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Body Shop Business / September 1, 2010
DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) has partnered with Marshall Auto Body, headquartered in Waukesha, Wis. The agreement between the parties covers supplying Spies Hecker brand refinish products and related supplies and extends to the sharing of Marshall Auto Body's pull-based lean production operating model that the shop put in place nearly five years ago.
Marshall Auto Body, started in 1978, operates an insurance- and consumer-friendly collision repair center. They have plans to continue to expand rapidly in the coming years. Marshall Auto Body is a member of the growing Star-Link Repair Network, made up exclusively of repairers committed to lean thinking.
"We are very excited by DuPont Performance Coatings' commitment to offering an innovative approach to lean transformation in our industry," said Aaron Marshall, shop operations manager. "Since switching our operations nearly five years ago, we have seen significant reductions in cycle time and supplement frequency, increase in profitability and a huge boost in employee morale."
"DuPont Performance Coatings chose to partner with Marshall Auto Body due to the results achieved using their pull-based, lean production operating model," said Steve Trapp, manager – Collision Services Development.
DPC also has added Aaron Marshall as an executive facilitator for DuPont's lean thinking courses and a design team member to DPC's lean implementation strategy team.
Since signing the partnership agreement, DPC and Marshall Auto Body have been piloting educational and consultative approaches to bring a lean transformation approach to DPC collision repair customers. DuPont and Marshall plan to roll out jointly developed services in the future.
http://bodyshopbusiness.com/Article/79045/dupont_performance_coatings_partners_with_marshall_auto_body_for_future_lean_curriculum_development.aspx
Collision Week / September 1, 2010
The Colorado Division of Insurance fined IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company (better known as Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance Company) $71,100 and ordered the company to change their business practices following an investigation into repair shop steering, which violates Colorado law.
"Consumers need to be able to compare repair rates, quality and service," said Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison. "While the repair shops contracted with Ameriprise may have done good work, the anti-steering law ensures that consumers, not insurance carriers, are in the driver's seat to decide where they want repairs done."
The Division launched an investigation in January following a complaint received on January 12, 2010. Records show that between September of 2006 and January of 2010, more than 700 Colorado consumers participated in the Ameriprise incentive program, for which they received a discount of $100 off the collision deductible amount for using a repair shop that was contracted with the insurance company as a direct repair facility.
Under Colorado law, reducing the deductible is considered an inducement by incentive to utilize a repair facility, a violation of Colorado insurance law 10-4-120 and 10-3-1104(1)(u).
Ameriprise will pay a monetary penalty of $71,100 ($100 for each of the 711 consumers who was steered to a preferred repair shop using the program), which will go into Colorado's general fund. By law, the company must also pay a 10 percent surcharge ($7,100) to a consumer outreach and education fund.
Prior to her appointment to the post of Insurance Commissioner, Morrison served as Mayor of Manitou Springs, CO. She also served as chair of the Division of Insurance's volunteer Consumer Council and was a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The Final Agency Order against IDS Property Casualty Company can be downloaded from the Colorado Division of Insurance website at: http://www.dora.state.co.us/insurance/enforcement/2010/cinvIDSPropertyCasualtyStipFao082410.pdf
http://www.collisionweek.com/cw/news/2010/0901-colo.asp
Body Shop Business / September 1, 2010
Last week, American Honda released position statements on Honda and Acura Genuine Parts, which state that failing to repair Honda and Acura vehicles with OEM parts could compromise vehicle safety and performance, along with warranties. As a result, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) announced that it has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to Honda’s position statements.
AAIA claims that Honda stating "failure to use Honda replacement parts will cause consumers to lose warranty coverage on their vehicle" is a violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
In its complaint to the FTC, AAIA claims that Honda’s statements are a direct attempt to market replacement parts for Honda under the guise of an unsubstantiated warning to consumers regarding the use of non-OEM parts.
“We request that FTC take immediate action to require that Honda withdraw the statement and issue a correction that use of non-Honda parts will not cause an owner to violate their warranty,” said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO.
In a statement issued on Aug. 20 by American Honda for both its Honda and Acura vehicle lines, the company said, “American Honda will not be responsible for any subsequent repair costs associated with vehicle or part failures caused by the use of parts other than Honda Genuine parts purchased from an authorized U.S. Honda dealer.”
“We contend that Honda’s statements are in violation of prohibitions in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-FTC Improvement Act (Public Law 93-637) from conditioning a consumer warranty on the use of non-original equipment parts and are misleading to consumers regarding their rights and choices under the law,” Schmatz said. “To our knowledge, Honda has provided no specific evidence to support their claim that there are problems with use of non-Honda aftermarket parts for their vehicles or that use of such parts creates warranty-related issues for their customers.”
Honda’s position statements are reprinted below in their entirety:
HONDA GENUINE PARTS
The original parts used on a Honda automobile are designed and built to work together within their respective systems to provide optimum performance, safety and system integrity.
