COLLISION REPAIR CONTACTED STEFANO LIESSI, TRAINING AND CURRICULUM COORDINATOR OF COLOR COMPASS UNIVERSITY, TO GAIN INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Collision Repair Magazine: How have vehicle materials changed over the last ten years and what impact does this have on repairs?
Stefano Liessi: Over the last decade, we have seen a mix of materials and applications so that no two OEMs are the same. We can attribute this to many factors: technological advances in engineering, political influence, cost factors, advances in safety research and the data that supports it.
When we consider all of these influences, we realize there is a reason for the changes in design and application of these materials. With advancements come changes in repair processes. We can no longer repair every vehicle the same as the last, or the same as we did in the past. A vehicle may use aluminum components and from here we need to investigate if that component can be repaired and if so, how? What are the steps if another vehicle has aluminum components but they are confused with steel components? Is the aluminum repairable? If so, how? What type of steel is it? Can I pull something straight or does it need to be “jiggled”? Can I use glue? And the list of factors grows like a tree with multiple branches. And that’s just scratching the surface.
CRM: What are the challenges associated with repairing newer vehicle materials such as lightweight materials and recent structural changes?
SL: The challenges are very specific to the vehicle in front of you, so age, make, model, and sometimes even sub-model will affect the process. As the use of lightweight materials and design changes become more common, the processes change in when and how we repair or replace, what fastening method is used, etc. Once you have mastered some of these processes and gotten some training in them, they are not as daunting and less challenging. However, the challenge is not just the process, it is understanding the processes and why they must be followed. In my opinion, knowing the “why” is the real challenge. Handing over the repair procedures for a modern vehicle to a technician who has been at the job for 10 or 20 years, or even an apprentice, is akin to me sitting down in an operating room with a textbook and saying, “Go for it.”
How do we get someone with a Red Seal certification, which (in Alberta) requires a total of 26 weeks of classroom study and four years of mentoring on the shop floor, to understand the cognitive thought processes of an engineer who (at this level of OE design) has a master’s degree equivalent to eight years of university study in areas of physics and mechanical applications that we have only touched on superficially? The challenge is to train engineers and get them to think and understand in unison.
CRM: What impact does the increase in technical systems in vehicles have on their repair?
SL: Precision and accuracy are paramount to the success of any repair today. There was a time when “close enough” was enough for many, not that I agree with that mindset; however, we are becoming a product of our environment. The use of “shims” was common even at the OEM level and is now obsolete in our manufacturing process. We have reached a level of skill and accuracy that requires repairs to be within vehicle tolerance; for many OEs, this is within +/-1mm. Vehicle design and manufacture is done entirely by numbers, that is why we measure, and the only way to find out if something needs to be measured is to measure it. Measuring a vehicle should be mandatory for any repair as it not only confirms that the vehicle is within specifications for advanced driver assistance systems to function properly, but also ensures that your repairs meet the requirements for OE certification.
Old school logic is no longer applicable to today’s repairs. The thought process, application of procedures and due diligence are at a whole new level and require a team of people who understand this. Applying our practical wisdom, ethics, knowledge and skills has never been more in demand than today.
