Page 50 - Australasian Paint & Panel May-June 2021

Recalibration
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PAINT&PANEL MAY / JUNE 2021 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
WHO SHOULD BE CALIBRATING?
Terry Golledge believes that there will be a proliferation of standalone recalibration centres in the next couple of years.
TERRY GOLLEDGE OF AUTOMOTIVE
Diagnostic Sales gives his opinion on who should be undertaking the recali- bration process and the challenges for the industry. ADAS is a generational change to the auto industry and there is now a dilemma about who is qualified to repair/recalibrate these technological systems and parts.
The auto manufacturers will have us all believe that unless you get the ADAS system recalibrated after a repair at their shops the vehicle will potentially not be as safe. The insurers will have us be- lieve that only fully qualified diagnostic technicians are allowed to do this.
I am confused with both these indus- tries and their stand on recalibrating ADAS systems given they also tell us that you have to have the required space, the required level floor, the required light- ing, the required resources such as diag- nostic technicians and OEM tools etc.
If we can believe these rules then most dealerships, most collision shops, most glass shops/vans, most mechani- cal workshops are totally inadequate to accommodate them. Not to mention many of these fully qualified diagnostic technicians are not trained in the recal- ibration of ADAS systems.
There will be a proliferation of stand alone recalibration centres open over the next couple of years and I believe
these centres will be the solution for the aftermarket industry in its battles with the OEM’s. The centres I have sold equipment to all have the same blue- print including providing ample space, correct OEM processes, qualified techni- cians, equipment meeting OEM manu- facturing standards with software built to OEM specifications.
For dealerships, collision shops and glass shops to fully outfit their work- shops with the right equipment, the right space and employ the fully quali- fied technicians the cost is bordering on prohibitive so these stand alone cen- tres will provide a risk-free solution to their increasingly major problem in re- pairing vehicles.
For insurance companies it will give them an alternative to the expensive OEM model and bring with it a much reduced timeframe for work thereby increasing service levels and reducing costs.
The diagnostic system we use is TEXA and it has been manufactured to meet all of the OEM’s specifications and it has been independently tested by TUV Rhein- land proving it successfully recalibrates to the required specs. This system pro- vides a written/digital report from the ve- hicle’s computer showing that the work has been carried out, it has been success- ful and it includes the specs it met.
Given that the ADAS parts such as cam-
eras and radars are not made by the OEM but by a supplier to them then surely the specialised recalibration centres outfitted with OEM standard equipment are fully capable of recalibrating this technology?
The advent of the secure gateways built into the vehicle by the OEMs will be the major challenge to the aftermarket. How- ever it would be foolish of the OEMs to completely block any aftermarket in- volvement in the repair of their vehicles as they would be left with the enormous mountain of repairing millions of vehi- cles in this country alone with compara- tively only hundreds of resources.
It is just not viable and it would surely lead to regulatory intervention to prevent the destruction of our largest industry – small business. Not to mention consumer backlash over reduced service levels
We currently have state governments such as NSW and major insurers intro- ducing rules and laws around this new technology and in many ways they are making these rules with little discussion with our repair industry. I firmly believe the future will belong to those who first- ly take up the challenge of this new in- dustry, and secondly invest in doing it correctly with no shortcuts, and lastly have a total solution mantra.
More information: mbdiagnostics.com.au or email: erry@mbdiagnostics.com.au