Good Advice From Nickleback

This post has nothing to do with collision repair, but it sounds like some good advice to follow.

This is the first year since I have been teaching at Butler that I am seeing some friction between students. When I taught in Texas, dealing with friction in the classroom, gang issues, fights, and disipline was a daily thing. I am thankful that we have a friendly enviornment at Butler. However, I believe that even the smallest traces of friction should be eliminated from the friendly Butler learning environment. This is how we will excel with our learning and become the Champions in the collsion industry.

Here are a few word to the lyrics to the song "If Everyone Cared".

"If everyone cared and nobody cried, If everyone loved and nobody lied, If everyone shared and swallowed their pride." I know we do not live in a perfect world, but I think everyone including myself could work on improving in these areas, we'd all be better off.

Starting Out Second Semester in Auto Tech

Starting Out Second Semester
by Michaelene Lucas
1/21/10

Forget review....dive right in! In engine performance and suspension & steering we went over chapters 53 (EP) & 83 (ST).

There are several projects going down in the lab. Auto tech instructor Mike had me replacing an alternator and we had to repair an air filter box that was broke as well. The clasps holding it on had broken off so we drilled holes in it to attach the spring clasp to hold it together.

Next, week we'll delve deeper into tires and computers and their aspects. Good, bad and filthy fun!

Advisory Meeting - A Few Notes To Share With Students

Auto & Collision Repair Advisory Committee


NATEF Review
The Automotive and Collision Repair held their advisory meeting last night 1/22/10. At this meeting the program had to conduct a NATEF review for the program. This is a review that may be requested by NATEF at a 2 1/2 year's during the accreditation period. Every five years the automotive and collision repair programs are required to have a full on-site evaluation to keep the NATEF accreditation.

Water Borne
We also discussed water borne paint. A few of the members expressed their opinion about water borne and gave it a very good rating. They said that they would hate to go back to solvent now that they have been using water borne. They mentioned how the paint lays down better, the metallic lays even, blends are easier to perform, and the color matches seems to be better. From this discussion, I believe the the transition from solvent based paint to water borne paint is going to be a smooth.

Industry Trends
We discussed how shops were performing certain tasks to determine if they way they are doing it aligns with the way we are teaching the students in the collision repair program. Most of it aligned, but there were a few suggestions that we may try at the school. The way we prepare a panel for blend was a little different, as we used a finer grit sand paper. They also described a new way of masking jambs that is working better for them. I excited to try this method on our next job. This is what helps programs like ours excel. It will also better prepare the students with the current trends in the industry. We really appreciate the help of our advisory board, as they are a vital part of a successful program.

Student Motivation
The subject of student motivation, or the lack of it was addressed. Shops are having more problems with unmotivated employees that show up late to work. This is a big problem. Employees must get to work on time and stay off their cell phones texting. Leave the phones in the car before you enter the work place. This was a few of the comments addressing work ethics. We put a lot of effort in the automotive and collision repair programs to instill the importance of good work ethics to the students. However, some students get it and some do not. Therefore, I challenge every student to be at school on time every single day at Butler. Do not settle for meritocracy. Be the champion of the industry that you are going into. And remember to keep your cell phones put away. Good work ethics is what will put you at the top at your work place. As we might say at Butler...If You're Going To Be A Bear, Be A Grizzly Bear! In other words, if you're going to do something, do your absolute best.

Meguiar's Demonstrate How To Remove Swirl Marks at SEMA 2009

I took a short video clip at SEMA 2009 of how to remove swirl marks. Swirls appear in paint surfaces from improper washing and/or drying. On dark colors it is almost impossible to eliminate swirls after time, but thanks to products from companies like Meguiar's and 3M, you can produce a swirl free auto paint finish.

I-CAR Offers Scholarships For Students in Collision Repair

I-CAR has several scholarships for students to apply for. If you are a student in our collision repair program or you are going to be enrolling, take a few minutes to explore the scholarships offered. The scholarship requires that the collision repair school be NATEF certified or a member of the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance. Butler Community College fully qualifies, as we are both NATEF certified and a member of the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance. We also use CCC estimating system, which is the qualification for one of the scholarships.

To determine is you qualify for one of the scholarships please visit http://www.ed-foundation.org/ foundation.org and click on the 2010 scholarship PDF file.

"The applicant criteria for each scholarship are included within the application. All entries must be received by the I-CAR Education Foundation by February 24, 2010 to be eligible. Winners will be chosen in April 2010 and notified by mail and phone. For more information, please contact the I-CAR Education Foundation at 888.722.3787, Ext. 282 or melissa.marscin@ed-foundation.org"

Finding The Cheapest Repair Shop and Negotiate Every Dime.

I have been researching auto repair estimates as I prepare for our class about to start. I've noticed a lot of articles pop up advising people how to negotiate with repair shops. I am not sure who these people are, but their advice it not very good in my opinion. I've read articles informing readers not to trust the repair shops and do not tell them anything. Anything you tell them is going to trap the customer into buying more un-needed repairs. I've also read that the customer needs to question the shop about every repair item to determine if the repair really needs to made or if it can wait. The articles go on to say to wait on every repair until absolutely needed. It goes on and on about how shady repair shops are and how you can not trust them.

Here is my input. If this was your life....let's say a heart bypass, how would you handle this? Would you not tell the doctor anything in fear that you may be charged more? Or would you tell him or her everything in hopes that they find the problem and properly diagnose you so you can recover from the operation safely and healthy? I'm thinking that you want to recover from the operation. We need to think of our vehicle the same way. We need to communicate with the repair shop so they have all of the necessary information to properly repair your vehicle. You may be thinking "why is he comparing my life to a car? We all know the life of a human is more important than a car." That is my point, according to the US Federal Government National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as stated on caraccidents.com in 2005 there were nearly 6,440,000 auto accidents with a financial cost of more than 230 billion dollars. More importantly, 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people were killed. That averages 115 people who die per day, which is one every 13 minutes. My point; I don't think that many people die going to the doctor everyday. Not only does an unsafe vehicle put the driver at risk, you're also putting other people at risk too. No one else is going to die because you picked the cheapest surgeon or did not give them enough information to make a proper diagnosis.

Therefore, I suggest selecting shops that have a good reputation and allow them to do what they do best, which is repair your car. This is my perspective of of vehicle repairs and I encourage you not to listen to these folks out there trying to give advice about shady repair shops. You need to see us for the professionals that we are.....literally, your life is in our hands.

Good-Bye 2009 and Hello 2010 - A New Semester At Butler

It was great to have a break, but the holidays are over and it is time to focus on the new semester here at the Collision Repair Program at Butler. The first year students are going to start with one of my favorite subjects, which is auto estimating. The second year student are going to continue their paint gun and spraying techniques. It is going to be a very busy semester for the 2nd year students. We already have enough live worked lined up for the entire semester. We will continue writing estimate so they can gain the experience of estimate writing, but I do not see how we could possibly fit another job in at this point. We have some really good jobs lined up. Dodge Challenger with door skins to be replace, Dodge Pick-Up with front end damage, S-10 with front end damage, Mustang, Ford Pick-up.....it's going to be busy. I see this every year. We get busy and before we know it, my class will be walking across the graduation stage.

With that said, enjoy the rest of the break, as when you all return, we're going to hit the floor running. See you all on January 19, 2010.