collision management-june-2014-full magazine article

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Jim Curry

Western Region Strategic Account Manager

Axalta

Benoît Goulet

Eastern Region Strategic Account Manager

Axalta

Venessa Di Vito

Central Region Strategic Account Manager

Axalta

Alain Loignon

FIX Auto Account Manager Axalta

Patrice Marcil

Axalta Business Services Manager Axalta

Today’s magazine for collision and insurance professionals

Vol.5 | No 2 | June 2014

©2013 BASF Corporation

Automotive Finishes

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BASF12040_RM-LowVOC_CollisionMngmnt_Dec2013_8.125x10.875.indd 1 10/31/13 3:57 PM

Guest editors

JuNe 2014

6 Industry news

8 ComIng together one Brandby Steve Leal

10 Larry JefferIes – CCIf ChaIrmana Veteran at the wheeL

12 CCIfthe Power of workIng togetherby Leanne Jefferies

14 axaLta BusIness serVICesguIdIng shoPs to suCCeed

16 I-Car BILInguaL traInIng: LeaVe no one BehIndby Andrew Shepherd

17 CoLLIsIon rePaIr trendssome numBers to Ponder

18 audatex Canadathe ProBLem soLVer

19 audatex Canada traCkIng suCCess

20 arCour assoCIatIon grew aLongsIde teChnoLogyby Steve Fletcher

21 oaraIn the works

22 Betty hornICk aLways LearnIng somethIng newby Laura Greening

23 CanatICsa PowerfuL tooL agaInst fraudby Ben Kosic

24 new LegIsLatIon are you stILL kIng of the CasL? by Tim Srigley

25 It’s aLL In the metrICs - Part II usIng Budgets to monItor yourBusIness aCtIVIty by Tony Tartaglia

26 toP goaL new gLoBaL automakers of Canada CommIttee foCuses on CoLLIsIon

28 Less Is more Be shInIng InsPIratIon,not the grIndIng PersPIratIon by Rémy L. Rousseau

29 annuaL sChoLarshIP Program wIn drIVes young Careers forward by Marissa Caruso

©2013 BASF Corporation

Automotive Finishes

Scan with a QR code reader to learn more about Onyx HD Low VOC Productive System.

Where Speed Meets GreenR-M® believes you shouldn’t have to choose between being productive and being VOC compliant.

That’s why we’re introducing Onyx HD™ Low VOC Productive System, a compliant solventborne

alternative that dries quickly in most shop environments. When you switch to Onyx HD, you can enjoy

the benefits of a tried and true solventborne system that meets all VOC standards

for North America and uses COLOR-MAX®, one of the fastest and most accurate

color tools in the industry. For more information, please call 800-825-3000 or visit

www.basfrefinish.com/onyx-sb.

BASF12040_RM-LowVOC_CollisionMngmnt_Dec2013_8.125x10.875.indd 1 10/31/13 3:57 PM

Marissa CarusoMarissa Caruso is the Public Relations Manager for Central Collision Center, a six-location auto body business in the Chicago market. With degrees from Marquette University, she strategically communicates the company’s message to its various publics through digital and traditional methods.

steve FletcherSteve Fletcher is the Managing Director of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada and the Executive Director of the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association.

Laura GreeningLaura Greening is the Senior Property Casualty Underwriter for the Sovereign General Insurance Company in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is also the President of the Canadian Association of Insurance Women (CAIW) and has been working in the insurance industry since 1989.

Leanne JefferiesLeanne Jefferies is Director of Collision Programs, AIA Canada and Director, CCIF Skills Program. With 18 years experience in the indus-try, she works with stakeholders across Canada to collaborate and develop solutions to create a better future for the Industry.

Ben KosicPresident CEO of CANATICS, Ben Kosic, has over 20 years of manage-ment and information technology consulting experience as well as an enviable track record of driving growth and delivery excellence. Mr. Kosic is a Professional Engineer and a Certified Management Consultant.

steve LealSteve Leal purchased his first business — a collision centre in Cambridge, Ontario, in 2004 and joined the Fix Auto organization as a strategic partner for the Cambridge market in 2006. He is now the president of the Fix Auto Canada Network.

Andrew shepherdAndrew has worked in training and human resource development for over 25 years. In government and industry, he has developed innovative approaches to apprenticeship, distance learning and, most recently in the construction sector, adult training and certification.

tim srigleyTim Srigley is the Business Solutions Group Director at JAN Kelley Marketing, has been involved in sales, marketing, training and go-to-market consultation in the transportation and collision repair industry for over 30 years.

tony tartaglia Tony has over 30 years of experience providing assurance and advis-ory services to private and public companies in the consumer busi-ness, real estate, manufacturing, and financial services industries.

Collision Management | June 2014 | autosphere.ca 3

O ur industry is changing rapidly. Much faster than some might like, and in more ways than

some might be comfortable with. But like it or not, we’re evolving and grow-ing, and that’s a good thing.

One of the most significant changes is the way companies are working togeth-er. Some OEs, for example, have shown a real interest in working with our indus-try’s movers and shakers for the better-ment of all. They want to make sure that those responsible for vehicle repair have the right information on repair proced-ures, the right equipment and the right parts to do the job right.

Some insurers are also embracing change, as they explore ways to create a more efficient and effective workflow for everyone involved in the repair cycle.

InnovatIons and solutIons

This issue of Collision Management is packed with information about new ideas and initiatives, further proof that the in-dustry is changing... and for the better.

For instance, we’ve got a great article on initiatives in Ontario to reduce insurance fraud. The solution you’ll read about relies partly on technology and partly on the cooperation of those in the industry. What a great example of how we can harness the power of technology and work together in order to solve a com-mon problem.

I’m sure you’ll also be intrigued by our interview with Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) President, David Adams. He speaks about change as well. In par-ticular, he explains how in the past, the collision industry operated in ‘isolated silos’ and how now, GAC’s mandate is to “Facilitate the cooperation and dis-cussion necessary to ensure that when collisions occur, consumers get their vehicles repaired quickly and to manu-facturers’ specifications.” Another great example of how our industry is pro-gressing and moving ahead.

Allow me to encourage you to embrace change in our industry, understand why it’s happening and finally, harness its power. Positive change translates into improved efficiencies, which leads to increased profitability. It will also allow you to adopt a stronger stance versus your competition as well as allowing you to thrive in today’s competitive market.

Change is good... if it’s managed proper-ly. It can play in your favour and put you in the lead, ahead of the competition. So take advantage of change - lead the way!

Isabelle Courteau Publisher

[email protected]

Isabelle Courteau

Change Is In the aIrCan you feel it? Will you embrace it?

President Jean-Luc Rousseau

Publisher Isabelle Courteau

Founder Rémy Rousseau

Contributing Editors Shirley Brown, Michael Goetz, Jack Kazmierski, Jil McIntosh, John Morris and Heather Rose

Photographer Bianca Diorio

Production Coordinator Nancy Fradette

Graphic Designer Erik Borrelli

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Collision Management Magazine is dedicated to serving the business interests and facilitating communications between the collision and insurance industries. It is published 5 times a year by Rousseau Communication, a member of of AIA Canada and sponsor of CCIF. Material in Collision Management may be reproduced, provided the publisher is advised and proper credit is given. The publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statements made by its advertisers or independent columnists.

All facts, opinions and statements appearing within this publication are those of the writers and editors them-selves, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions or endorsements by Rousseau Automotive Communication.

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editorial

4 Collision Management | June 2014 | autosphere.ca

At CARSTAR, we are proud to qualify as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for three years running.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our outstanding franchise partners and employees.

Over 200 locations in 10 provinces

www.carstar.ca


Industry neWs

audatex Canada takes vanCouver by storm

Audatex Canada, organizers of AudaVision Van-couver 2014 made quite the splash on the west coast. Their May 23rd event tackled a variety of timely subjects, including telematics. It proved quite the eye-opener for all in attendance, with many claims representatives from leading in-surers, as well as business leaders from colli-sion repair organizations.

Anthony Giagnacovo delivered the opening remarks, welcoming attendees to the event and introducing the first speaker of the day, Michel Laurin, President and COO of Indus-trial Alliance.

“I very much welcomed the oppor-tunity to share our unique vision of connecting insurance, technology and social responsibility with the audience at AudaVision Vancouver,” Laurin said. “Our Mobiliz program clearly demonstrates the ability of technology to transform insurance strategy and operations when imple-mented with strong customer focus. Strategic partners like Baseline tele-matics and Audatex Canada under-stand this approach and we look for-ward to future innovations.”

the Q2 2014 mItChell Industry trends report now avaIlable In the wake of one of the most bitter winters in North American in recent times, Greg Horn, Mitchell’s Vice President of Industry Relations, led off the company’s Industry Trends Live interactive webinar —Q2 2014 quarterly update— with a look at key sever-ity trends. For this edition of the update, the company has added Canadian data, making the discussion even more meaningful for operators north of the border.

