VeriFacts Automotive recently held its annual Coaches Conference in Detroit which had the theme of “Unify, Educate and Calibrate.”
"Our coaches come in contact with nearly 5,000 technicians each and every month, so it’s critically important that we keep on the cutting edge of OEM repair procedures,” said Mark Olson, VeriFacts COO.
While in Detroit, the VeriFacts team attended the American Iron and Steel Institute’s Great Designs in Steel Conference. This provided them with the opportunity to see the upcoming changes in automobile manufacturing and the increased use of advanced high strength steels in the vehicles planned for release later this year.
General Motors hosted the VeriFacts coaches for a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Lake Orion manufacturing facility where the Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6 are made.
“This was a great way for us to see how GM welds and applies corrosion protection to their vehicles," said VeriFacts VP of Operations Mark Claypool. "This will give us unique insights into the repair process that we can share with technicians out in the field.”
Robert Hartman, GM Collision/Insurance Liaison, and Gerry Bonanni, Ford Damageability/Collision Repair Engineer, both made technical presentations on their organizations’ repair procedures. According to Olson, “People look to us to be on top of the latest in repair procedures. Having GM and Ford present at our conference and to have the opportunity to ask them questions further expands our knowledge base and will enable us to best serve our customers.”
Also rolled out during the VeriFacts Coaches Conference was the newest service VeriFacts will be offering to its clients: the coaching of estimators, much like it currently coaches technicians. After field testing this service in the first quarter of this year, this soon-to-be released service will deal specifically with helping estimators write good sheets and coaching them to a higher level.
Founded in 2002, VeriFacts Automotive LLC addresses the implementation of technical information within the collision repair industry. Committed to ensuring that collision repairers have the correct information and skills necessary to repair today’s diverse and complex vehicles, VeriFacts is recognized as one of the industry’s only on-site, hands-on coaching and quality assessment solutions available to collision repair and claims professionals. VeriFacts repair methodologies, technical competency and professional integrity position it to provide a wide array of valuable services to the collision repair, insurance and manufacturing communities.
For more information, call (800) 381-3447, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.verifactsauto.com.
