The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has shared details about its OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit (OEM Summit) happening during the upcoming SEMA Show.

The OEM Summit, happening Nov. 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, includes three sessions with one focused on the research and validation of calibration solutions.

“Collision repair centers have an increasing responsibility around proper calibration of safety systems on ADAS-equipped vehicles following a repair,” SCRS said in a press release. “In this session, we explore pathways equipment manufacturers are taking to validate their solutions against varying sets of standards and approvals.”

Session panelists include Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, Andy Tylka of TAG Auto Group, and Mandy Wynn of National Training and support. The 90-minute calibration presentation will also feature Jordan Krebs, product manager of alignment and ADAS product manager, Americas at Snap-on Equipment, and Josh McFarlin, AirPro Diagnostics president.

Krebs will discuss with attendees the processes and learnings gained from securing OEM approvals from specific manufacturers.

“Attendees can expect to take away a better understanding of the effort required to perform a calibration per OEM expectations,” Krebs told Repairer Driven News. “We, as equipment manufacturers, will also teach them how to ensure they complete and report calibrations correctly the first time. By ensuring OEM compliance from day one, shops will be more confident in their calibrations and not worry as much about whether their job was ‘good enough’ or ‘done right’ because here at [my organization], ‘good enough’ isn’t.

“The OEM defines many factors that need control for proper calibration, including target size, target quality, target material, target position, shop floor, lighting conditions, and many others. Choosing the right equipment can help reduce the worry regarding these variables, and choosing one that adheres to OEM requirements is the first step to ensure proper calibration.”

Presentation attendees will hear McFarlin speak to AirPro’s mobile and static recalibration device, called Auggie.

AirPro announced earlier this month that Auggie has been independently tested, proving vehicles calibrated with the system meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crash test scenario requirements.

AirPro made the announcement last week detailing how its wireless Auggie device was tested by FT Techno of America (FTTA). FTTA performed NHTSA NCAP Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) or Auto Emergency Braking (AEB), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) test scenarios, and determined the vehicle successfully passed the NHTSA testing standard.

That session runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and is the last one of the day.

Preceding it will be “Session II: North American Automotive Material Outlook and Implications to Collision Repair,” which runs from 11 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.

That session will be led by Abey Abraham, Ducker Carlise’s automotive materials principal and Bertrand Rakoto, Ducker Carlisle’s director of strategic intelligence.

Abraham and Rakoto will outline research on the expected metallic and non-metallic material strategies that collision repair facilities will encounter as OEMs increase their transitions from ICE vehicles to EVs and alternative fuels. Changes in the material makeup of vehicles include more advanced grades of steel as well as various types of aluminum, magnesium, and composites.

According to Ducker Carlisle’s research, vehicles made in North America, for the most part, their suppliers use aluminum for lightweighting as it relates to chassis, suspension, structural components, and some of the engine components.

“We will walk through some of the fundamental building blocks of automotive content and how it’s changing — particularly with new materials — and the impact of a lot of the EV architectures, which we’ll take a look at mostly the aluminum side because that’s unique,” Abraham previously told RDN.

Bertrand will cover mobility- and manufacturing-related automotive materials. New innovations in grades of steel will be discussed, including the adoption and adaptation of hot stamped press hardened steels and higher-grade roll forming of steels. Uses of magnesium and composites will be touched on as well.

Following the presentation, Dan Black, senior manager of service engineering – collision, and Matthew Pitta, Lucid Motors’ body repair technical manager, will be called up to discuss material selection in their models.

The summit begins at 9 a.m. with “Session I: Understanding OEM Insurance,” featuring OnStar Insurance President Andrew Rose, Rivian’s Head of Insurance Mike Slattery, and Toyota Insurance Vice President and Toyota Motor Credit Corp. Vice President Rob Spencer.

“The presenters will provide a deep dive into the emerging world of OEM insurance programs, insurance products designed and underwritten to deliver unique coverage to complement their vehicles and positively impact the consumer experience during the claims and repair process,” SCRS said.

With SEMA now less than two weeks away, SCRS is reminding attendees that they can register for Repairer Driven Education (RDE) sessions either individually or with a Full Series Pass, which is considered the best value as it serves as an all-access to SCRS’ educational offerings.

This includes entry to the IDEAS Collide Showcase on Oct. 30., one regular session in each available RDE time slot on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, all three sessions of the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit on Nov. 2, and one ticket to the SCRS Sky Villa Afterparty on Nov. 2.