First, a look at trends in Canadian collision severity…while the number of collisions

may have increased, the average repair for Q1 2014 at $3,408 was only $11 more than in the same period of 2013. Noticeable was the average actual cash value (ACV) of the vehicles, down $200 from Q1 2013. This reflects a reduced value in used vehicles resulting from strong new car sales.

In Canada, the number of parts per repair remains relatively higher (8.6) than in the US (5.4). As of Q1 2014, the number of OEM parts at 6.68 is higher than in the US (3.91) while the proportion of aftermarket parts

continues to grow, as it does south of the border. At the same time, the value of paint and materials has risen 54 cents to $34.56, while in the US, paint and materials has remained essentially constant for years. Nonetheless this amount representing a smaller propor-tion (8.51%) of the repair since the average ticket price in Canada is higher than in the US.

2014 most InfluentIal women wInners honouredThe award is given annually to women in the Collision Repair Industry who exemplify qualities of business and civic leadership, vision and commitment to excellence.

Russell Long of Change Innovations —the Leadership Development and Executive Coaching firm engaged to evaluate the nominees— was succinct in his praise, “These honorees demonstrated a well-rounded leadership profile in their pro-fessional roles as well as in their com-munities.” The Award Ceremony was

held in conjunction with WIN’s 2014 Educational Conference May 5-7 in San Diego, California.

Our very own Canadian winner, Leanne Jefferies, Director of Collision Programs, AIA Canada said, “It is an honour to be selected by WIN as a recipient of the MIW Award. I am very passionate about my work in the collision repair industry with AIA Canada and the CCIF Skills Program. It is a wonderful feeling to be recognized by my peers.”

Michel Laurin, President and COO of Industrial Alliance

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this year’s recipients were Leanne Jefferies, director, Collision Programs, AIA Canada;

Frederica Carter, President of F. Carter events, LLC - formerly Communications

Manager at Akzonobel; Jordan Hendler, executive director, Washington Metropolitan

Autobody Association.


Follow us on Twitter

@autosphere_en

CARSTAR invited its partners, vend-ors, colleagues and the media to the Cosmodome in Laval last March for an evening launch event. Michael Macaluso, Chief Operating Officer, addressed the laid-back, enthusiastic crowd in French. “This year’s theme, DETERMINATION, is extremely appropriate for our indus-try. We must, above all, be determined to strive for excellence in everything we do,” said Macaluso.

“The determination to drive forward,” continued Macaluso, “…to surpass our-selves while offering the highest level of customer service in a rapidly-evolving market, is what motivated the manage-ment team to choose this focus as our annual conference theme.”

Quebec City was chosen as the site of this year’s conference, partly because

it highlights the major growth that the company has experienced in that regional market.

The event will be launched with a 4-km walk in order to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. The first day will see Michael Malacuso and Sam Mercanti, President and founder, address the crowd prior to the event’s main guest, CloudID and Creativity Labs founder David Usher.

Other speakers at the upcoming confer-ence will include Chris Moore, National Marketing Director, Matt Bell, National HR Manager, and Colson Cole, National Operations Director at CARSTAR, as well as Christian Charest from the Des-jardins Group and Nick Bontis, confer-ence speaker, author and management consultant.

Carstar unveIls Its Industry ConferenCe theme

CArStAr COO, Michael Macaluso

wInnIng metallICa gem - the blaCk pearl paInted by ppg

Competing against some of the world’s most amazing custom-crafted cars, The Black Pearl—a ground-up creation from James Hetfield and Rick Dore, painted by Darryl Hollenbeck—won the 2014 Mother’s Custom of the Year Award at the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association 32nd All American Get-Together held in Pleasanton, California. The Black Pearl is owned by James Hetfield of the heavy-metal band, Metallica.

For The Black Pearl’s radiant finish, Hollenbeck used PPG products. He has been spraying PPG products exclusively for the last 25 years at his Vintage Color Studio in Concord, California. His work on The Black Pearl has been strikingly spectacular. In addition to the Goodguys award, the car won the Sam Barris award and the Cus-tom d’Elegance at the Sacramento Autorama.

the 25th annual ontarIo teChnologICal skIlls CompetItIon Earlier this month, over 1,900 elementary, secondary and post-secondary students from across Ontario got together to com-pete head-to-head in a number of trades, including collision repair and auto painting.

The 25th annual Ontario Technological Skills Competition —Canada’s largest skilled trades competition— took place at RIM Park in Waterloo.

Winners were presented with gold, silver and bronze medals—some also received monetary awards—and many are now eli-gible to head to the National Competition, taking place in Toronto from June 4-7. From there, many competitors are eligible to ad-vance to the WorldSkills Competition, tak-ing place in Brazil in 2015.

More details on autosphere.ca.

First Place Winner of the auto collision repair competition (post-secondary level), Steven

Le-magueresse, pushes the panel into place before continuing with his project.

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6 Collision Management | June 2014 | autosphere.ca Collision Management | June 2014 | autosphere.ca 7

I wanted everyone operating without interruption and going in the same direction. At the end of the day, it’s all

about customers and quality repairs.

Mondofix, founded by Jean Delisle, is the organization that controls the Fix Auto brand internationally. Delisle was look-ing at a succession plan and saw where I wanted to go and how I was doing that. As of March 1, 2014 the ownership of Mondofix was transferred to me.

I don’t know if the purchase of one company will change the industry com-pletely, however, I believe it’s all part of the continued consolidation that we see impacting the industry. Certainly, the development and growth in technology allows the world to be better connected and gives us all better opportunities than we’ve ever had before.

The purchase of MondoFix will impact the Fix Auto network of strategic partners, as well as their insurance partners. Cur-rently with operations in the USA, UK and France, Fix Auto operates in more coun-tries than any other bodyshop network.

My goal will be to bring these countries closer together and allow for sharing of best practices and standardized operat-ing procedures, while continuing operat-ing as one solid brand.

As I said in my opening address at the 22nd Annual Fix Auto Conference: “The

collision industry is rapidly consolidat-ing and due to technology, the world is much smaller than it used to be.” To-day, the business that is done globally largely influences how business is done locally.

Mondofix is the worldwide developer of the Fix Auto brand and it has been Mondofix’s work to develop in countries around the world. Today, it continues to expand as a unified brand.

a brand

When I looked at the success of the brand, whether it was in the UK, USA, France or Canada, I questioned why it had to be limited to brand. I saw this as an opportunity and looked back at the processes that were undertaken in Canada to group the provincial busi-nesses into one Canadian company, Fix Auto Canada. The work that Fix Auto is implementing starts from standard-izing operating procedures, purchasing powers, marketing concepts, communi-cation tools and the largest and most im-portant project of them all – delivering quality customer service.

This is only the beginning. There will be a number of changes and, of course, an acquisition of this size will take a while to fully implement. To begin, the first step means changing the Mondofix name – now to be known globally as Fix Auto.

This will allow Fix Auto to start reaping the benefits of becoming one united com-pany. As Fix Auto and Mondofix come together, they will compile and build on the existing successes of each country’s business unit.

Fix Auto will continue to grow from these experiences and expand to offer better programs for strategic partners, more collaborative agreements with insurance partners and more support through a stronger buying group. Fix Auto will of-fer the same expertise with a range of new advantages, depending on the coun-try they individually serve. Cm

Steve Leal

ComIng together

one brandAs the owner of Fix Auto Canada, I had already been through the process of restructuring many companies and turning them into one organization.

Here & Now

I dOn’t knOW IF the purChAse OF One COmpAny WIll ChAnge the Industry COmpletely. hOWever, I belIeve It’s All pArt OF the COntInued COnsOlIdAtIOn thAt We see ImpACtIng the Industry. »


Larry Jefferies is someone who has spent his whole career in automotive aftermarket and colli-

sion repair. The energy he feels from the changes and the things that are happen-ing today continue to excite him because they’re moving an industry. And for the most part, Canada is at the leading edge of this global movement. “I believe it’s a great industry and I’m still having fun do-ing what I’m doing. I can only encourage those who are participants today to keep working and keep moving it forward. Stay involved!“

a very fortunate guy

Fourteen years after being around for the formation of CCIF, includind a three-year term as Chairman, Larry has as-sumed the role of Chairman of CCIF for this current year.

Why this second term? Well, it’s time for change and 2014 is a transition year.

