The Society of Collision Repair Specialists on Tuesday announced its 2020 “Repairer Roundtable” would feature Mercedes advanced driver assist and brake stem service engineer Mark Edwards.

Edwards’ work at the Jacksonville, Fla., Mercedes Engineering Services facility involves product technical support for body, chassis and electrical systems. According to SCRS, his 90-minute presentation during the 9-11 a.m. April 8 “Repairer Roundtable” will include:

• How to identify what systems are on a vehicle

• Differences between generations of ADAS and components that are different between varying generations

• What the features are and their role in vehicle operation

• Discussion of examples from cases in the field

• Impact on components and systems as a result of repair and replace operations

• Importance of following OEM documentation surrounding repair, diagnostics, calibration and re-initialization of systems. (Minor formatting edits.)

There’ll also be a Q&A with the audience.

“Edwards and his department are interested in garnering a better understanding of the challenges facing the collision repair market with respect to service engineering, what areas their department may be able to assist with, and what type of information we could use,” SCRS wrote in a news release Tuesday. “This program will be highly informative, and encourage interaction in the end.”

Some collision repairers and insurers might see ADAS as a new development, but Mercedes is among the OEMs who’ve had it available for years.

For example, here’s a 2013 Mercedes document explaining its ADAS technology and sharing service considerations.

Seven years ago, Mercedes was telling collision repairers to recalibrate cameras “if the windshield is replaced, the camera is replaced or the suspension is modified.” It was also warning regarding blind spot sensors that “When accident repairs are performed, the paint coat thickness on the bumper must be observed and filler repairs may not be carried out in the area of the sensors on the bumper.”

Obviously, you need to consult the actual live, online repair procedures for the specific year-model-trim combination you’re repairing and not rely on a general, static 7-year-old PDF. But this ought to give you a sense of the variety and history of Mercedes ADAS and what you might learn from Edwards.

SCRS invites everyone to attend the Repairer Roundtable. The event is free, and both members and nonmembers are welcome. SCRS does ask that you RSVP here so it can make the appropriate accommodations for the audience size.

Edwards’ talk will be held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville (Fla.) Riverfront, the same venue as the Collision Industry Conference starting later that Wednesday.

Despite the recent cancellation of the 2020 I-CAR Conference and postponement of the 2020 NORTHEAST over the coronavirus, CIC said Monday it is “full steam ahead for our Jacksonville meeting.” CIC will be held 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, and 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, April 9, with a reception at 6:30 p.m. on April 8.

Participants in the Repairer Roundtable and/or CIC are welcome to also attend the SCRS Corporate Member Recognition and Industry Awards Luncheon from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on April 8. Again, everyone is welcome; SCRS just requires an RSVP.

There’s a lot of action April 8, but don’t forget about the two SCRS events on Tuesday, April 7. The organization will hold its open board meeting 3-5 p.m. and follow it up at 5:15 p.m. with the annual board election. Everyone is welcome to attend the board meeting; voting in the election is open to designated representatives from SCRS’ member companies and affiliates.

For more information about SCRS, call 877-841-0660, email info@scrs.com, or visit www.scrs.com.

More information:

“SCRS Announces Feature Presentation for the 2020 Repairer Roundtable in Florida”

Society of Collision Repair Specialists, March 10, 2020

RSVP to Repairer Roundtable and SCRS luncheon

Mercedes OEM repair procedures

Featured image: Mercedes advanced driver assist and brake stem service engineer Mark Edwards is shown. (Provided by Society of Collision Repair Specialists)