National AutoBody Research (NABR) announced it will present the Variable Rate System (VRS) at the upcoming AASP-Pennsylvania chapter meeting in Pittsburgh on June 21st. All interested Pennsylvania collision repairers are welcome to attend. The meeting will run from 7 to 9 p.m. and will be held at the Rohrich parts location in Pittsburgh.
In preparation for the upcoming launch of the VRS labor rate survey in Pennsylvania, sponsored by AASP-PA, NABR will present its labor rate survey and VRS technology, showing how the survey works and demonstrating how shops can utilize the technology to better understand true labor rate prices in their area, to determine the right economic labor rate for their individual shop and to find documentation helping them collect on more not-included procedures and operations.
“We’re excited to bring the VRS Labor Rate Survey and system to Pennsylvania,” said Jeff Walter, executive director of AASP-PA. “The survey will provide an independent, third-party, trusted source of labor rate data for the entire state. Through the VRS, repairers can run survey reports showing true, market-based labor rate ranges in any area, based on shops’ actual prices, not on an artificially defined single prevailing rate for all shops.”
Sam Valenzuela, president of NABR, added, “The VRS is ultimately about consumer care and safety. Our research revealed a strong link between consumer safety and labor rates. Collision repairers need to be paid the right rates in order to afford the training, equipment and certifications necessary to properly and safely repair today’s vehicles, which increasingly use new technology, new manufacturing and construction techniques, and advanced materials. So it’s very important for all Pennsylvania collision repairers to know the right rates for their individual shop, and the survey and Variable Rate System will go a long way to help with that.”
With the addition of Pennsylvania, the VRS labor rate survey will be active in eight of the top 10 most populated states in the country. Pennsylvania will become the 16th state to launch the survey, joining Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Utah.