“Moving from the format and structure that served us well for 14 years, to a totally new management structure, is a big task. To ensure it goes smoothly, it was felt that the transition needed to be in the hands of an industry veteran with deep roots in both AIA (former Chairman of the Board) and CCIF.”

Larry says it is an exciting and challen-ging time.

CCIf agenda

“We have a focused agenda. So if it’s not a topic that’s focused on either in-dustry profitability, vehicle technology or people, it won’t be on the CCIF agenda.

During our meetings, we’re taking full ad-vantage of the “The Voice” (vote on indus-try change and evolution), a polling tech-nology that ensures we get feedback while interacting with the audience. It’s an in-valuable tool to measure what matters and what to do about it. It gives each attendee a voice and feedback while at the meeting, and for the advisory group, it’s great insight into future activities and focus.

“We have the full support and engage-ment of AIA, the Director of Collision Programs and the newly retooled Colli-sion Council.

“The new CCIF steering committee (and who is on it) matters and is exciting! It includes all the key stakeholders. Full engagement from the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) and the continuing sup-port from the insurance industry con-firms the recognition we needed to make CCIF truly representative of the collision industry in Canada.”

Timing couldn’t better. With the sig-nificant and ever increasing number of changes and challenges for collision repairers, knowing they have engage-ment from all industry segments couldn’t be more important. Having the ability to share information is essential. But, that’s just the first step in the new CCIF.

somethIng that matters

“We’ve already created something that really matters through the AIA Collision Council, the Business Conditions Survey. We’ve wondered and guessed about the size of the industry, current sales trends and profitability for a long time. The first re-sults of the survey were shared at the Feb-ruary 1, 2014 meeting. Over 800 repairers submitted sales information. The current participants represent well over $1 billion in annual sales. Those that submit data get to see the results. This is just the first step. Long term, having more financial informa-tion shared will allow us to have a look at what is needed to ensure the profitability of the repairers required for the sustainability of the collision repairers in Canada.”

What’s next with the AIA Collision Coun-cil? Key topics will be explored and ac-tion plans developed to create positive change for all industry stakeholders, in-cluding insurance program process man-agement and OE related areas of interest including training needs and equipment requirements as new manufacturing ma-terials and techniques are introduced.

So, is Larry excited about the future? “You bet! We’re honoured and thrilled to have a key role in delivering the first phase of change, for sure. Plan to attend a meeting this year and follow all our ac-tivities at ccif.ca.” Cm

Shirley Brown

Larry JefferIes – CCIf ChaIrman

a veteran at the wheel larry Jefferies is now in his second term as CCIF Chairman.

INTERVIEW

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Larry Jefferies, CCIF Chairman


The mosT compleTe canadian auTomoTive business porTal

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We are entering a special time in the collision industry. Indeed, there’s been a huge increase in

both interest and engagement of stake-holders from across our industry includ-ing repairers, insurers, OEs, recyclers and suppliers. These are the torchbear-ers who are interested in helping to cre-ate a more profitable and sustainable future not just for themselves, but for all stakeholders. In my position as Direc-tor, Collision Programs for AIA Canada, which provides me with the privilege of being the CCIF administrator, my confi-dence in our ability to change things re-mains steady and unwavering.

better CommunICatIon means more CooperatIon

Sharing information effectively increas-es the level of cooperation and collab-oration throughout the industry. We have stepped up communications at CCIF in several key ways. The VOICE (Vote On Industry Change and Evolution) impacts CCIF meeting content live-time, thereby allowing us to collect information and make decisions for future meetings and projects. CCIF lunch tables have a sug-gestion sheet where attendees can pro-vide topic ideas (we collected over 20 suggestions at CCIF Toronto in February alone). Our new website www.ccif.ca has up-to-date agendas, project infor-mation, and is also where people go to register for CCIF. The free monthly CCIF e-newsletter keeps industry informed

of CCIF meeting presentations, upcom-ing events and important news. I also enjoy receiving regular emails from in-dustry leaders across the country who are working on local initiatives. There are many different groups of repairers, insurers, suppliers and others, who are collaborating on various industry issues specific to their particular market. These initiatives include reviving school cur-riculum and course offerings, appren-ticeship and training projects, working with at-risk youth, local scholarship programs, and so much more. They are succeeding because we’re all working together – sharing information, generat-ing new ideas and finding partners who can help solve the problems that need to be tackled. I am always happy to pro-vide support, advice and contacts to help whenever and wherever it’s needed. I am also excited about the national projects that CCIF and the AIA Collision Council are working on currently, and those they plan to undertake in the near future.

Industry jumpIng In to help

One of the projects currently underway has really touched my heart – CCIF is supporting the Haiti ARISE Technical In-stitute. This is just one more example of how working together does make a big impact. Tom Bissonnette, owner of Parr Autobody, and I, reported on our trip to Haiti ARISE at CCIF Vancouver on May 24th, and offered options for individuals and companies to get involved. Some of my contacts who heard Marc Honorat speak at CCIF Toronto (or who read in our e-newsletter that industry voted to go forward with the project) are already gathering up much needed tools and equipment to donate. The items were being replaced with newer technology, but still have lots of life left in them, and will be heading to Haiti in the ship-ping container we are planning to send. A college instructor I work closely with has already offered to take a week of va-cation to go over and teach their teach-ers the required curriculum. Andrew Shepherd, Executive Director of I-CAR Canada, has also donated I-CAR course materials that are necessary for their advanced classes. Our industry’s will-ingness to jump right in and help is no surprise to me – it’s the people in our industry that make it so great, and why I love what I do. Working together, we can accomplish anything we decide to tackle, and change our future for the better. Be a part of the change - join us at the next CCIF meeting! Cm

Leanne Jefferies

the power of workIng together“two heads are better than one” – this saying is such a clichéd chestnut, but even so, it couldn’t be closer to the truth. how about three hundred and seventy-seven heads – the number of people who attended CCIF toronto, or even one thousand – the number who will have attended a CCIF meeting by this september?

AssociAtion


PROMOTING CAREERS

IN COLLISION REPAIR

Invest in your future,

BECOME A 2014 CCIF SKILLS PROGRAM SPONSOR

WWW.CCIFSKILLSPROGRAM.COM

For more information Contact Leanne Jefferies, CCIF Skills Program Director,

[email protected] or 905-628-2041


W ell-versed in the latest busi-ness trends, tools and sys-tems, the ABS team members

are committed to helping shops imple-ment strategies, processes and tools to help improve productivity and profit-ability.

The knowledge from the Axalta SAMs (Strategic Account Managers) combined with the peer-to-peer network of Axa-lta’s Performance Groups (described below) are designed to promote an en-vironment where every participating shop can be confident that it has the professional backing readily available to achieve its business goals.

fIve areas of foCus

Optimizing Paint & Material Cost Per HourAxalta is continually doing research. In a recent study it conducted, Axalta found that 39% of Canadian shops that responded named “Keeping costs down” among their top three concerns.

The ABS team members are conver-sant with management tools like 5S which focuses on lean and standard-ized inventory replenishment, so they can assist with the implementation of systems to match each facility’s par-ticular requirements. By auditing the shop and then designing solutions and recommendations to help the shop put efficient processes in place, the shop’s

management can have a clear picture and better control over their shop’s operational fundamentals.

Repair Process Standardization and ImplementationA standardized repair process and imple-mentation provides consistent quality for the customer and predictable costs for the shop. A standardized repair process also helps to ensure clarity for the tech-nicians and supports smooth workflow. The ABS account managers consult with the customers to design and implement tailored Standardized Operating Proced-ures (SOPs) to promote success in their operations.

Optimizing Performance with Estimatics and the Insurer Score CardA key element for organic shop growth is to optimize performance on insur-er or fleet scorecards. These results are driven by a shop’s repair planning processes and estimating skills. Esti-matics will assist you by driving con-sistency in the estimates submitted to insurance companies. Increased con-sistency should reduce friction cost and facilitate the planning process. Strong planning processes and solid estimatics help to provide smooth car flow through the shop.

wGrowing Top Line SalesAxalta has several focus areas to work with shops that are looking to grow their top line revenue. Fostering organic

growth, securing additional volume and improving marketing are great areas to review with the shop. Improving the customer experience is often another great way to improve sales. We want customers to be advocates who don’t just repeat, but refer others.

Leadership DevelopmentDeveloping leadership within an or-ganization is a key challenge for many shops and, with pressing staffing chal-lenges, this becomes more important than ever. Attracting and hiring the right staff is critical. Inspiring and re-taining staff by ensuring that everyone is reaching their potential can foster the success of their operation. Axalta Business Services offers support to help plan how to attract the right em-ployees as well as staff retention and performance management.

