The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) has announced the formation of a new Standards Development Committee (SDC) focused on calibration. All industry stakeholders, including OEMs and non-CIECA members, are invited to attend. The meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. EST/Noon CST starting Jan. 29.
“During CIECA’s recent semi-annual Scanning Committee review meeting, we recognized the need in the industry to have labor codes associated with calibration,” said Charley Quirt, project manager for CIECA. “It was a natural fit to set up a committee to work on these codes.”
Darrell Amberson, president of operations for LaMettry’s Collision in Minnesota, will chair the new committee. Amberson led the CIECA Scanning Committee from its inception and recently received a CIECA award for Outstanding Leadership during the second annual Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Collision Industry Red Carpet Awards Breakfast held Oct. 31, 2018 at SEMA.
“There are many situations during a vehicle repair when ADAS systems will need to be calibrated based on OEM specifications,” said Amberson. “During a pre- or post-scan, we might also find the need to program replacement parts to match the vehicle.”
Following CIECA’s focus on the transmission of data for the collision repair industry, Amberson said the committee will work in conjunction with CIECA’s Scan Committee and initially develop the needed labor codes for an estimate to capture the labor charge for the calibration.
“The goal is to come up with a good, thorough set of standards so calibration and other ADAS information can be efficiently and successfully transmitted among all industry entities,” he said.
Amberson encourages all industry stakeholders to attend the Calibration Committee meetings.
“With the increasing vehicle complexity, we are faced with new technology every day,” said Amberson. “Performing calibrations will be a requirement to perform a proper and safe repair, and the frequency of doing so will continue to increase. This is of immense safety relevance, and we need input from the entire industry.”
This includes OEMs that are currently setting the requirements and providing training.
“We are very reliant on the OEMs as to how this should be done to ensure a proper repair,” said Amberson. “We can’t do it on our own. The more input we can get from them, the better.”
CIECA has 18 standards development committees that focus on creating standards to address industry needs. These include PMP (parts and materials), RP&I (recycled parts and inventory), VDI (vehicle damage and imaging), SCAN and architecture.
For more information on CIECA or joining one of the committees, visit cieca.com.
