BCC students recently produced a video demonstrating how to use the 3M Mixing System Body Filler Gun. This was a student led assignment and video, which was uploaded to YouTube. All students are required to prepare a classroom presentation with visuals, such as a PowerPoint and a lab demonstration on varies tools and techniques. We video all demonstrations so that we can critique them in class together, but adding it to YouTube is optional. I encourage the students to add the videos to YouTube, but it is not a requirement. However, I comment the students that choose to go above and beyond by educating other people about what we do.
The 3M video was uploaded to YouTube and to our surprise Jason Scharton, 3M Global Marketing Manager and the Collision Hub gave us a kudos. 3M also asked for our mailing address so they could send us some new filler and glaze to try in our 3M Dynamic Mixing System. I would like to thank 3M for all they do for our program and for the entire collision repair industry.
Our Territory 3M Rep, Bob Rech, provides respirator fit test each year for the students and provides training to our students with their new 3M products. We use many 3M products. Everything from sandpaper to polishes.
I would like to thank 3M, Collision Hub, and the Butler students for their support and efforts and for helping produce the Champions of the Collision Repair Industry.
This site is designed to offer information to the Auto Body Repair Industry and help determine if a career as a professional Collision Repair Technician may be a fit for you.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
3M Dynamic Mixing Body Filler Gun Demonstration
BCC Collision Repair students demonstrate how to use the 3M Dynamic Mixing System. One small critique that I have as an instructor is the zig zag motion when applying the filler. I understand that it works better to apply the additional filler in a single straight pass. However, I commend the students for researching the 3m Mixing System, giving a classroom PowerPoint presentation and producing the video shown below.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter – The Game Plan
Wichita ASA Collision Repair Chapter
Two Butler Community College Collision Repair students, Brandyn Hart and Patrick Sampoll, and I attended the Automotive Service Association (ASA) MOKAN (Missouri and Kansas) Collision Repair chapter meeting in Wichita, Kansas Tuesday night 2/16/10. ASA is devoted to the automotive and collision repair industries, helping train and support the industries. All business leaders in the collision repair industry are welcome and encouraged to join ASA and attend the monthly meeting.
Earning Rebate Money To Use OEM Parts
Brad Shelton, Chapter President, opened the meeting explaining how the GM rebate program is providing him an attractive rebate check for using OEM parts. With minimal paperwork there are two ways to get rebates for using these programs. I don't know about you, but you can pay me extra to use OEM parts all day long. They also discussed that many of the OEM suppliers will match the aftermarket price on many parts. One member said, "an insurance company just generated and estimate on a 2008 vehicle using all aftermarket parts. Fortunately, he was able to convert two-thirds of the parts to OEM due to this price matching method." Would using OEM parts instead of aftermarket parts and getting rewarded with rebates interest you? Well, Brad is not going to hold back, he is going to tell us exactly how to get paid using OEM parts at our next meeting on March 16, 2010. Be sure to attend this meeting to learn how.
Who Knows It All?
This is the point that Dennis made at the meeting. He stressed the importance of attending these meetings to learn from each other. By having the different speakers come in and by collaborating with each other is how we can all excel in our businesses. I fully agree with Dennis Allison. I certainly know that I do not know it all and if someone thinks they do; I believe that they are mistaking. Those are the people that are going to keep doing what they've been doing and getting what they've been getting. Maybe they have good results, but there is always room for improvement and being an ASA member is where it all starts. Working together to reach a common goal is what will produce the optimal results.
HHHHHH Compliance
All body shops should have filed their initial notification with the EPA or their state identifying the shops compliance status. However, many shops have not filed or may not be certain what all of this means for their business. To help clear up many of the questions and help shop owners understand what all they must do, we're looking to have a speaker for our April meeting to address all of the questions. There are a lot of issues heading towards body shop owners and if you do not stay in front of it all, you will be trailing behind trying to catch up and possibly be fined penalties.
Get Involved
We encourage all business leaders in the collision repair industry to get involved in our Wichita ASA Collision Repair Chapter. This is a way for your opinions to be heard, ideas to be shared, new trends in the industry, and much more. It also helps me and our Butler students to understand what all is happening in the industry, the opportunity to network with business owners and what to expect in the industry. This is a win/win for everyone.