As Patrice Marcil, Axalta Business Ser-vices Manager explains, “We go into each shop with one goal – to contribute to its success.”

performanCe groups

Parallel with Axalta Business Services, Axalta supports meetings at both the na-tional and regional levels that facilitate interaction among non-competing shop operators. These groups have proven successful in enabling shop owners to improve their operations by discussing industry best practices.

John Morris

axaLta BusIness serVICes

guIdIng shops to suCCeedAxalta Coating systems is building on a foundation of more than 145 years in the coatings industry. Axalta business services (Abs) continues the dupont performance services tradition of leading the Canadian industry with a team of dedicated business specialists, each with a comprehensive understanding of the industry and best practices.

Cover Story


The National Business Council consists of non-competing Axalta customers from different markets in Canada that meet three times per year with a professional facilitator. Benchmarking is critical to this group in the tradition of savvy ob-servations like “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Shop managers who have attended these national con-ferences have reported that they provide an opportunity to better understand their business environment.

Axalta also facilitates Local Perform-ance Groups. These groups are made up of regional shops that are focused on continuous process improvement and want to keep up with the trends and best practices in collision repair. Local Performance Groups have been inter-acting for years and the content is con-stantly evolving to ensure it is relevant to today’s shop owners. Currently, these groups can be found across Canada and they meet two or three times a year for a day or two at a time.

the axalta busIness servICes CanadIan team

Demonstrating its commitment to its cus-tomers across the country, Axalta has five dedicated knowledgeable and talent-ed individuals, as well as a full sales team to provide Axalta Business Services in Canada. Each of the individuals noted below has deep industry experience plus a thorough grounding in today’s most ad-vanced management techniques.

Patrice Marcil Axalta Business Services Manager

Patrice was born into the industry. His father owned

a bodyshop in Joliette, QC where he started as a part-time technician and became the shop manager. Patrice

joined Axalta (then DuPont) in 2000 as a Technical Instructor and was ap-pointed Training and Customer Care Manager in 2006. Recently, Patrice has added strategic planning and Axa-lta Business Services Manager to his responsibilities.

Venessa Di Vito Central Region Strategic Account Manager

Like Patrice, Venessa’s parents

have owned a collision repair facility her entire life, which helped to develop her passion for the industry. Venessa has a broad knowledge base including account-ing, management systems, ISO9001: 2000, estimating, Lean Six Sigma, plus an extensive knowledge in processes and procedures in the vehicle repair process.

Venessa sums up the team’s goal on be-half of the group noting, “Whatever the area in your business where you need support, our focus is to find the root causes of any concerns and make your shop more efficient and profitable. Then you can run your business with peace of mind.”

Jim Curry Western Region Strategic Account Manager

Jim has an exten-sive collision back-

ground, with previous experience as an automotive painter and distribution representative. He has played a variety of roles that include the following pos-itions: National Account Manager, Prod-uct Manager, Six Sigma Green Belt and Multi-Shop Operations Representative for Western Canada. Jim summarizes

his role, “With years of great experi-ence in a multitude of roles, extensive training, and an excellent customer base, this consultative role is a seam-less and natural fit.”

Benoît Goulet, Eastern Region Strategic Account Manager

Benoît Goulet began his career as a

painter in 1985. Then as a dealership Assistant Manager, he handled es-timates, insurance claims and man-aged the floor before joining DuPont in 2000. His success led him to become a Technical Sales Representative, then Business Development Representa-tive. As Axalta Business Services Strategic Account Manager, Benoît uses his experience and expertise in assisting auto body shops throughout Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Alain Loignon FIX Auto Account Manager

Alain started very young helping his father to fix cars back

in the ‘70s. From there, he found his way to the collision repair industry.

Alain joined DuPont in 1989 as a Tech-nical Sales Representative, before be-coming Atlantic Sales Manager where he honed his business skills. In 1999, he returned to Montreal as Account Man-ager for a major buying group. During 2010, Alain was named Business Con-sultant for Eastern Canada where he also coordinated sales and development for the region. Alain uses his wide range of skills every day to drive success for the shops he works with.Cm

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Axalta Coating Systems is a leading global provider of liquid and powder coatings to automotive, transportation, general industrial, architectural and decorative customers. Doing business in more than 130 countries, Axalta operates 35 manufacturing centres, seven R&D facilities and 42 customer training centres. Axalta will continue to build on more than 145 years of experience in the coatings industry. For more information visit www.axaltacoatingsystems.com


Canada has a rich and unique history. The current Canadian landscape is made up of two

very different identities — French and English — both of which combine rath-er beautifully, giving our country the multicultural and bilingual flavour we all enjoy.

Although having two official languages, and two very different cultures, makes our country so much richer than it would have been otherwise, it also presents modern businesses and their employees with unique challenges.

Take for instance the ever-changing col-lision repair industry. As things change, we need to keep our people up-to-date so that they have access to the latest in-formation and the most advanced repair techniques. But getting the information out in a timely fashion, and in both of-ficial languages, can be difficult.

amerICan roots

I-CAR, for example, has operated in Canada under US management since 1978 and quite often, the only sources of collision repair information avail-able to the industry came out in Eng-lish. Courses were developed by OE suppliers and repair experts at I-CAR USA, and then translated into French on

what might best be called a volunteer basis by dedicated Quebec instructors. Sometimes, in fact, they had to be trans-lated ‘on-the-fly’ in the classroom.

Recently, exciting new initiatives changed much of that. The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) took over management of I-CAR in Can-ada in 2010. Naturally, as a national or-ganization, AIA is committed to the bilin-gual delivery of services in our country.

In 2011, the AIA met with CSMO-Auto and the Quebec Government to discuss public support for the translation of collision repair courses. The resulting project provided full translation for 13 high priority courses. The project con-cludes in the spring of 2014.

Industry experts and instructors who form the I-CAR Quebec Committee, chaired by Patrice Marcil of Axalta, made the decision on course selec-tion. The Committee also provided ground-level verification of terminol-ogy, course content, etc., during the translation processes.

tangIble benefIts

The benefits of the translation project are clear, and the impact the program had was felt immediately. For instance,

in 2009 and 2010, I-CAR delivered ap-proximately 40 classes in Quebec, to 675 students. In 2011 and 2012, that number jumped by 30% and last year, more than 80 classes were delivered.

Clearly, the need for French language instruction is growing. And it’s be-ing embraced by the masses, eager to keep pace with the ever-changing col-lision repair industry.

With this need in mind, and with the suc-cess seen so far, the AIA, CSMO and ma-jor industry partners are eager to expand the project, on a shared-cost basis, with a view to translating a further 55 cours-es. In fact, meetings with industry, CSMO and the relevant government agencies are currently taking place.

The incredible changes facing the col-lision repair industry – technological advancements, new materials, elec-tronics, new repair procedures, etc. – make this a priority going forward.

The goal is to not leave anyone be-hind, so to speak. Information must be shared in both official languages, so that all Canadian collision repair facili-ties are up-to-date, thereby ensuring that all Canadians are driving vehicles that have been properly repaired. It’s a must! Cm

Andrew Shepherd

bIlIngual traInIng:leave no one behIndQuebec partnership supports translation of I-CAr courses.

AssociAtion

the AIA is committed to the bilingual delivery of services in our country.


earnIngs

In 2011, the Canadian automotive re-pair and maintenance service industry earned $14.2 billion, up from 2010 by 4.2%. But during that same time span, operating expenses grew by 3.3% totaling $13.2 billion. From Statistics Canada, it was also found that salar-ies, wages and benefits accounted for 29.3% of the total operating expense. In addition, average annual operating profit rose from 6.3% in 2010 to 7.2% in 2011.

The number of body shops during 2005 through 2009 didn’t change drastically: 22,856 in 2005 and in 2009, slightly down at 22,561, which was pretty con-sistent. As for employment in the Auto-motive Aftermarket, 470,263 people were employed in the industry in 2012, up 1.7% from 2011. Of course, the auto-mobile dealer sector accounted for most of the employment. The repair and main-tenance sector took second place.

dIverse mIx

A diverse mix of organizations makes up the Canadian collision repair indus-try and operates in every part of the country. Per year they repair about one million vehicles with claimed collision damage. This includes PBE suppliers, collision repair facilities, educators and trainers, automobile insurance compan-ies and other related segments pertinent to the industry.

