The next CIECA Webinar will be held on Thursday, February 6 at 11 am PST/1 pm CST/2 pm EST: “Collision Industry Update: What You Need to Know. The one-hour live broadcast will feature Greg Horn, chief industry relations officer at PartsTrader.

During the free webinar, Horn will explore how recent changes and future technology trends will impact the collision industry. All collision industry stakeholders, including CIECA members and non-members, are invited to attend the presentation.

Topics will include:

·How the proposed tariffs could impact the auto industry

·Latest news on Stellantis and the UAW

·An update on collision parts inflation

·An overview of parts delivery days by part type

As the chief industry relations officer at PartsTrader, Horn hosts the PartsTrader Industry Trends webinar and is a conference speaker. A true ‘car guy,’has owned over 62 cars. He started in the automotive field, working in VW and Porsche repair shops in high school.

Horn began his auto claims career at Safeco and later held senior leadership positions at The Hartford, GMAC Insurance, National Grange Mutual and Leader National Transport Insurance Companies. He was also the vice president of industry relations and data analytics for Mitchell International, where he published Mitchell’s Industry Trends Report. During his career,has served on the I-CAR education foundation, the General Motors Safety Council and the GM Fixed Operations Advisory Committee. He was a trustee for the Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) for two years. 

Thank you to the following publications for sharing this announcement:

Aftermarket Matters

Autobody News

BodyShop Business

BodyShop News International

Collision Repair Magazine

Collision Week

United Recyclers Group

CIECA announced that its next CIECA Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, June 29 at 11 am PT/1 pm CT/2 pm ET: “The Future Digital Landscape.” The one-hour webinar will feature Chuck Olsen, Sr. VP Operations & Automotive Technology at AirPro Diagnostics.

During the live broadcast, Olsen will discuss new technologies the collision industry is currently learning about, what stakeholders can expect to see in the near and extended future and how it may impact businesses.

 

Olsen recommends that the industry embrace “blue-sky thinking.”

 

“It’s time to share what may seem impossible and create visions that drive innovations to move the impossible to reality,” he said. “The best initiatives that drive progression of new technologies come from our crazy ideas and science fiction when someone finally says, “Why not,” and pursues them! 

 

Olsen looks forward to discussing the possibilities across multiple developing verticles within the collision industry that are regularly discussed during CIECA Commitees, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Calibration, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Emerging Technologies, OEM Repair Procedures and more.

 

All industry segments, including CIECA members and non-members, are invited to attend the June 29 webinar. Olsen encourages participants to ask questions throughout the presentation and share their predictions and ideas.

 

“How will the future digital landscape impact the collision industry as we know it today?” asked Olsen. “Frankly, we are not sure yet, but we will figure it out together!”

 

With 43 years of experience in automotive technologies and the collision repair industry, Olsen continuously fosters his passion for technology in the automotive industry through his current role at AirPro Diagnostics. As a co-inventor of the Remote Vehicle Programming System and Method, he continues to take every opportunity to expand and share knowledge about automotive technology products, methods and applications of new technologies. The goal is to get knowledge and technology resources into the hands of service providers and repairers to allow safe, effective, reliable and affordable repairs for customers.

 

Olsen continues to maintain ASE Master and Advanced Technician Certifications and currently serves on several industry committees related to emerging technologies within the mobility space and technical training. These include CIECA, the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), Adjunct instructor at Florida State College Jacksonville, Standards of Automotive Engineering (SAE), National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) and the Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI), which he has served three years on the organization’s board of directors.

Attendees can earn Automotive Management Institute (AMi) credit toward an industry-recognized professional designation and specialty degree by attending this webinar.

Thank you to the following publications for sharing this announcement: 

Autobody News

CIECA has announced its speakers for the annual CONNEX 2023 Conference. The event is being held in Bloomington, IL, September 12-13, 2023. In addition to a line-up of insightful thought leaders, there will be networking opportunities, a vehicle gifting ceremony by the National Auto Body Council® (NABC) as part of its NABC Recycled Rides® program, CIECA’s open annual meeting and a tour of electric vehicle company Rivian’s manufacturing facility.

This year’s theme is "Connected Car, Connected Industry" and will be emceed by industry veteran Bill Garoutte. All industry stakeholders, including CIECA members and non-members, are invited to attend.

The agenda will include OEM representatives from Audi, Lucid Motors and Rivian, as well as a panel discussion focused on digital claims, with individuals from Allstate, Kemper Insurance and State Farm. Information will also be shared about the following topics and how they will impact the collision industry and CIECA standards in the future: artificial intelligence (AI), augmented/virtual reality, electric vehicles (EVs), information privacy and security, OEM repair procedures, smart cities, and telematics.

“As vehicle technology increases, there is a growing interconnection between vehicles, the cities and streets they drive on, first responders, manufacturers, repairers, insurers and every other segment of the automotive ecosystem,” said Paul Barry, CIECA’s executive director. “As an industry, we need to be prepared to repair and service vehicles that are quickly becoming nodes on a complex network. It is imperative that we understand what changes are coming and how they will affect the industry and CIECA Standards in the future.”

