This year, Motor Age gathered four industry experts (See sidebar: “What was at the table?") for the annual Service Repair Industry Roundtable. Panelists discussed challenges, opportunities, and the future of the industry through topics such as licensure, ADAS, and the importance of connecting with techs around the country—and world.
Here are some of the highlights of this year’s Motor Age Roundtable.
Responses were edited for length and clarity.
Do you think the liability and dangers of improper ADAS repairs will push licensure of service repair technicians?
Ray Fisher: I think we need to have some sort of credential, whether it’s government-related or whether it’s our own internal mechanism. There’s a lot at stake in these ADAS systems. As an industry we need to be identified as professionals. I think it’s an opportunity for us to step up and show our professionalism.
Matt Fanslow: I find this question difficult to answer because there are a lot of shops that are not addressing ADAS at all. The whole liability conversation is “we don’t know.” Nobody knows. The only thing we have to go on is the John Eagle court case on what could happen. There’s a lot of cars out there that haven’t been aimed properly, that aren’t calibrated properly driving around and that could’ve been in accidents. But I haven’t heard of anyone who’s been taken to task for it.
| Who was at the table? |
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Matt Fanslow, Diagnostic Technician and Shop Manager at Riverside Automotive Pete Meier, Motor Age Director of Training Randy Briggs, Research and Development Center Manager at CARQUEST Technical Institute Ray Fisher, Executive Director of ASA |
Pete Meier: Most of the shop owners, technicians, teachers who might be reading this, who watch our videos are on the higher end of the scale. They’re the techs who do care about doing things rights. But there are so many that are kind of living in comfortable ignorance of what the modern automobile has become. ADAS itself is not overly complicated; any decent technician is going to be able to adapt and use technology just fine. I think as far as liability goes, that’s kind of an unknown quantity that we have yet to see.
Randy Briggs: I have to agree with Matt. There is a glaring unawareness of not only how ADAS systems operate but how the services that both aftermarket and dealer shops are doing now that are not directly ADAS-related but still affect it — something as simple as alignments or changes in ride height, body repairs, brackets that aren’t put back exactly the way they should be. In our research, just about every time there’s an ADAS failure there’s a simple reason behind it — bent bracket, a networking issue, an initialization of a module that wasn’t done properly. Awareness of your current services and how they affect ADAS have to be industry-wide.
Pete: Personally, I think it is time for some type of licensure or credentials that the consumer can rely on in knowing that the repairs are going to be performed properly. With the different technologies that are in place and those on the horizon, these repairs are not as forgiving as they used to be. They have to be done correctly. You could impact the vehicle’s drivability and operational safety.
Randy: I don’t think licensure is necessarily the answer. I think certifications are, and I think they need to be driven by industry practices. In other words, I think these certifications need to come from the inside out, not the outside in.
Pete: I won’t disagree with that, Randy. I think we kind of have a foundational element with the ASE certification program. I know there’s been a lot of discussion among folks in the industry about building on that and adding some type of real-world proof of their book knowledge. I’ll admit, I can take the book test pretty well. I have my ASE Master certification, but I’m not tearing apart a 10-speed automatic transmission. If we’re going to be working on these systems, coupling that book and classroom knowledge along with a practical hands-on experience is essential. It would add much more meat to that credential.
Could you speak to the importance of connecting and collaborating with other professionals at industry events, training events, in organizations, or even online?
Randy: That is an absolute necessity in my mind. In particular, online specialized groups out there are invaluable. Whether it’s ADAS calibrations or reprogramming or just general diagnostics and repair, I don’t know how an independent technician could survive without that type of resource right now, especially when you get into the higher levels of technology that involve such a myriad of little stumbling blocks that you can rarely find in service information.
Pete: There’s also the groups like iATN and Diagnostic Network that have added to the resources and capabilities. With the challenges today and the number of system variations and technologies, no one tech is going to be able to do and know it all.
Randy: We’ve gone from “I know a guy” to “I know a hundred guys.”