Canadian repair body-work also varies with the age of the vehicle. DesRosiers Automotive Consultants supplied data that showed close to two-fifths (38%) of Canadian vehicles that underwent professional bodywork (DIFM) are between 8 to 12 years old. Those vehicles older than 12 years make up another quarter (25%).

unIts

The last page of the Canadian sector in the study showed that the Canadian DIFM body work market is being driven by three major units: independent repair shops, new car dealers and specialty shops. Making up the lar-gest portion are the independent repair shops with 38% of the business, fol-lowed by specialty shops with 20% and new car dealers with 17%. Together, these three segments cover 75% of the professional bodywork done. Rounding out the other 25% in the professional bodywork market are auto parts stores, service stations, tire and other types of Canadian retail outlets. DesRosiers Automotive Consultants also supplied these statistics.

In other collision repair statistics, Mitch-ell Industry Trend Reports showed that there has been an upward trend in the use of aftermarket parts, going from 12.7% in 2012 to 13.0% in 2013. OE parts are still leading the way though with 75.9%.

If you are a member of AAIA, you can easily obtain this study. Ask for AAIA Collision Repair Trend 2013 and it’s available in digital form. Our thanks to AAIA for permission to use the Canadian statistics. Cm

Shirley Brown

CoLLIsIon rePaIr trends

some numbers to ponder recently, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association in the united states published a study of Industry statistics and Analysis on Collision repair trends. the 2013 edition included statistics on the Canadian Collision repair industry as well. here, we break down the material pertaining to Canada included in the study.

StatiSticS

COLLISION REPAIR TRENDS INDUSTRY STATISTICS

& ANALYSIS

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Toronto-based Ryding Autobody will soon be celebrating their golden anniversary. The collision

shop was founded in 1965 by Rocky De-Lorenzo, who today, with his son Mark, still manages the business.

The past 50 years have given the com-pany many opportunities to grow, and today they’re busier than ever... which is both a blessing and a challenge. “In a busy week we’ve got between 35 and 40 vehicles in here,” says Mark DeLorenzo. “So having 40 people calling me to ask about their car, plus the insurance com-panies, plus parts suppliers can be a little overwhelming sometimes.”

The volume of phone calls increased to the point where DeLorenzo told him-self that he had to find a solution. After searching the market for answers, he finally decided on AudaWatchTM from Audatex Canada. “We’re understaffed in the office as it is,” DeLorenzo says, “and this system eliminates most of the phone calls. We have had the AudaWatch sys-tem for almost a year now, and we’re very happy with it.”

The switch from the retro pen & paper way of doing things to AudaWatch was easy and painless. “The people at Audatex are real professionals and they made it easy…” DeLorenzo adds. “It’s not

a complicated system to use and if you ever have questions, they’ve got great phone support.”

stress relIef

AudaWatch has had a dramatic effect on day-to-day business activities, and it has reduced stress levels. “With the system in place,” DeLorenzo explains, “Everything flows more smoothly. I don’t have to keep coming back to the office all the time be-cause I have all the information on my phone. I just click on the AudaWatch app and all the information on the vehicle, the client, the insurance company as well as parts - all at my fingertips. When I have to order parts, rather than come back to the office, I just scan the barcode on the car with the AudaWatch smartphone app and all the information comes up. I have the work order number, I call the supplier, and I order the part. It really is that easy.”

DeLorenzo says he is able to communi-cate with his customers and his staff via the system, letting all parties know what’s going on with their own vehicle, and when it will be ready. AudaWatch eliminates unnecessary follow-up phone calls.

soCIal medIa

One aspect of AudaWatch that De-Lorenzo wasn’t counting on when he invested in the technology is the way it allows his customers to interact with his shop online. “When they log in to check the status of their vehicle, they’re directed to my website,” DeLorenzo ex-plains. “Once there, they can learn more about us, as well as ‘Like’ us on Face-book, which means they’re telling their friends about our shop. I also like the fact that they can go a step further and review us online.”

AudaWatch is a versatile tool - one that has allowed DeLorenzo and his team to do much more with less stress involved. “It’s a great system,” he says, “It saves time, we hardly get any customer phone calls asking about what’s going on with the repair, and it saves me time personal-ly because I’m not constantly answering questions my staff would otherwise have about the status of each vehicle. I would definitely recommend it.” Cm

audatex Canada

the problem solverAudaWatchtm buys this busy shop owner the time he needs, and the peace-of-mind he deserves.

Mark deLorenzo, co-owner of toronto-based ryding Autobody

Jack Kazmierski

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The brutal winter we’ve seen in Canada this year has been a boost for business. “If you weren’t busy

this year,” says Nello Iannelli, co-owner of CSN Guy’s Auto Body in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, “You might want to think of closing up shop, because you’re doing something wrong...”

Roughly 50 vehicles go through Iannell’s shop per week and soon that number is likely to balloon even further. So this successful collision repair shop will be moving into a much larger facility by the end of the year.

Managing a shop this busy isn’t easy, which is why Iannelli invested in AudaShop Man-agerTM from Audatex. “The biggest chal-lenge we face is trying to keep everyone on the same page,” Iannelli admits. “With AudaShop Manager, everybody knows what cars are coming in, when people need them, which parts were ordered, if they ar-rived, and so on.”

Running 50 vehicles a week through a shop without this advanced technology would be a real nightmare. “For example,” Iannelli continues, “To find out if the parts were here without AudaShop Manager, you’d have to go ask the secretary, who would pull the estimate to see if there are any invoices attached to it. If there weren’t any invoices attached, you’d have

to call the dealer to see if he ordered them, etc. We definitely couldn’t live without AudaShop Manager, that’s for sure.”

solutIon for smaller shops

Iannelli is so impressed with his shop management system that he believes it’s a must - even if you’re not doing the volume he is. “Even if I had a two-man shop with 10 cars a week, I would still have one,” he says. “Let’s say a customer calls and says he can’t pick up the car until tomorrow morning. So you put a note in his file using AudaShop Manager, and when the insurance company calls to find out why the car is being picked up tomorrow, they have an answer.”

If you plan to track everything on paper, Iannelli laughs, you’re going to need to kill 400 trees. “You’re going to have to put another piece of paper in that customer’s file, explaining that he called and said he couldn’t pick up the car. Then, when the insurance company calls, you’re going to have to take the call, find the file, look through it to find the paper, and then give the insurance company an answer. With the management system it’s all in there and everyone can see it.”

sImple to use

Before deciding on AudaShop Manager, Iannelli says he looked at a number of solutions. “I went with the solution from Audatex because it’s very user-friendly and customizable,” he says. “We’ve had it now for almost two years and we’re very happy with it.”

Iannelli also found that he could use the system straight out of the box with very little time dedicated to training. “When we talked to another software supplier, they wanted to come in for one week of train-ing,” he explains. “And when we talked to Audatex Canada, they said if we need one week of training to use something, then it must be way too complicated to use. Audatex said they want us to simply sit down, start plugging in cars and get straight to using it. It really was that easy.” Cm

audatex Canada

traCkIng suCCessAudashop manager helps this busy shop stay organized and running on time.

the Iannelli family: (L-r) dennis, nello, Guy, and robert.

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“WIth AudAshOp mAnAger, everybOdy knOWs WhAt CArs Are COmIng In, When peOple need them, WhICh pArts Were Ordered, IF they ArrIved, And sO On.”

nello Iannelli, co-owner of Csn guy’s Auto body


The modern automotive recycler, as we know it today, originated in the 1930s with a man named Roy

Hollander. He worked out how various parts fit with car models over different years and published it in pamphlets, sell-ing them door-to-door. This was the first incarnation of the Hollander Interchange, today’s go-to reference for interchange-able part matches – the inventory lan-guage of our industry, unique to North America.

Recyclers rely on the Interchange, but it’s getting harder to get information from the original equipment manufacturers. They want to sell new parts and we want to sell used parts, but we rely upon their data to do our job.

This is where insurers and repairers become our allies. They want our parts and data, and that requires us to have as much manufacturer data as possible. An association gives us this necessary voice and facilitates important relation-ships across the industry.

the start of an assoCIatIon

In the 1970s, one of the first associations was formed: the Canadian Auto Recyc-lers Hotline. Essentially, it was a 24-hour conference call among about 50 auto re-cyclers between Quebec and Manitoba to buy and sell parts.

An auto recycler could broadcast their parts request and other recyclers re-

sponded with what they had to sell over this hotline. This was the first use of technology to expand an auto recycler’s inventory across multiple recyclers and distances.

It began as a business club of the big, organized auto recyclers. While initially business-oriented, they began to act more like an association and were often asked their opinions on big industry issues, like tire recycling for example.

a teChnology-drIven system

As technology grew in the 1970s and 80s, so did the Hollander system. It was made into a modernized inventory data-base – the Hollander Yard Management System.