“Rivian is excited to invite the CONNEX attendees to our manufacturing facility for an exclusive tour of the plant,” said Frank Phillips, Rivian’s sr. manager, Certified Collision Network. “The Rivian collision team is extremely proud to be a partner with the Rivian team in Normal, IL, to bring this to the attendees this year!”

As a CIECA member, Phillips said the Rivian Certified Collision Network (RCCN) recognizes the value of the CIECA organization, and welcomes attending members to enjoy the tour. “We believe what we are doing in the area of OEM Collision Programs is certainly an industry disruption, and we are proud to continue our effort in establishing an industry-leading RCCN,” he said. 

“CIECA CONNEX is your opportunity to network with industry stakeholders and expand your knowledge of the issues impacting our industry,” said CIECA Chair Greg Best, senior business analyst, California Causalty. “There will be informative presentations and panel discussions about emerging technologies, and you will also gain insight into how CIECA is positioning itself to keep us all connected in our ever-evolving marketplace—now and into the future.” 

Speakers include:

EVs & Rivian Tour

Frank Phillips, Rivian

Augmented/Virtual Reality

Jake Rodenroth, Lucid Motors

Industry Updates

Sean Carey, SCG Management Consultants; Marty Ellingsworth, J.D. Power;

and Tanya Sweetland, OEConnection

Telematics:

Cornelius Young, Cambridge Mobile Telematics

&

Michael Neuber & Chad Witt, State Farm

Connected Vehicles/Smart Cities

Damon Aldrich, Enterprise Holdings; and Brandon Branham, Peachtree Corners/Curiosity Lab

Learning Technologies & Redefining Skillsets

Jeff Peevy, I-CAR

Digital Claims Insurance Panel

Moderator Bill Brower, Solera

Craig Edmonds, Allstate; Jaclyn Byers, State Farm; and Scott Kohl, Kemper

Information Privacy & Security Panel:

Moderator Brandon Laur, CCi Global Technologies

Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Amy Beard; Sumit Chauhan, CerebrumX;

and Pete Tagliapietra, DataTouch

OEM Repair Procedures Panel

Moderator Mark Allen, Audi

Chuck Olsen, AirPro Diagnostics; Frank Terlep, Opus IVS; and and Chris Chesney, Repairify

CAPIS Technical Updates

Paul Barry, CIECA; Jeff Schroder, Car-Part.com;

and Pete Sheehan, Mountaineer Business Technology

This year’s Gold sponsors include: CarPartPro.com, IAA, Spanesiand OEConnection. Silver sponsors include Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), Axalta, Caliber Collision, Comsearch, Enterprise Holdings, LKQ Corp., Mitchell, an Enlyte company, Nexysis and United Recyclers Group (URG).

"We're honored to be part of the CIECA Conference again this year and share the inspiring presentation of NABC Recycled Rides vehicles," said Debby Robinson, executive director of the National Auto Body Council (NABC). "We are thankful to all of our NABC members who make these vehicle presentations possible, many of whom are CIECA members, and look forward to having the CIECA attendees join us for this event."

Conference attendees are eligible to receive credit toward a professional designation from the Automotive Management Institute (AMi).

Thank you to the following publications for sharing this announcement: 

Autobody News

Claims Pages

During the one-hour live broadcast, Rimas and Dominato will discuss trends in the development and adoption of Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), the effects these systems have on the diagnostic and calibration business model, as well as the impact of missing the ADAS calibration step on the automotive industry. 

“ADAS calibrations are an often-missed risk mitigation opportunity that impacts not only collision repair businesses, but also insurance providers, manufacturers and other suppliers,” said Rimas. “Despite the forward advancement of ADAS capabilities, our research finds that it’s going to become harder, not easier, to perform calibrations unless certain steps and standard processes are adopted.”

Topics will include: 

• ADAS growth trends impacting the collision industry
• OEM ADAS developments impacting diagnostics & calibrations 
• The role ADAS plays in shaping the diagnostics & calibrations workflow
• The impact of missed ADAS calibrations on the automotive industry
• How the industry can adapt to the ADAS future 

All industry segments, including CIECA members and non-members, are invited to attend. Following the presentation, there will be a Q&A session.

Tony Rimas is president of Repairify, a family of brands that he said empower the automotive repair industry to master today’s modern, data-intensive vehicles. Rimas has over 20 years of leadership experience in the automotive industry beginning in San Antonio, Texas, with Red McCombs’ McCombs Enterprise, where he ran a top 50 dealer group as the director of operations. During the last two decades, he has gained extensive experience with automotive venture capital, which ultimately led him to asTech, a Repairify company, in 2019.

Nick Dominato, senior vice president of product for Repairify, grew up in the collision repair industry. His parents owned a regional paint jobber, and shortly after finishing school, he said he was introduced to an exciting new company in the industry that was doing OEM diagnostics. That company was asTech, a Repairify company. “I haven’t looked back since,” he said. In 2020, Nick founded adasThink, which he said is a first-of-its-kind software company that was intended to help collision repairers identify onboard ADAS systems and required calibrations as well as provide OEM documentation. The company was acquired by Repairify in 2021.

Thank you to the following publications for sharing this announcement: 

ABRN
Aftermarket Matters

Auto Body Professionals Club

Autobody News 

BodyShop Business 

BodyShop News 

Claims Pages 

Collision Repair Magazine

Fender Bender

The National Collision Repairer