June 8, 2011 — As high-strength steels become the norm on many modern vehicles, repairers need to stay up to speed on the best practices for fixing them.
Attendees of a recent I-CAR summit in Appleton, Wis., discussed those procedures and the training needed to make the repairs. Representatives from vehicle manufacturers, national insurance providers, collision repairers and other industry experts attended the summit.
Topics covered included methods for anchoring, measuring, straightening, complete and partial part replacement and advanced joining techniques that could become the industry standard. I-CAR plans to use the procedures discussed at the summit to create a new course.
“Developing an effective repair plan is essential to achieving a complete and safe repair and helps ensure that five star crash ratings are not compromised,” said Jason Bartanen, I-CAR technical director. “Having consistent methodologies for identifying and analyzing damage and repair methods across the industry segments will enable I-CAR to provide individuals with training that is necessary and critical for today's collision repairs.”
