Twelve automakers recently signed an agreement with the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) to establish service information standards. While much of the standards embody the practices that have been in place the last six years, binding arbitration was added to the dispute resolution process.
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“We have now met one of our major goals for both our organization and the service industry at large,” says Charlie Gorman, NASTF chairman. “We have clearly defined how NASTF will work in the future and empowered its diverse membership to solve problems. This also addresses several questions about putting teeth into the NASTF process. I feel we really turned the corner here. Getting the OEMs and aftermarket to agree is a major milestone.”
Gorman made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during the NASTF general meeting in Las Vegas in front of an audience of about 75 independent mechanical and collision repairers and college educators.
The standards consist of three parts: definitions, automotive service information standards and information request and resolution process. The definitions define what is covered and what is not covered. The standards stipulate how OEMs will ensure open accessibility. The information request and resolution process provide checks and balances, including binding arbitration if needed, to identify and assess potential information gaps.
The OEMs that signed the agreement are BMW, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. General Motors and Chrysler are working through the approval process, which includes a review by their legal departments.
Gorman said he is hopeful they will sign it also. “Nobody said, ‘No way, we aren’t signing that,’” he says.
NASTF was established in 2000 to identify, communicate and resolve gaps in the availability and accessibility of automotive service information, service training, diagnostic tools and equipment for the benefit of automotive service professionals and their customers. For more information, visit www.nastf.org.
About the Author
Bruce Adams
Bruce Adams is managing editor of Aftermarket Business World magazine and content manager for the distribution channel at UBM Advanstar. He has been an editor with UBM Advanstar Automotive Group since 2007 and formerly was managing editor of ABRN, the collision repair magazine. Bruce is a veteran journalist and communications professional who worked 10 years in corporate communications and publications at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He also worked as a senior editor at Babcox Publications and as a reporter and columnist for a daily newspaper in Northeast Ohio. He also is a former senior editor of Hotel & Motel Management Magazine.