The IDEAS Collide Showcase includes the following sessions:

• • “A Health Plan Your Employees Can Love: Fantasy or Within Reach?” with Ben Simmons, Gravie’s chief strategy officer;
  • “Culture: The real job market currency”, with Michael Bradshaw, vice president of K&M Collision
  • “Being burdened with the burden of proof”, with Richard Desvousges, a 3M Collision application engineering specialist
  • “Mentoring: Opportunity Amidst Labor Crisis”, with Ryan Weber, CEO of Mentor Mentee and Marc Brune, Mentor Mentee’s business development manager
  • “Death of the ‘Estimator’ role”, with Andrew Batenhorst, Pacific BMW Collision Center’s body shop manager
  • “Growth through Acquisition – What you need to know” with Bing Wong, managing partner at Collision Builders
  • “The Power of One More Booth Cycle per Day” with Jason Garfoot, a 3M Collision Application Engineer
  • “The Culture Code” with Tracy Dombrowski Collision Advice’s training director
  • “Creating a Build Sheet for Your Garage Liability Insurance” with Shaughn Kennedy, senior underwriter at SPARK Underwriters
  • “Fixing the faucet: How to increase the flow of technicians into the industry” with Alex Crays, auto body instructor at the Career Technical Education Center

Repairer Driven Education classroom sessions for Oct. 31 include:

• • “Freedom to Speak? Improve Employee Retention and Engagement Through Improved Communication” with Tony Adams, business services consultant at AkzoNobel Performance Coatings
  • “Take Control! The Guild of Advanced Repair Planning” with Danny Gredinberg, administrator at Database Enhancement Gateway, Danyon Kirchner, business services manager at Zimmerman Auto Body Supplies, Michael Bradshaw, vice president at K&M Collision and Josh McFarlin, president at AirPro Diagnostics;
  • The “Influence the Refinishing Process Plays in Evolving Vehicle Technology” with Jim Chargo, color solutions lead at BASF Automotive Refinish, Jeff Wildman, an automotive aftermarket industry expert at BASF, and Greg Peeters, CEO at Car ADAS;
  • “Death of the Estimator Role” with Batenhorst;
  • EV: Pulling Together the Critical Puzzle Pieces with Dave Gruskos, president at RAE Inc.
  • “Marketing Jedi Training: All levels Welcome – From Padawan to Master” with Micki Woods, president at Micki Woods Marketing & Host of The Body Bangin’ Podcast
  • “Doing More with Less: Operationally Addressing Workforce Shortages and Growing Backlogs” with Lee Rush, manager of business development at Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes;
  • “Honey, You Shrank the Dents! Smaller Dents, Bigger Dollars with ‘Pull to Paint’ Approach” with Chris White, president at KECO Body Repair, and Kevin Andrews, director at KECO UK; and
  • “Phone Etiquette and the Power of Mystery Shopping” with Tracy Dombrowski, director of training at Collision Advice

RDE sessions continue Nov. 1 with:

• • “Building Operational Leadership” with Mike Anderson, president at Collision Advice, Casey Lund, owner of Collision Leaders, Ron Reichen, owner at Precision Body & Paint and Andy Tylka, owner at TAG Auto Group;
  • “Changing the World with a 4-day Work Week” with Adams, Tim Ronak, senior services consultant at AkzoNobel Performance Coatings, Stephen Bozer, owner of Fix Auto Tempe, and Kena Dacus, owner of Dacus Auto Body and Collision Repair;
  • “Making the Right Tool Choice Using Empirical Data to Ensure a Safe and Proper Repair” with Chris Chesney, vice president of training and organizational development at Repairify
  • “Overcoming the Challenges of Opening and Managing an ADAS Calibration Business” with Peeters, Andy Dingman, co-founder and partner at Calibration Technologies, Jamie Humphries, owner of Georgia ADAS Calibrations, Tony Morgan, owner of Apex Calibrations LLC and CJ Peeters, owner of Fargo ADAS Solutions, MN ADAS Solutions;
  • “Repairer to Repairer: Stop Estimating and Start Repair Planning” with Michael Bradshaw;
  • “Talent Shortage – Ensuring We Have Collision Technicians in 5 Years” with Wildman, Brandon Eckenrode, executive director of the Collision Repair Education Foundation, Laura Lozano, collision repair technology professor at Contra Costa College, Donna Wagner, vice president of industry and media relations at ASE and Jennifer Maher, TechForce executive director;
  • “Being ‘Elite’ in a Consolidating Market” with John Shoemaker, business development manager at BASF;
  • “The Formula for Business Success, Considering Current Events” with Frank Terlep, vice president of ADAS Services at OPUS IVS; and
  • “The New Age of Paint & Material Billing and Reimbursement!” with Chargo, Kirchner, and Yanni Koutmos, CEO at EagleMMS.

The Full Series Pass does not include access to other courses or events not offered by SCRS. Those interested in registering for this session or SCRS’ Repair Driven Education sessions can do so online.

Those interested in learning more about the show or planning to register can do so online. To learn more about SCRS’ RDE series during the show, click here.

Those planning to attend, or considering attending, can explore the RDE track in greater depth or add sessions to their show planner by visiting SCRS: Repairer Driven Education on the Map Your Show site.

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