Matt: Something that was very important to me as a young tech when I came into the industry was iATN—the dominant online resource for technician and managers at the time. It was a brutal wakeup call to find out just how far I had to go, because I thought I was pretty good, even as a young tech, figuring out cars that others were struggling with. I started to kind of get a big head. But iATN beat me down to realize just how much there was to learn. I’ve learned from iATN, and now you’re getting a similar experience on Facebook, Diagnostic Network. You might think you’re pretty good and then you see someone that is really good and how far you have to go. It gives you something to strive for.
Ray: One of the great things we’re seeing in relation to that is that we’re getting rid of our egos once we understand that there is a lot we don’t know and have yet to learn. I think this a great time for our industry to move forward in a professional way.
What is the biggest challenge you’re facing now that you didn’t have to face 10 or 15 years ago? Do those challenges provide any opportunities for you or techs entering the field?
Matt: One big challenge is the technology — the technology in the vehicle itself as well as the technology required to service the vehicles. Years and years ago a scan tool or two was all you needed to pretty much do everything. Now, if you’re serious about fully servicing a vehicle, you’re probably going to have a minimum of two or three aftermarket scan tools and an OEM scan tool for the cars that dominate your bays. If a shop sees the technology as an opportunity and is willing to make the investment to purchase calibration equipment, targets, OE tooling, etc. to do ADAS service, you might corner the market in your area for everyone — all the repair shops and all the collision shops. Same with the OE tools — you will start cornering a market of techs, shops giving up on cars and sending them your way. That offers a lot of opportunity.
Ray: It also brings the technicians there, too, because they start thinking, “Oh why is everything going to that specific shop?” and they want to be a part of that entity. It’s self-fulfilling. Not only are you marketing your equipment and your values as a repair facility, but eventually technicians are going to be interested too, because they see the shop owner as someone who will invest in technicians as well. It becomes full circle.
Randy: There’s a huge, great future for talented technicians that are passionate about their work and are ready to attend training, to make the investment. It’s the same discussion we’ve had for years. How do we attract these people? Is it the fault of the school counselors? Is it the fault of the parents? Is it the poor public image? Is it the fact that the industry isn’t paying technicians commensurate with their skill levels? Or is it the consumer who doesn’t want to pay that cost? It’s a vicious circle and it always has been. We’ve had these discussions for years and years and years. And they don’t sound that different than they did 10-15 years ago. The question becomes, when are we as an industry going to get out of our silos, each of the individual groups trying to find an answer and come to the table and create a solution? Somebody needs to make that first step. When that first step is made, the rest will follow.
Ray: When I’ve spoken at conferences, I’ve sometimes started with “I’m a commodity in which you can order something that can be delivered right to your doorstep.” And I go on with a few more details and then I say, “Who am I?” And everyone responds, “Amazon.” Well, actually it’s Sears Roebuck back in the 1890s; they had a catalog system. You look at where Sears is today—they lost sight of that vision. Amazon reinvented it with new technology with essentially the same model. I think that it’s time for us to put our heads together — like Randy said — and start getting our think tanks going in the right direction together, collaboratively. To add to that, the big threat to this industry is ourselves. We always see the same people online, and I’d like to see a lot more different faces — no offense to anyone on this panel, including myself. It’s going to take more than us. Together we can get this done.
Matt: I’ve said this before in other venues — blissful ignorance is a big problem. A lot of shop owners, managers, and technicians who aren’t investing in training and equipment, who aren’t looking for solutions to these problems don’t realize they’re on a race to the bottom — and they’re standing on the gas.
Randy: How many times have we heard “Well, I’ve done it this way for 20 years.” My response typically is, “It’s a good thing that cars never change.”
Pete: I used to say that the issues that are facing us all are like that old game of Pick Up Sticks in which you spread out the sticks on a table and had to pull one out without disturbing the others. You can’t do that. The issues in our industry are so intertwined and so interlinked that you can’t just address one without addressing them all. These are challenges — or similar challenges — that we’ve always faced, and we’ve always found a way to overcome. The greatest advantage to our industry is that independent mindset: I’m going to do this and I’m going to find a way to overcome it and succeed. And that’s what continues to move us forward. We’ll find the solutions; I’m not overly worried. If anything, I’m more optimistic about our industry now than I’ve ever been.