American Honda recommends that all maintenance and repairs are performed using Honda recommended procedures and Honda Genuine parts, which are designated for use in the specific Honda vehicle.
Other parts – whether aftermarket, counterfeit or gray market – are not recommended. The quality, performance and safety of these parts and whether they are compatible with a particular Honda vehicle are unknown. Only by purchasing Honda Genuine parts through an authorized US Honda dealer can you be assured of the replacement part’s authenticity, reliability and compatibility.
American Honda’s new vehicle warranty and replacement parts warranty do not apply to any part which is not purchased from an authorized US Honda dealer. American Honda will not be responsible for any subsequent repair costs associated with vehicle or part failures caused by the use of parts other than Honda Genuine parts purchased from an authorized US Honda dealer.
ACURA GENUINE PARTS
The original parts used on an Acura automobile are designed and built to work together within their respective systems to provide optimum performance, safety and system integrity.
American Honda recommends that all maintenance and repairs are performed using Acura recommended procedures and Acura Genuine parts, which are designated for use in the specific Acura vehicle.
Other parts – whether aftermarket, counterfeit or gray market – are not recommended. The quality, performance and safety of these parts and whether they are compatible with a particular Acura vehicle are unknown. Only by purchasing Acura Genuine parts through an authorized US Acura dealer can you be assured of the replacement part’s authenticity, reliability and compatibility.
American Honda’s new vehicle warranty and replacement parts warranty do not apply to any part which is not purchased from an authorized US Acura dealer. American Honda will not be responsible for any subsequent repair costs associated with vehicle or part failures caused by the use of parts other than Acura Genuine parts purchased from an authorized US Acura dealer.
http://bodyshopbusiness.com/Article/79039/aaia_issues_complaint_to_ftc_in_defense_of_aftermarket_parts.aspx
Collision Week / September 1, 2010
Aftermarket parts manufacturer Diamond Standard announced that every one of its 281 full assembly step bumper systems and multi-purpose vehicle applications are now certified to be compliant to the Federal Standard - VESC (Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission) V-5 Towability, a requirement of the new NSF Automotive Parts Certification Program as well as federal regulation.
The company published documentation of the testing done by MGA Research Corporation, an established OEM testing facility.
"To our knowledge, we are the only manufacturer of alternative parts publishing our parts' test data," said Mike O'Neal, President of Diamond Standard Parts, LLC. The documentation of the test results and assembly system performance to the federal standard can be accessed by visiting the Diamond Standard web site www.diamondstandardparts.com.
The VESC regulation requires that each manufacturer offering a step bumper assembly incorporating a towing capability feature must be responsible for and must pass the Federal Standard for towability. Meeting the standard requires that each hitch is capable of withstanding the tow forces applied without causing permanent deformation of the ball platform.
"We patently believe the individual part criteria established by OEM in its original parts created the standard to which all bumper structural parts must be held and certified by a credible and accredited independent test facility," stated O'Neal.
Certification testing of Diamond Standard full assembly step bumper systems' performance was conducted by MGA Research Corporation based in Burlington, Wisconsin. MGA is an industry accepted, accredited independent test facility whose clients include virtually every OE manufacturer, the aerospace industry, IIHS and the U.S. military.
http://www.collisionweek.com/cw/news/2010/0901-diam.asp
Auto Body Repair News / September 1, 2010
Kyle Claypool from Optima Worldwide Limited, a website development and design firm specializing in collision repair industry websites, has been named the SkillsUSA technical expert for the web design competition of the WorldSkills Championships. Kyle will also serve as a member of the WorldSkills International Web Design Contest Technical Committee and will be a judge at the WorldSkills Championships in London late next year.
In addition to helping conduct and judge the international competition, Claypool will be responsible for training the USA competitor Brett Patterson, 20, from Lansing, TN who was selected to represent the United States after competing and winning the SkillsUSA Championship. Patterson will join 19 other competitors on the SkillsUSA 2011 World Team who will be competing in contests like auto body, automotive refinishing, auto service technology, culinary arts, precision machining, welding, cosmetology and more.
An honor to be selected to be on the web design contest technical committee for the WorldSkills Championships,” Claypool remarked. “I’m looking forward to working with Brett in the months to come to prepare him for the rigors of this 4-day competition where he’ll face the best in the world as well as the challenges of language and cultural differences that are unique to WorldSkills.”
Kyle Claypool is the second of his family to participate in WorldSkills. Mark Claypool, Kyle’s father, has been SkillsUSA’s World Team Leader since 1997. “I was really pleased when SkillsUSA announced that Kyle was selected to be the USA’s technical expert for the web design competition,” Mark Claypool said. “Leading our nation’s very best is one of the most rewarding things I do and now Kyle has the opportunity to experience that as well.
For more information, go to www.skillsusa.org.
http://abrn.search-autoparts.com/abrn/Industry+News/Kyle-Claypool-named-SkillsUSA-technical-expert/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/685343?contextCategoryId=498
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