Page 14 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine September-October 2022

14
News • In Focus
PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022
OEM METHODS
teething issues since the scheme launch on 1 July which are being progressively resolved. We are also in the process of migrating the customer support func- tions from the USA to an Australian based team. In the interim, we have significantly ramped up resources to get through the backlog of applications and support enquires.
“I should also add that AASRA is not replacing data aggregators such as Ezi- Methods and Thatcham who will con- tinue to play a critical role in cataloging and disseminating general repair and service information to all make and model repairers in a cost-effective man- ner. Rather, AASRA has been estab- lished to provide an efficient way to ac- cess car manufacturer data sharing sites which now offer increased functionality
WHO PAYS?
THANKS TO THE 150 RESPONDENTS TO OUR ‘REPAIR METHODS – WHO PAYS?’ SURVEY HAS PROVEN TO BE A COMPLEX ISSUE.THE RESULTS ARE ON PAGE 16.
O
N 1 JULY THIS YEAR THE MOTOR
Vehicle Information Repair Scheme went live causing some consternation in the col- lision repair industry, especially for those used to getting their repair in- formation from dealerships for free – if
they bought parts from them.
Since 1 July dealerships are not sup-
posed to give out that information any more – although clearly some are at this time according to our survey. Meanwhile, the delivery mechanism for OEM repair methods — the website for the Australia Automotive Service and Repair Authority (AASRA) — has had some teething problems and many have complained that it is not easy to sign up.
AAAA and MTAA hosted a joint webinar to explain some of the issues that they are facing and why
the sign-up process is so
rigorous. If you watch it,
it will run you through
the process (www.aaaa. com.au/events-awards/
webinars/). It is their re-
sponsibility to ensure that
people accessing these meth-
ods are in fact involved in vehi-
cle servicing and repair. There can also be delays as the organisation car- rying out these checks is in the US and are subject to time difference delays, al- though an Australian solution is being set up.
Stuart Charity who is a director of AASRA as well as CEO of AAAA said: “The process to develop the infrastruc- ture and systems to securely and safely share technical information and link
over 30 different car brands with 40,000 repair and service businesses has been a massive undertaking and was re- quired to be delivered in less than six months which has resulted in some