Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 4
FIXED OPS JOURNAL
CRASH COURSE
5 things you need to know now, whether or not you run a body shop
C
Chris Evans, a claim consultant for State Farm Insurance, warns: "It's
all it Crashapalooza '17.
scary how few industry participants embrace the need for training."
For the first time, the North
3. The consolidation and contraction trends in the collision repair
American version of
industry - a $36 billion annual business - are slowing.
Automechanika - the world's
There are roughly 32,400 collision repair centers, dealership-owned
largest trade show for the auto service
and independent, in the United States - half as many as in 1990.
industry - joined forces last month with
The "big four" consolidators of independent body shop ownership -
NACE - the biggest annual get-together for
Caliber, Service King, Boyd/Gerber and ABRA - still own fewer than
U.S. collision repair professionals.
5 percent of collision centers providing 14 percent of industry revenue,
The results: a massive training venue for
says industry consultant Vincent Romans.
high-end collision and service repair, and a
That ownership share will increase only slightly next year, he predicts,
magnet attracting top automotive leaders to
DAVID
as the consolidators focus on forming strategic tie-ups with industry
talk about industry trends.
KUSHMA
partners.
The four-day event in Chicago's
dkushma@crain.com
That leaves room for dealership groups, and even individual dealers,
McCormick Place drew more than 6,000
Deputy Editor
to get in the collision repair game. "There's still a lot of
participants, included
Fixed Ops Journal
industry out there for a lot of people to be successful,"
400-plus exhibitors and
"You still need
says Romans, CEO of Romans Group in Barrington, Ill.
offered 175 training seminars
4. Washington is failing to enact laws important to the
in advanced technologies, diagnostics and
the technician at
service and collision repair industries, encouraging
management.
the end to
states to fill the vacuum with their own, potentially
About two of every five franchised new-vehicle
measures.
dealerships operate on-site body shops, the National
operate the tool. contradictory
Partisan gridlock in Congress has stalled progress on
Automobile Dealers Association says. These shops' sales
legislation affecting such issues as automated vehicles/
rose by a modest 2.2 percent last year from 2015.
I believe the
connected cars, vehicle cybersecurity and the use of
But whether or not dealerships run collision centers,
industry will
nonfactory crash parts by body shops, says Bob
efforts to boost overall service revenue are growing in
Redding, chief Washington lobbyist for the Automotive
urgency as vehicle sales slump. So all dealers have a
solve this
Service Association.
stake in these top takeaways from the NACE
Meanwhile, the introduction of more than 100 bills on
Automechanika show:
problem, but the
these issues in state legislatures threatens a chaotic
1. The U.S. auto industry's seven fat years of rising newtechnology is
patchwork of regulation. "It's a Wild West show,"
vehicle sales are over. That puts even more pressure on
Redding says. "Without federal engagement, you're
dealership service departments, including collision repair
compressing."
likely to have more games."
centers, to pick up the revenue slack.
Michael Simon, Bosch
And President Donald Trump isn't helping matters
Dan Hearsch, director of the automotive practice at
Automotive Aftermarket
with his delays in filling key auto-related posts in his
consulting firm AlixPartners, predicts that U.S. sales of
administration, such as a permanent head for the
new cars and trucks will fall to 16.9 million vehicles this
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
year from 17.55 million in 2016.
5. Artificial intelligence may be on the verge of revolutionizing collision
He expects sales to continue to decline next year and bottom out at
repair.
15.2 million in 2019 before they rise again.
Adrien Cohen is co-founder of Tractable, a British company that,
That trend, Hearsch says, will make even clearer dealerships'
among other things, applies 300 million images of damaged vehicles to
"reliance on the service bay for revenue profitability."
the task of appraising photos of crashed cars and defining needed
2. The complexity of vehicles is growing faster than the capability of
repairs. Other vendors are developing and rolling out similar
service technicians and shops to address it. This not only aggravates the
technology.
chronic shortage of techs, but also elevates the vital importance of
In an interview on the NACE Automechanika show floor, Cohen said
advanced technical training.
computers using his company's algorithms do a better, more consistent
For example, even the most sophisticated scan tool, from automakers
job of damage assessment than individual human estimators. That
or the aftermarket, to evaluate collision damage is "not a silver bullet,"
speeds the task of getting the wrecked vehicle to the right repair shop,
says Michael Simon, director of automotive service solutions strategic
dealership or aftermarket, he said.
accounts for Bosch Automotive Aftermarket.
Cohen noted that Tractable has lined up Silicon Valley funding and
"You still need the technician at the end to operate the tool," Simon
collision industry clients: "Deep learning is reorganizing the collision
says. "I believe the industry will solve this problem, but the technology
ecosystem."
is compressing."
"
"
PAGE 4
AUGUST 2017
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017
Contents
Need a lift
Tire track
Mobility devices
Times to recall
Slick trick
Fatal fire
Players club
Online parts
Lean inventory
Loyalty test
Patent pending
Open minded
Editor’s Letter
Service Counter
Legal Lane
Richard Truett
Feedback
Five Minutes With
Letters
Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Intro
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Cover2
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Contents
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Editor’s Letter
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 5
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Service Counter
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 7
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Legal Lane
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 9
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 10
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Need a lift
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Tire track
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 13
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 14
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 15
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 16
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 17
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Mobility devices
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 19
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 20
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 21
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 22
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 23
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Times to recall
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 25
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 26
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 27
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Slick trick
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 29
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fatal fire
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Richard Truett
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Players club
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 33
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Online parts
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 35
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Lean inventory
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 37
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Loyalty test
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 39
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Patent pending
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - 41
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Feedback
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Open minded
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Five Minutes With
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Letters
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Cover3
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2017 - Cover4
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