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SCRS OEM Tech Summit at SEMA to feature joining, diagnostics, aluminum, steel speakers

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Announcements | Associations | Education | Technology
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Repairers can learn from a lineup of automotive joining, diagnostics, aluminum and steel experts at the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ SEMA OEM Summit in November, the organization announced Tuesday.

The OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the SEMA Show will focus on new vehicle construction and tech trends as cars, trucks and SUVs become stronger and smarter, both internally and in perceiving and reacting to threats on the road.

Space is limited at the OEM sessions, so repairers might not want to wait until the final early registration discount date to sign up for those Nov. 5 classes.

Attendees can sign up for a single presentation or buy a pass to all three.

Find more about SCRS’ entire Repairer Driven Education package at SEMA here.

“The program is designed to put SEMA Show attendees in a room with innovators in automotive structural design and technology, providing one of the most unique networking and learning opportunities available to the collision repair industry,” SCRS wrote in a news release.


More RDN Society of Collision Repair Specialists coverage

Early registration suggested for SCRS Repairer Driven Education SEMA series; see schedule

SCRS, March Taylor Fund to give $1,250 tool scholarships to SkillsUSA gold medalists

Garmat USA joins SCRS as corporate member


Here’s the schedule and a highlight from each from SCRS via the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show page:

9:30-11:30 a.m.: “Advanced Automotive Technology”

Panelists will discuss joining as active-gas welding gives way to adhesives, rivets, inert-gas welding and other techniques to connect aluminum and a more diverse mix of steels in modern vehicles. Another panel will examine diagnostics, scans and calibrations and demonstrate the need for full-system scans.

“Structural Connectivity – Understanding the Future of Automaker Joining Techniques”: “The panelists will have expertise in riveting, bonding, welding of aluminum, steel and mixed materials, and factory-level joining.”

“Tech Crunch –The Role of Programming and Diagnostics in Post-Repair Road Worthiness”: “These subject matter experts will bring a focus on the technical aspects of vehicle scan code requirements and the role that diagnostic testing plays in repairing vehicles and restoring roadworthiness. Learn why you don’t know what you don’t know if you aren’t performing full system scans.”

12:30-2:30 p.m.: “The Future of Aluminum in the Automotive Industry”: Learn from a presentation and OEM panel about what automakers are doing and will do with aluminum and what thought has been put into repairability.

From SCRS: “Attendees will be treated to a fascinating presentation on technological advancements in aluminum manufacturing, construction and engineering, joining and future advancements that are predicted to be impacting how frequently the material will be present in your repair facility, and how it will be used on automotive bodies.”

3-5 p.m.: “The Continuing Evolution of Advanced Steels in Automotive Bodies”: Learn from a presentation and OEM panel about how steel is aggressively competing to be the auto body safety and lightweighting answer and get perspective about repairing cars with lighter and stronger steels.

From SCRS: “Aluminum may have been all the rage in collision industry information, but steel continues to be poised to play to most significant role in the automotive footprint for the foreseeable future; although, not necessarily the same steel that that the industry is accustomed to.”

These should be worth your time. As you’ve probably noticed from our coverage, automakers aren’t sitting around hoping gas prices drop or lobbyists eliminate the 54.5 mpg 2025 benchmark — and the inclusion of the small-overlap crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2012 seems to given them an added incentive to make auto bodies out of tougher materials.

“Every participant in this industry can benefit from better insight into how vehicles and materials are evolving, what that means in the repair process and what will be expected of those who are performing these repairs,” SCRS wrote in its introduction to the OEM Summit on the SEMA Show’s website. The future of our collision repair industry is highly skilled professionals, working on highly sophisticated automobiles that require the industry to embrace the necessary investments in training and equipment; but also relies on informed business owners who understand how to define for themselves what a sustainable and successful business model to support that investment looks like.”

More information:

“SCRS Releases Additional Details on OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit Schedule”

Society of Collision Repair Specialists, June 23, 2015

SCRS Repairer Driven Education (RDE) Series page

SEMA Show, June 2015

Featured image: 2014 SEMA Show exhibitors, including the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, are seen. (Courtesy of Joel Gausten, Thomas Greco Publishing Inc.)

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