This was the next big technological evolution to sell more parts quickly and efficiently, as recyclers could check their inventory with a VIN num-ber and see how they were selling or pricing them immediately. This was the first cross-industry standard, and today we have other inventory systems that are still driven by the Hollander Interchange.

In the 1980s, a second business group formed using satellite technology to link recyclers together – cutting costs while expanding opportunities.

In 1992, these two groups formed the On-tario Automotive Recyclers Association. This was the beginning of an association to represent all auto recyclers and their interests.

As an association, one of the first things we did was negotiate with Cardinal Cour-iers to ship parts to each other overnight at greatly reduced costs. This further bound the membership together.

What came next was partnering with great causes. In 1994, the Kidney Foun-dation launched a car program, but didn’t have the infrastructure to pick up cars and move them. They came to us, and we were able to acquire cars for inventory and raise the industry’s profile.

In 1997, the Automotive Recyclers of Canada was founded to give all of this a national voice. Cm

Steve Fletcher

modern-day auto reCyCLers

our assoCIatIon grewalongsIde teChnologythe auto recycling industry in Canada has grown over the decades thanks to new technology and innovative thinkers. how did we get to where we are today?

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Speaking at the 2014 Ontario Auto-motive Recyclers Association’s (OARA) Convention and Trade-

show, Steve Fletcher, Executive Director of the OARA gave the audience an over-view of how far the organization, as well as the industry, has come in recent years.

“The biggest thing that’s happened in the last year is the Ministry of the Environ-ment’s consultation on our industry,” Fletcher said to the OARA audience. “We’re at a point now where we are helping to define who we are, in order to bring the professionalism we’ve already achieved, to the overall industry.”

The OARA has submitted a policy proposal to the government explaining what the in-dustry is, what the problems are in terms of an uneven playing field — not every-body playing by the same rules whereby legitimate businesses suffer — and how the OARA thinks the problems should be solved with a common standard.

This is a long process, however, and Fletcher pointed out that after many meetings, countless discussions, and numerous consultations, the final solu-tion is still in the works.

synergy

One of the more interesting develop-ments, Fletcher added, is that the Min-istry of the Environment came to OARA to propose a cooperative effort. The Min-istry is suggesting the OARA co-present the ideas they’ve been working on at the Automotive Recyclers Association Con-vention and Expo, which takes place in Nashville this October. “So we’ll be go-ing to Nashville later this year,” Fletcher added, “and we’re really intrigued to see how things turn out.”

OARA members need to remember that the proposal is now in the hands of the government. “It’s not our proposal any-more,” Fletcher explained. “So there are a lot of things that we like about it, and a lot that we don’t. This is our one kick at the can. They’re not going to reopen this file in five or 10 years. In fact, we don’t think they’re going to look at this again at all.”

2014 and beyond

Fletcher concluded his presentation with an overview of the next steps in the process:

OARA continues to seek a level-play-ing field within the industry.

A viable standards-based license that is enforced across the sector is the Holy Grail for professional auto re-cyclers around the world. All coun-tries are trying to find a solution to this problem. Some have gone very draconian and they’ve gutted the en-tire parts industry, while others have feared doing anything at all.

Ontario will get its chance this year and the rest of Canada is working on it. We’re not working in isolation. PEI is looking at some progressive ideas and we know that BC is already three-quarter of the way there. In BC, estimates are that between 85-90% of cars that come off the road are handled by a licensed auto recycler. So even though they don’t have 100%, that’s the model that’s working well.

“It’s a very exciting time,” Fletcher con-cluded, “but exciting isn’t always good. Sometimes it’s just terrifying. And we’re not foolish enough to think that this is just a walk in the park. It’s a lot of work, but we do see good things coming from it.” Cm

Heather Rose

oara

In the worksthe OArA is working with the ministry of the environment on standards for the recycling industry.

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b etty Hornick started her insur-ance career in 1977 as a junior auto underwriter with Wawanesa

in Edmonton.

“I was only there for a year, but it got my feet wet in insurance and I went on to different companies,” she says. “My next job was with Royal, where I learned how to do fleet automobile insurance.”

Eventually, Betty moved on to learn about oil, gas and all of the other typical exposures for commercial insurance in Alberta.

“My career has always been in com-mercial lines,” says Betty. “I worked in Alberta until 1989, and continued to progress and got into management. Then I came back to Ontario and I worked for Economical for almost 19 years.” She moved to Toronto in 2007, and is now with Aviva.

For the past 15 years, Betty has primarily worked in various head office positions including Manager of Quality Review, Manager of Commercial Property, Man-ager of Commercial Casualty and in her current position, managing Commercial Product Development, supporting the underwriters and branches by providing direction and guidance through guide-lines and bulletins.

always open to new experIenCes

Despite the length of her career in the

insurance industry, Betty says that there are constant learning experiences.

“The favourite part of my job is that I’m always learning something new,” she says. “It just keeps my brain ticking over all the time.”

The ability to always be learning some-thing new is particularly relevant to Betty’s involvement with the Canadian Associa-tion of Insurance Women (CAIW), which incorporates continuing education, as well as her current position of President of her local association, the Toronto Insurance Women’s Association (TIWA).

Betty says the CAIW is as diverse as the insurance industry itself, representing a cross-section of all the different career trajectories available.

an opportunIty to dIversIfy

According to Betty, young people who are just starting out in the insurance in-dustry may not be aware of the oppor-tunities available.

“They feel that they’re stuck in a job or whatever,” she says, “but insurance is such a broad base. There’s so many things that you can be doing in the scope of what we define as the insurance in-dustry.”

She says that those who have strong advertising or creative skills can look into getting into the marketing side, for example.

“The people who go into insurance, they don’t even realize what the opportunities are there,” she says.

“I think that’s the most key thing. It’s an opportunity to expand but to also do networking and learn more about the industry.”

While all of the facets of the industry have their own associations and conven-tions, the CAIW and TIWA are all encom-passing and inclusive.

“The difference with CAIW and TIWA is that it’s a cross section of all,” she says. “You have brokers, you have company people and you have service providers. You have education and development in all areas, and we don’t just focus in on one specific niche.” Cm

Betty hornICk

always learnIng somethIng newbetty hornick is the president of the toronto Insurance Women’s Association and national Commercial senior manager and team leader, product development for Aviva Canada.

AssociAtion

Betty Hornick, President, toronto Insurance Women’s Association and

national Commercial Senior Manager and team Leader, Product

development, Aviva Canada

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h onest people are often penalized by dishonest opportunists who take advantage of the systems

in place. The insurance industry is no exception to this blight, and the amounts paid for fraudulent claims adds up to bil-lions of dollars in Canada.

CanatICs

CANATICS (Canadian National Insur-ance Crime Services) is the solution insurers have developed to help fight insurance crime in Ontario. This entity currently comprises nine member insur-ance companies representing 70% of all auto insurance Direct Written Premiums (DWPs) in Ontario, or approximately 40% of the market share on a national basis.

By using state-of-the-art analytical tools, CANATICS provides information on trends and suspicious activity, iden-tifying potentially suspicious claims in insurance industry pooled data, to facili-tate further investigation by individual insurers.

Instead of an insurance company hav-ing just one, limited view of a suspicious

claims activity, the industry can now connect the dots and identify patterns of organized fraud across insurers while also maintaining a focus on data quality, privacy, and security. When insurers col-laborate like this, the effect of the data analysis is greatly improved.

how It works

Mainly, CANATICS is focused on or-ganized and premeditated fraud, which involves organized rings, organized schemes and patterns of fraudulent ac-tivity. CANATICS works so well because it provides ‘alerts’ to insurance compan-ies when patterns are detected through sophisticated, leading edge data ana-lytics. These alerts, consisting of a com-puter generated linkage report detailing the specifics of suspicious claims, will serve as the basis for investigations and not as final decisions.

prIvaCy and regulatIons

CANATICS operations (and those of its members) are designed to be compli-ant with applicable laws and regula-tions, particularly the federal ‘Personal

Information and Protection of Elec-tronic Documents Act’ (PIPEDA), and corresponding provincial legislation.

Thus, only data needed to support fraud detection through analytics will be col-lected and appropriate consent will be obtained.

Representatives for CANATICS are work-ing with regulators and federal/prov-incial privacy commissions to enhance the already-strong consent language in place through standard auto insurance applications. Moreover, the gathered in-formation will be stored at a secure data centre in Canada.

the future of CanatICs

There is very real potential for ex-panding to other provinces and growing from a representation of approximately $8.5 billion in Ontario auto insurance DWP to more than $20 billion in DWP across Canada. Let’s see what the fu-ture holds to discourage fraudsters for the benefit of the consumers and the collision repair industry. Cm

Ben Kosic

CanatICs

a powerful tool agaInst fraudthe insurance industry is constantly looking at new ways to fight nogoodnik fraudsters.