For More Information About How You Can Get Involved With ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter You May Contact:
Chapter President
Brad Shelton, Shelton Collision Repair
(316) 788-1528 / brad@sheltoncollision.com
Bob Smith, Collision Division Coordinator
(816) 519-9335 / bob.smith@asamokan.org
Sheri Hamilton, ASA MoKan Executive Director
(816) 781-5801 / sheri@asamokan.org
Two Butler Community College Collision Repair students, Brandyn Hart and Patrick Sampoll, and I attended the Automotive Service Association (ASA) MOKAN (Missouri and Kansas) Collision Repair chapter meeting in Wichita, Kansas Tuesday night 2/16/10. ASA is devoted to the automotive and collision repair industries, helping train and support the industries. All business leaders in the collision repair industry are welcome and encouraged to join ASA and attend the monthly meeting.
Earning Rebate Money To Use OEM Parts
Brad Shelton, Chapter President, opened the meeting explaining how the GM rebate program is providing him an attractive rebate check for using OEM parts. With minimal paperwork there are two ways to get rebates for using these programs. I don't know about you, but you can pay me extra to use OEM parts all day long. They also discussed that many of the OEM suppliers will match the aftermarket price on many parts. One member said, "an insurance company just generated and estimate on a 2008 vehicle using all aftermarket parts. Fortunately, he was able to convert two-thirds of the parts to OEM due to this price matching method." Would using OEM parts instead of aftermarket parts and getting rewarded with rebates interest you? Well, Brad is not going to hold back, he is going to tell us exactly how to get paid using OEM parts at our next meeting on March 16, 2010. Be sure to attend this meeting to learn how.
Who Knows It All?
This is the point that Dennis made at the meeting. He stressed the importance of attending these meetings to learn from each other. By having the different speakers come in and by collaborating with each other is how we can all excel in our businesses. I fully agree with Dennis Allison. I certainly know that I do not know it all and if someone thinks they do; I believe that they are mistaking. Those are the people that are going to keep doing what they've been doing and getting what they've been getting. Maybe they have good results, but there is always room for improvement and being an ASA member is where it all starts. Working together to reach a common goal is what will produce the optimal results.
HHHHHH Compliance
All body shops should have filed their initial notification with the EPA or their state identifying the shops compliance status. However, many shops have not filed or may not be certain what all of this means for their business. To help clear up many of the questions and help shop owners understand what all they must do, we're looking to have a speaker for our April meeting to address all of the questions. There are a lot of issues heading towards body shop owners and if you do not stay in front of it all, you will be trailing behind trying to catch up and possibly be fined penalties.
Get Involved
We encourage all business leaders in the collision repair industry to get involved in our Wichita ASA Collision Repair Chapter. This is a way for your opinions to be heard, ideas to be shared, new trends in the industry, and much more. It also helps me and our Butler students to understand what all is happening in the industry, the opportunity to network with business owners and what to expect in the industry. This is a win/win for everyone.
For More Information About How You Can Get Involved With ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter You May Contact:
Chapter President
Brad Shelton, Shelton Collision Repair
(316) 788-1528 / brad@sheltoncollision.com
Bob Smith, Collision Division Coordinator
(816) 519-9335 / bob.smith@asamokan.org
Sheri Hamilton, ASA MoKan Executive Director
(816) 781-5801 / sheri@asamokan.org
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Switching To Water Borne Paint - The Transition To Green
College classes were canceled today at Butler Community College due to a snow storm. However, training continues for the collision repair program. Well, for the instructor, not the students.
Our advisory board members recommended that we teach our students how to spray water borne at our last meeting. Therefore, today I traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to learn more about water borne paint at the PPG training center. After learning more about the benefits that water borne paint offers, I agree with your advisory board; water borne will benefit the students and the environment to make the switch. Therefore, I spoke with Steven Johnson, the PPG territory manager, and discussed the necessary steps it will take to switch to water borne. It may take a little time, but Butler is on board of making the switch, which will help Butler be a more environmentally friendly college.
Butler is offering a class for other instructors in the state of Kansas to discuss the water borne transition in April. We'll give you more details about the class and about water borne paint so check back.
Since we're talking about going green, did you see the green police commercial during Super Bowl 2010? If not, here it is below.
Our advisory board members recommended that we teach our students how to spray water borne at our last meeting. Therefore, today I traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to learn more about water borne paint at the PPG training center. After learning more about the benefits that water borne paint offers, I agree with your advisory board; water borne will benefit the students and the environment to make the switch. Therefore, I spoke with Steven Johnson, the PPG territory manager, and discussed the necessary steps it will take to switch to water borne. It may take a little time, but Butler is on board of making the switch, which will help Butler be a more environmentally friendly college.
Butler is offering a class for other instructors in the state of Kansas to discuss the water borne transition in April. We'll give you more details about the class and about water borne paint so check back.
