LAS VEGAS, Nov. 4, 2019—On Monday, Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of SCRS and Brett Bailey, chairman of SCRS, sat down with FenderBender to discuss what this year’s attendees can expect can expect in Las Vegas.
What does this week look like for SCRS?
Aaron Schulenburg: It’s going to be busy! We’ve got a lot like previous years—we’ve got general Repairer Driven Education sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We changed up the format on Monday; we added a 1 p.m. time slot, and Tuesday and Wednesday will look similar to last year. Thursday will be our OEM Technology Summit.
Brett Bailey: I view this week kind of as a reunion week. You get a chance to catch up. The technology is here at SEMA and the education series is next to none. It’s always exciting to rehash with old friends, it’s an exciting week.
You recently announced a new blueprinting optimization tool. Can you share more about that?
Bailey: It’s very exciting. I have to say, this thing started probably 15 years ago. This tool [shown here in a video] makes sure estimators across the country are able to add additional items to an estimate. We've optimized a new tool that's electronic and adapts with CCC; it will eventually work with all three estimating systems as we launch this thing. Today, it’s a tool that's electronically used in the shop that allows an estimate to be audited, shows the items to be added based on the recommended repair procedure. It allows users to go back in and add items as included operations to the repair of that vehicle.
Schulenburg: I’m so excited about this for so many reasons. One of the reasons is I believe there's technology in this tool that you haven’t seen before. When it pulls the estimate over, instead of looking at 1,000 list items, you might be looking at 30. It’s much more manageable. It allows the shop owner to customize it, they can identify the charges specific to their shop. What do we charge for labor? Materials?
For a shop owner, it helps build consistency. You can identify the items within the guide that you want. With one keystroke it will take all of those items, add it back to the estimate and put it in the proper section of the estimate. The ability to import lines back into the estimate is a big deal. It’s much more efficient than the manual process. It’s the first time that SCRS has ever developed a product, let alone develop and enter into the New Product Showcase at SEMA.