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Insurance companies fraudulent claims are now under serious scrutiny thanks to CAnAtICS.


There is a fairly wide variation in how you stay in touch with past customers and solicit busi-

ness from future ones. To begin with, engaging consumers in any type of communication or relationship can be a challenge. Vehicle insurance is a grudge purchase and collision repair is an unsought necessity. Still, with the right strategy, consumers will wel-come proactive outreach that informs and educates while providing peace of mind. As you develop your communica-tion plan be prepared for upcoming new laws, which will impact at least some of the channels you consider for getting your message out there.

what Is Casl?

CASL (Canada Anti-Spam Legisla-tion) lays out the rules and regulations for Commercial Electronic Messages (CEMs) sent by businesses both within Canada and those sent to Canada. The most critical aspect of the law deals with consent – moving from a more manage-able restriction of implied consent to expressed (or explicit) consent. More specifically, your audience must agree to receive your communications, as

opposed to be just given the option to opt-out of future ones. There are some exemptions, such as when you have an existing business relationship where the recipient has purchased a good or ser-vice within the last two years or if you are responding to a request for a quote, although ongoing follow-up expires after six months.

what Is the sCope of the law?

CASL encompasses communications in the area of emails, tagged posts on Facebook, text messages (SMS), and tweets (Twitter direct messages). As it relates to social media channels, there is less concern when the interaction is non-specific to ‘Followers’ or those who ‘Like’ your Facebook page, Instagram Account or other such platforms.

how to gaIn explICIt Consent?

Many progressive collision centres have recognized the value of having an en-gaging, informative, web presence and invested accordingly – both in the cost to develop a user-friendly environment and in the time and personnel needed to publish high value, fresh content on a

regular basis. If visitors to your website are interested in receiving information on a unique service, safety tips, acci-dent readiness, etc., they simply fill out a online form that provides their email ad-dress and registers their explicit consent to send that information or stay in touch with future updates. Your website CMS should be structured to create not only a discreet record of that individual, but the date consent was provided. This is an ideal scenario to be in full compliance with the Act.

what are the ImplICatIons of non-ComplIanCe?

There will be a grace period as the legis-lation is implemented and enforcement procedures are initiated. Penalties can be upwards of $10M for corporate viola-tions with the potential for criminal char-ges, civil charges and personal liability for company officers.

There will be a phase-in period for com-pliance. However, business owners would be well advised to investigate this issue as soon as possible. For more information, visit CASL’s website at fightspam.gc.ca. Cm

Marketing

Tim Srigley

new LegIsLatIon

are you stIll kIng of the Casl?this July, Canada’s Anti-spam law comes into effect. It will change everything you thought you knew about regulations governing outreach to your customers and prospects. time to read up and get future ready.


With some effort it will also pro-vide a better understanding of the correlation between vari-

ous activities and cost drivers in the business. This knowledge is important but if you just prepare a budget and then file it away, the tendency is to simply deal with daily issues (dare I call this firefight-ing) and move away from your longer range objectives.

regular reportIng

Take advantage of your budget by incor-porating it into your regular reporting. At the most basic level, let us consider your monthly operating statement. Most busi-nesses will present the current month and YTD actual compared to Prior Year actual. While it is useful to compare to the prior year it does not usually allow you to compare against the current year’s ex-pectation. Before providing an illustration of this, let’s discuss briefly the detail that should be on your operating statement.

varIable vs fIxed revenues

Sufficient detail is required to alert you when actual results differ from expected results. It should separate variable and fixed revenue streams. Variable revenue streams would typ-

ically include parts, paint, rust proofing and shop material on the product side and possibly metal and paint on the labour side. There may also be other examples such as towing, storage and car rental. Fixed revenue streams could include rent or sublet fees, re-bates and hazardous waste disposal fees or shop supplies calculated as a percentage of sales.

the varIable expense

The variable expense side will typically mirror the variable revenue. Therefore, in our example, it would include tech-nician labour for parts, paint and rust proofing, cost of parts, paint and sup-plies, towing and car rental. Fixed ex-penses would typically be tied to the facilities, administration and market-ing. Of course it is not always entirely clear cut. Your technician labour might be fixed, variable or a bit of both. Mar-keting is discretionary, but it is usually included as a fixed expense because management will typically decide at the beginning of a year how much they will spend to support their sales efforts. All of a facility’s expenses are usually treat-ed as fixed even though some categor-ies (such as hydro, gas and repairs) will vary with sales.

The whole premise of using the com-parison of actual to budget is to alert you to areas that require further inves-tigation. To illustrate this, assume that the cost of paint is 30 % of the paint material revenue and you have just ne-gotiated a 10 percent reduction. This translates into a 3 % increase in gross margin moving from 70 to 73 %. If the new pricing was incorporated into the budget when you compare actual to budget, if it is less than 73 % you know that further investigation is required. Did you actually receive the full price decrease negotiated or are there other problems causing a deterioration of your expected margin?

In conclusion, use a budget to identify any deviations from expectations as well as to alert you to areas requiring your attention. Cm

ManageMent

Tony Tartaglia

It’s aLL In the metrICs - Part II

usIng budgetsto monItor yourbusIness aCtIvItythe process of developing a financial budget is an excellent way of engaging the management team into planning for the future and establishing expectations.

the WhOle premIse OF usIng the COmpArIsOn OF ACtuAl tO budget Is tO Alert yOu tO AreAs thAt reQuIre Further InvestIgAtIOn.


John Morris

toP goaL

new global automakers ofCanada CommIttee foCuses on CollIsIon the new Collision Committee of the global Automakers of Canada (gAC) has recently been formed to coordinate the organization’s interests with other participants in the collision industry.

The Committee, facilitated by the GAC, will cooperate with colli-sion repairers, insurance com-

panies, educators and government. One means of engaging with collision indus-try stakeholders for the Committee will be working through the Canadian Colli-sion Industry Forum (CCIF). The CCIF’s platform for dialogue between the vari-ous players on all matters affecting the collision repair business is viewed to be important to the GAC membership but especially vehicle technology as it af-fects vehicle repair.

Formerly the Association of Internation-al Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC), the association was rebranded in May 2013 as the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC). The GAC is a national industry association representing four-teen member companies engaged in the manufacturing, importation, distribu-tion and servicing of light-duty vehicles. Together, these companies account for well over half the light-duty vehicles sold in Canada. In March 2014, GAC members’ sales represented 56.3% of total market sales, compared to 55.7% for the same market a year ago.

Collision Management spoke with David Adams, President of the GAC about the committee’s work.

CM: What is the role of the new com-mittee?

DA: Our goal is to create and continue the dialog with the other key elements of the industry. The committee meets every couple of months to exchange informa-tion and those meetings usually involve presentations from other industry stake-holders that the members might not have traditionally had a good working relation-ship with. The collision repair industry is changing so rapidly that the member really wants to be constantly engaged.

In the past, the collision industry has oper-ated in isolated silos even though their service interests coincide extensively. Our mandate is to facilitate the cooper-ation and discussion necessary to ensure that when collisions occur, consumers get their vehicles repaired quickly and to manufacturers’ specifications. This is in everyone’s interest because whether you are a manufacturer, a collision repairer, or an insurance company – we all share the same customers and deficiencies in one area reflect poorly on us all.

CM: Who is on the GAC Collision Com-mittee?

The members of the committee are the individuals within each of the 14 mem-

ber companies responsible for after-sales broadly, and for collision repair activities within service operations. Aftersales constitutes a vital compon-ent to insure that OEM brands satisfy consumers and collision is a signifi-cant component of that aspect of their enterprise.

From each manufacturer’s perspective, the customer’s entire experience is a significant factor in determining brand loyalty. While their brand objectives and operating methods differ, all aim to achieve efficiencies in collision repair. By minimizing costs and the required time to repair, manufacturers can en-hance rather than detract from the cus-tomer experience.

new teChnology makes eduCatIon vItal

CM: What is the role of the committee in education?

DA: Many of our members have cer-tified collision repair programs and provide the relevant training. As well, the committee is looking at better de-veloping its relationship with college and apprenticeship programs so that these programs can stay up to date, particularly in the area of new technol-

OEM


ogies. The goal is to ensure that edu-cational programs graduates are better equipped to deal with the materials and technologies that are emerging right now or will be shortly coming into the market at a rapid pace, as opposed to repair techniques that made sense in the ‘90s.