Since we're talking about going green, did you see the green police commercial during Super Bowl 2010? If not, here it is below.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Adding Not Included Operations To Your Auto Estimates
First Year Students
The first year students are currently learning how to write auto repair estimates. One of the things we are focusing on is not-included items. The reason this is important is because many estimators in the industry are missing a lot of the not-included items. After researching and asking the industry for feedback from different websites like collision hub, I decided to focus more on the not-included items this year.
Second Year Students
The second year students are performing a lot of live work this semester. They need to understand the basics thoroughly this semester; after this semester they will be out in the industry. We are currently working on a Dodge Charger, which needs two door skins and and some bodywork. This is a great job, as they will do a lot of door skin in the industry. However, as we mentioned in class, many shops do not like to skin doors. This is because skinning a door skin does not seem to pay well. This actually aligns with what were doing in our first year class, which is looking for ways to get paid for everything we do.
For example, the estimating guide gives 6.0 hours to skin the door on the Charger. The CCC Pathways database state the included operations are:
INCLUDED:
• Adhesive application if required (all types)
• Applique
• Belt molding
• Caulk / seam sealer
• Cutting & welding as necessary
• Door R&I
• Flutter material application if required
• Grind, fill and smooth welded seams (up to 150 grit sandpaper)
• Inside handles & bezels
• Lock and cylinder assembly (if necessary)
• Outside door handle
• Trim panel R&I
• Water shield
• Weatherstrips (if attached to door)
That is quite a bit to do for 6.0 hours of time. However, there are a lot of additional operations that you must do as well. If you just point and click to skin the door, you will be leaving much of the necessary operation off of the estimate. Let's take a look at the non-included operations listed in the CCC Pathways database.
NOT INCLUDED:
• Back glass wiper or washer
• Body side moldings
• Clean up broken glass
• Emblems & nameplates
• Glass
• Hinge
• Lock cylinder recoding
• Mirror
• Moldings
• Passive restraint system
• Power lock option
• Power window option
• Reinforcement bar
• Straightening of door frame
• Stripe tape, decals or overlays
You also need to remember when you're generating auto repair estimates that the time given in the estimating guides are for new undamaged parts. If you are dealing with rusted or corroded bolts, or straightening damages parts to get to the blots, you will need to add additional time. An estimator needs to check the not included operations list for every part they replace. This will help pay the technician for everything they must do to repair the vehicles back to its pre-accidental condition.
The first year students are currently learning how to write auto repair estimates. One of the things we are focusing on is not-included items. The reason this is important is because many estimators in the industry are missing a lot of the not-included items. After researching and asking the industry for feedback from different websites like collision hub, I decided to focus more on the not-included items this year.
Second Year Students
The second year students are performing a lot of live work this semester. They need to understand the basics thoroughly this semester; after this semester they will be out in the industry. We are currently working on a Dodge Charger, which needs two door skins and and some bodywork. This is a great job, as they will do a lot of door skin in the industry. However, as we mentioned in class, many shops do not like to skin doors. This is because skinning a door skin does not seem to pay well. This actually aligns with what were doing in our first year class, which is looking for ways to get paid for everything we do.
For example, the estimating guide gives 6.0 hours to skin the door on the Charger. The CCC Pathways database state the included operations are:
INCLUDED:
• Adhesive application if required (all types)
• Applique
• Belt molding
• Caulk / seam sealer
• Cutting & welding as necessary
• Door R&I
• Flutter material application if required
• Grind, fill and smooth welded seams (up to 150 grit sandpaper)
• Inside handles & bezels
• Lock and cylinder assembly (if necessary)
• Outside door handle
• Trim panel R&I
• Water shield
• Weatherstrips (if attached to door)
That is quite a bit to do for 6.0 hours of time. However, there are a lot of additional operations that you must do as well. If you just point and click to skin the door, you will be leaving much of the necessary operation off of the estimate. Let's take a look at the non-included operations listed in the CCC Pathways database.
NOT INCLUDED:
• Back glass wiper or washer
• Body side moldings
• Clean up broken glass
• Emblems & nameplates
• Glass
• Hinge
• Lock cylinder recoding
• Mirror
• Moldings
• Passive restraint system
• Power lock option
• Power window option
• Reinforcement bar
• Straightening of door frame
• Stripe tape, decals or overlays
You also need to remember when you're generating auto repair estimates that the time given in the estimating guides are for new undamaged parts. If you are dealing with rusted or corroded bolts, or straightening damages parts to get to the blots, you will need to add additional time. An estimator needs to check the not included operations list for every part they replace. This will help pay the technician for everything they must do to repair the vehicles back to its pre-accidental condition.
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