May 14, 2013—George Avery, chairman of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), has appointed several new individuals to oversee the organization’s Standards Committee in a final effort to research possible solutions for the development of industry repair standards before the committee is permanently shut down in November.
Michael Quinn, senior vice president of business development for uParts Inc. and past CIC chairman, has been named chairman of the committee. Mike LaVasseur, president and chief operating officer of Keenan Auto Body, and Paul Krauss, president and CEO of Craftsman Autobody, have been named vice chairs of the committee. Brett Bailey, owner of A&B CARSTAR, will also play a key role on the committee.
"The Standards Committee members have worked hard over the past few years and I don't want that good work to go to waste. I would like to thank those who worked hard to get us this far and encourage anyone who has a passion for the subject to join the committee,” Avery said. “Having past CIC chair Michael Quinn step in as committee chair, as well as Mike LaVasseur and Paul Krauss as vice chairs, is exciting. They bring the repairer's perspective and overall understanding of all stakeholders in the auto body repair industry."
Avery said key issues that the Standards Committee will research throughout the rest of 2013 include examining shop equipment and capabilities requirements, OEM repair procedures and recommendations, and possible facility inspection and verification processes.
The Standards Committee will make a report on shop equipment and capabilities requirements, and will clarify issues surrounding OEM repair procedures during the next CIC meeting, which is scheduled for July 23-24 at the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel in Boston.
The committee will finalize its standards work this fall. It will present findings on the research it has completed and suggest possible repair standards solutions for the future during CIC’s November meeting in Las Vegas.
"After November, the committee's work will conclude," Avery said. "We're not going to saw sawdust any more with the topic because as the CIC Mission states 'the forum [communicates] findings and possible solutions, and when it comes up to that point it stops."
