HURDLES AND OPPORTUNIES AHEAD IN COLLISION REPAIR
The CRA Conference, held at Automechanika Johannesburg at the Gallagher Conference Centre in Midrand, featured an impressive line-up of industry movers and shakers who gathered to discuss key changes that lie ahead in the business of collision repair. Over 160 delegates attended from insurers through to service providers for the collision repair industry as a whole and it was the best event to date.
Keynote speaker, and regular Automotive Refinisher contributor Andrew Marsh, delivered an extended technical overview of innovations in both car manufacturing and repair trends anticipated in the coming decade.
Among these were the emergence of the disposable “single use” five-thousand-dollar Chinese car – already seen on global roads – as well as BMW’s innovative ultra-thin electrical wiring harnesses. With up to 600 metres of wiring removed, these harnesses present yet another daunting challenge for repairers.
The cross-industry event continued with Lightstone unveiling some surprising statistics about the local market. Their data, collected across 27 major brands in partnership with seven major insurance companies, revealed that over one million surveys had been completed – reflecting an average of 45 000 repairs handled monthly.
Hella followed with a presentation on the future of onboard vehicle camera technology, delivered via video link from Germany. The session explored the evolution of autonomous driving and ADAS developments, noting that by the end of this decade, new vehicles may feature as many as 30 integrated camera systems.
Breaking from tradition, several key exhibitors, showcased their specialist services in the supply of crash repair equipment and solutions.
Nissan then stepped into the spotlight to reveal a new, inclusive approach to working with body shop repairers. This initiative is aimed at recognising and supporting the diverse specialist needs of the collision repair industry going forward.
AutoMX CEO Gary Gueli, presented insights into their network of OEM-approved body shops, which operate on an audited basis for 35 vehicle brands. He discussed future trends in risk management, warranty assurance, brand protection, customer service, and collaboration on “save-a-car” marginal write-off vehicles.
Claire Macfie, editor of Automotive Refinisher, hosted an engaging session on training for body shop operators, featuring four panellists; Neo Motshabela from C3 Training Academy, Dr Frik Botha from IT-C Training, Ayanda Mtetwa from MAGALS Training Academy and Nicholas Choonilal from Florida Panelbeaters. Each person shared their passionate insights into their specialist apprenticeship training programmes and highlighted how much is actually being done.
Here are some scary numbers to consider and remember these are nationwide totals:
- Qualified body repairers 1376,
- Qualified spray painters 893,
- Body repair apprentices at present 297,
- Spray painter apprentices at present 220.
These numbers are tragic and fill you with apprehension about the longevity of the collision repair business overall.
Several talks focused on boosting body shop productivity and profitability, as well as management systems and repairs that could be done on older equipment instead of buying new. There were 10 spaces sold to exhibit new products, services and systems for the attendees to take a look at. These got great attention and a lot of leads were had on the day with the responsive and clued up guests. Key sponsors on the day were: Audatex, Lightstone, Moxical, BASF, Hella, Sagola, PPG, Edge IPS, Dr Smash and Paint Wizz.
CRA Director Steve Kessell concluded the conference with an inspiring talk titled “Knowledge is the Key to Success.” He highlighted the challenges of meeting repair cycle time commitments in today’s complex body shop environments. Steve also addressed the issues of sustainable margins and increasing vehicle complexity, emphasising the importance of pre-scan and post-scan diagnostic methods to identify fault codes and ensure the most efficient repair cycles are consistently achieved.
To say the day was well accepted would be an understatement as the content and networking was exceptional. CRA are planning to make their conference an annual event, so watch this space.
Story by Ian Groat
Pics by Ian and Jay Groat