New technology often begins with the luxury manufacturers, most of whom are among our members, and then per-meates throughout the manufacturing landscape. Innovation in materials such as carbon fibre components as well as constant change in the world of electron-ics means that everything is moving at an unprecedented rate. Those advances need to be reflected in the curricula of education programs. However, today, much of the information comes directly through the OEMs.

The Detroit Three have been tradition-ally more integrated with the North Amer-ican repair industry but that has changed significantly in recent years. For every com-pany, the goal is the same: customer re-tention and customer satisfaction. As many of our members have implemented (or will soon be implementing) Certified Pre-Owned Programs, it is critical that both the manu-facturer and the sub-sequent purchaser of the pre-owned vehicle have confidence in any collision repair work undertaken on the Certified Pre-Owned vehicle by technicians.

It again comes to brand reputation – when a consumer purchases a CPO vehicle, they must be able to trust that the vehicle meets its promised expectations.

That requires complete competence on the shop floor to ensure that the techni-cians have the right training and the right equipment to undertake the repair and to complete the job at hand to the manufac-turer’s specifications.

sharIng InformatIon

CM: That brings up the issue of informa-tion sharing.

DA: The Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS) provides a framework for Canadian automobile manu-facturers to share their service and repair information with the automotive after-market industry, This is on a level equiva-lent to that of their authorized dealers and the GAC, as an association is part of the CASIS Task Force, along with the Can-

adian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. Together we represent all manufacturers.

The agreement signed by these two as-sociations and NATA, The National Auto-motive Trades Association, in September 2009, intended to maintain an open, fair and competitive automotive manufactur-ing, import, distribution, service and re-pair industry in Canada for the benefit of all stakeholders and consumers. Individ-ual repairers and OEMs are normally in direct contact for information.

CM: What are the Collision Committee’s longer term goals?

DA: The Committee is a work in progress, but essentially it will be work-ing with other collision profession-als to make the entire industry more streamlined and efficient. Every com-pany structures its business differently – some view the North American mar-ket as whole, while others treat Canada separately. Our committee will provide a unique Canadian portal to the colli-sion industry and work with all facets of the collision repair industry to achieve goals related to the customer satisfac-tion of our shared clientele.

A pertinent example comes from On-tario, where the government has made a commitment to consumers to reduce insurance premiums. Overall reduction of premiums can only happen if all the costs are reduced and that requires cre-ating efficiencies throughout the entire system. Only by working together with the other players can we create the cli-mate in which this can not only happen but also thrive.

We can help coordinate repair stan-dards that support CPO programs and meet consumer expectations. Vehicles are improving in quality and that means the ownership cycle is lasting longer. Owners have to be satisfied even if their vehicles are repaired during the lifetime they own them. At the end of the day, everyone is responsible to the consum-er and our goal is to improve every con-sumer’s experience. Cm

david Adams, President of Global Automakers of Canada

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The temptation is to handle it all. Yourself. But you simply can’t, no matter how skilled or capable you

are. Indeed, your enterprise cannot be limited by the energy and working cap-acity of any single individual or it will be stifled at every turn.

does ‘do nothIng’ really mean nothIng?

Can you accomplish more by doing less? Well, not exactly. What you can do is use your own leadership skills rather than your production skills to create a model in which each member of your team does the rowing while you steer the boat in the right direction. Does that mean you “Do Nothing” as the buzz book of 2012 Do Nothing! How to Stop Overmanaging and Become a Great Leader by J. Keith Murnighan suggested in its title? There is quite a bit to do and your job is to do what you need to rather than attempt to do what everyone down the line should be doing.

The fact is, you can’t perch on every-one’s shoulder or sign off on every de-tail. You need the people in the organiza-tion to understand your lead and — like it or not — trust them to get the job done right. It is not just leaders who are guilty of obsessive overwork and meddling — everyone is. The judgment you need to exercise is where and when to exert your insights and skills while pulling

back on the temptation to micromanage every crossed ‘t’ and dotted ‘i’.

The title Do Nothing is clearly designed to sell books and capture attention, but the concept has value. Imagine a situation where you can use your own time to clari-fy goals, set standards and solve problems rather than do the line work while the or-ganization you lead hums along with in-creasing productivity and success.

The likelihood is that you have risen to the next level by successfully doing the job of the people you now supervise. You became the VP by being a successful sales manager for years — now the new person who’s become sales manager reports to you. The temptation to stick a finger into every aspect of that role is huge, yet your skills are now needed further up the line. How do you let go? How do you control your need to show

off your knowledge level so the people lower on the chain can worry less about the powers that be and concentrate on being productive?

he doesn’t shoot, he sCores!

There was a time when Mario Lemieux was the best player in hockey. Today, he employs Sidney Crosby. While this is an unusual case, Lemieux gets the credit for creating and environment that allows Crosby to play the game. While only one of them is skating and scoring goals, they both are doing what needs to be done to win the Stanley Cup. When Crosby is out on the ice, bearing down for a shot on Habs’ goalie Carey Price, Lemieux is do-ing… well, nothing. Hardly!

Anyone who has ever had a good boss will tell you that boss left them alone to do their thing but was there when they were needed whether it was for support when things went wrong or praise when they went right. Their good boss was clear in their expectations, provided innovation that helped to create efficiencies and led a path that made the whole team suc-cessful. The boss didn’t come and correct typos or scrutinize individual orders but they created an atmosphere in which each individual made sure things went smooth-ly. If you were lucky, you worked under a leader like that — now it’s time to be one illuminating the way ahead. Cm

Rémy L. Rousseau

Less Is more

be shInIng InspIratIon, not the grIndIng perspIratIonsurprisingly, the leader who gets more accomplished is often the one who does less actual line work. As a leader, your role is to create better productivity from the team you lead.

viewpoint


I n support of this goal, WIN has com-mitted to driving forward the careers of young women through the organ-

ization’s annual scholarship program. With this program, WIN provides funds to assist young women in collision repair in their pursuit of educational opportunities and a chance to network with influential women in the industry.

With the number and success level of women involved in the collision repair in-dustry growing rapidly, WIN’s identifica-tion of five young women will add to this trend. Two College Tuition and Confer-ence Scholarship Awards and three High School Tuition Scholarship Awards were recently awarded to five highly deserving young women.

2014 wInners

College Student Tuition and Conference Awards were presented to students en-rolled in a post-secondary collision re-pair technology program. Winners of the 2014 college scholarships are Stephanie Baker, who will be attending WyoTech in Blairsville, PA, and Suzanna Hernandez, who will be attending Southeast Com-munity College in Lincoln, NE. Each re-cipient will receive a $1,000 scholarship to continue her education, a one-year

membership to WIN and registration fees and expenses to attend WIN’s 2014 Edu-cational Conference at Paradise Point in San Diego, CA.

The High School Tuition Scholarship Awards were presented to students enrolled in a secondary collision repair technology program who plan to con-tinue their studies at a technical school or college. Winners of the 2014 High School Tuition Scholarship Awards are Danielle Caballero from Judson High School in Converse, Texas, Megann Hobrook from the Center of Applied Technology in North Severn, Maryland and Shelby Woods from the Moberly Area Technical Center in Moberly, Mis-souri. Each of these young women will receive a $1,000 scholarship to continue post-secondary education in collision repair and a one-year WIN membership.

other benefIts

The scholarship winners will also have the opportunity to be mentored by the winners of the 2014 Most Influential Women awards. This year’s Most Influen-tial Women award winners are Frederica Carter, President of F. Carter Events, LLC (formerly Communications Manager

at AkzoNobel), Jordan Hendler, Execu-tive Director at Washington Metropolitan Autobody Association and Leanne Jef-feries, Director of Collision Programs at AIA Canada.

“We believe that we have an obligation to support young women who choose to enter our industry,” said Beverly Rook, Co-Chair of the Scholarship Commit-tee. “By offering tuition scholarships to further their education, and having them mentored by other successful women in the industry, we feel that we are giving them a head start to a successful ca-reer.”

thanks to our sponsors

This newly expanded program is made possible by the generous support of WIN sponsors and by special events including the Scholarship Walk, held annually at the WIN Educational Con-ference, and proceeds from the sales of the There’s A Place For You recruit-ment poster.

Information for the 2015 scholarship program will be available in the early fall. Students interested in applying can visit www.womensindustrynetwork.com for more information. Cm

annuaL sChoLarshIP Program

wIn drIves young Careers forwardthe Women’s Industry network (WIn) began with the goal of enhancing the role of women within the collision repair industry through education, networking and sharing of resources.

AssociAtion

Marissa Caruso


collision management-june-2014-full magazine article

Documents

insurance industry

automotive recyclers

aia canada

steve fletcher steve

director of collision

laura greening laura

voc compliant

public relations manager