrosion or damaged wires, terminals, or connectors. A check must be made for any OEM recall of the modules.
The protocol requires participating recyclers to have employees trained and certified under the program, and to carry at least $1 million in product liability insurance.
Watson said recyclers have seen strong demand for the airbag modules.
"We did a poll of 20 recyclers last week," he said. "In the course of a year…there were over 6,000 airbags sold.… The numbers that are sold are too great to be explained away as the rebuilder market alone."
But Steve Nantau, collision repair engineering supervisor for Ford Motor Co., and Gary LeDoux, assistant manager of American Honda's collision parts marketing department, countered Watson's presentation with a litany of recommendations, cautions, and position statements against the use of nondeployed salvage airbags. Those statements came from such sources as automakers (Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota), trade associations (the Automotive Service Association), and other organizations such as the Automotive Occupant Restraints Council and the Insurance Institute for High Safety.
Nantau also said there is no way to conclusively know whether an airbag module has been submerged without fully disassembling it.
During the discussion that followed, Dan Risley, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, pointed out that the recycler's product liability insurance won't adequately protect a shop that performs a repair that goes against automaker recommendations.
"We're not anti-competition," Risley said. "We're (opposed to shops) assuming any more liability than we're already assuming. Under this, we're going to assume the liability because the insurance company is going to run from us because we know the OEs say we can't use them."
Updates to estimating systems
The Big Three estimating system providers each addressed a series of questions provided in advance by the CIC Estimating Procedures Committee or the Database Task Force.
Representatives of Audatex, CCC Information Services, and Mitchell International all said that they are working to incorporate access to available OEM repair procedures into their estimating systems, though they provided no timeline for when it would be available.
"We need to have that information at our fingertips at the point of estimating," said Lou DiLisio, chairman of the Database Task Force. "All the manufacturer Web sites are great for repairing vehicles. But it's at the time you write the estimate that you need to have this information."
In response to requests from the industry, the providers each said they are 85 percent or further along in indicating in the database whenever a vehicle part consists of "exotic" materials such as boron steel or aluminum. That's 11,272 parts on 373 models in the Mitchell International database, said Tom Fleming, a Mitchell representative.
John Lypen of Motor Information Systems (whose database is used by the CCC Information Services' estimating system), said that such substrate identification information is viewable on screen and also prints on the CCC estimate. In the Audatex and Mitchell systems, he said the information is available on-screen only but will also print on the estimate after an upcoming software update.
Audatex will make that available in December, said Rick Tuuri, an Audatex representative.
The three also addressed a question about "feather, prime, and block," the operations that take place after the body repair process is completed but that are necessary to bring the repaired surface to the condition of a new undamaged panel. All three said those are considered nonincluded operations in their systems, but Fleming said that in the Mitchell system, it is considered a nonincluded refinish operation.
"We will be providing a automated pop-up for that," Tuuri said, drawing applause from CIC attendees. "When a user enters a judgment repair time, you will get a pop-up that says, 'Would you like featheredge, fill, and block?' That will be in our December release."
Other news at CIC
In other news and discussion at CIC in Scottsdale:
- The National Auto Body Council (NABC), as part of its effort to improve the image of the industry, raised about $1,500 for the Phoenix Children's Hospital during the CIC meeting in Scottsdale, asking attendees for a suggested donation of $20.
The NABC also hopes to present 100 refurbished cars to 100 needy families around the country on the Monday before Thanksgiving. As of late July, the "Recycled Rides" program had lined up 87 donated vehicles but only 46 participating shops, said Karen Fierst, who chairs the program for NABC.
In August, NABC launched a campaign to raise $200,000 by the end of 2009 for three charitable groups in Detroit. Details on all of these efforts are available at the NABC Web site (www.autobodycouncil.org).
– The CIC Education and Training Committee said information and links to about 30 shop management and technical training providers can be found on its new Web site, www.Education1Stop.com.
– The Repairer-Insurer Relations Task Force received approval for its two-page best practices guidelines outlining, "in general terms, what can be expected of the collision repair process, from the time the incident occurs to the complete and safe repair of the vehicle, through vehicle delivery to the consumer and closure of file." The document is available at CIC's Web site, www.CIClink.com.
- The CIC Insurance Relations Committee expects to gain similar approval at the next CIC meeting for its "Estimating Best Practices" document, which spells out suggested guidelines related to vehicle inspection, photo documentation, parts replacement options, and other estimating steps.
- Attorney Cory King of the CIC Human Resources Committee reminded businesses that the federal minimum wage rose in late July to $6.55 an hour. Even those in the more than 20 states with higher minimum wages are affected, King said. First, all businesses must display the federal minimum wage poster, available free at http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm.
Second, state rules vary on which employees are exempt from overtime, but, in general, businesses must ensure that any overtime-exempt employees, who may include commissioned or flat-rate technicians, continue to earn at least $9.83 (1.5 times the new federal minimum wage) per actual clock hour worked in every pay period or else they lose their overtime-exempt status.
-- Herb Lieberman of LKQ Corp. urged vendors to make sure shops or insurers are made aware up front--not just at the time of delivery--of any fuel surcharges affecting the price of a part or product.
"As a vendor myself, having a huge fleet of vehicles on the road, our costs have gone up tremendously," Lieberman said. "In some way we have to recoup that cost, and so do other vendors. But we have to do it in a way that is fair to repairers so that they have the full cost of a product when they are putting a price on the estimate. It's not fair to have a surprise when we deliver a product. And then for the repairer to recoup those charges from the insurers can also be hassle."
- Russell Thrall III, publisher of CollisionWeek and interim associate director of the I-CAR Education Foundation, was named chairman of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) for 2009.
Thrall, who was selected by past CIC chairs, succeeds Stacy Bartnik of CARSTAR, who has led CIC in 2007 and 2008. She will chair her final CIC meeting on Nov. 4 in Las Vegas, and Thrall will lead CIC's first meeting of 2009, Jan. 14-16 in Scottsdale.
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