Although Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are not new, there is still so much misinformation among shop owners, technicians, insurance adjusters, and drivers about these systems, particularly about how their operations can be affected by seemingly unconnected services.
For this installment of Ask the Expert, we spoke with Stewart Peregrine, Senior Executive of ADAS Sales at Autel. With his extensive industry experience, he provided valuable insight into two fundamental keys to ensure your calibration business is a success, and another to expand your revenue.
Stewart, a Master ASE Technician, has more than 30 years in the industry with a focus on solutions for increasing shop efficiency and emerging automotive technologies like diagnostics and ADAS calibration.
Shop owners express significant concern around how to identify the safety systems on a vehicle, and what specific repairs or services trigger the required calibration of these safety and convenience systems. How would you advise repair shops on how best to navigate these concerns?
Mechanical shops really need to check out the service data for their repairs. An increasing number of standard repairs and services require ADAS camera or radar calibrations. All Autel tablets identify the ADAS systems on the vehicle for the technician during the Pre-Scan, which is the first critical step for technicians. This is followed by a visual inspection of the vehicle to identify camera, radar, and lidar components that may need to be calibrated.
For collision shops, we also highly recommend incorporating an adasThink report into their workflow. The software uses a collision estimate report, such as one generated by CCC, to identify the safety systems that need service based on the individual repair plan. The adasThink report links to ALLDATA for detailed procedures and the OE position statements under what conditions the manufacturer requires these additional services.
The information it provides is a tremendous asset for collision shops for two reasons: to blueprint the ADAS portions of the repair and ensure that the work order includes the OE-required calibration, initialization, and module reset work needed.
That is powerful information and documentation. You mentioned module initialization and resets. What is the recommended route for handling these types of repairs when these capabilities are not available in-house?
Having a qualified in-house diagnostician is an ideal scenario: however, it is not required to calibrate. The first goal is to find the right candidate who can read, follow, and enact the guided step-by-step calibration instructions within the Autel software. If coding, reflashing, and reinitialization capabilities are not possible within a shop, this is where Autel’s Remote Expert platform becomes highly valuable. Remote Expert eliminates the need to wait on a mobile calibrator or bring vehicles to the dealership. Remote Expert will significantly reduce cycle times and likely increase profit.
How do you best recommend documentation of the calibrations and repairs that were performed as per OEM requirements?
Beyond the repair roadmap, a second benefit of adasThink is that the information provided supports the need for the service and repairs, documenting for insurance adjusters that the shop performed the work as required by the OE. adasThink links to ALLDATA for the OE instructions and repair and service position statements. Shops can use this exact language on their submitted invoices and append supporting documents, such as OE position statements.
Gary Machiros uses the Autel IA900 ADAS calibration system at his shop in Newbury, Massachusetts, and is also a big proponent of adasThink. He says the information on it is a perfect backup if an adjuster questions a calibration or service, often simply saying to the adjuster that he will perform the repairs that the OEM requires. It's a safety issue, and is based on fact and not opinion, pure and simple. And he's right. The adasThink report gives him OE data to back that statement up.
What's the best way for a shop to promote its calibration service to other shops that are not performing calibrations?
One effective method is visiting other collision and mechanical shops in your area to promote your calibration services. This is where a marketing flyer that lists your complete service offerings, outlines the process, and tells your story can come in handy. Offering a vehicle pickup and delivery service is another key point to consider and can be highly successful in earning more business.
A number of our customers have held "open house" events. An open house offers a real opportunity for a shop set up to perform calibrations to illustrate its capabilities and potentially take in calibration work from other shops. The idea is to show and not just tell. Well, there is no better way for your shop to show they are qualified to take on another shop's calibration work than to have them come in, see the layout and the equipment, and speak with the people performing the work.
Hands-on demonstrations are the most effective way to illustrate the blueprinting, calibration process, and insurer-ready documentation. Shops need to trust the people they sublet their work to because, ultimately, it is still their responsibility that the work is done right. You, your techs, and your shop are your best marketing assets.
For a broader understanding of the systems and technology behind ADAS and when, why, and how ADAS calibrations should be performed, we have developed an in-depth section on Autel.com that offers a ton of information to share with insurance adjusters. We have a downloadable brochure that a shop could print, email, or text to other shops, insurance companies, and vehicle owners: https://autel.com/us/wp-content/uploads/autel-adas-in-shop-marketing-materials.zip
