The ABCs of ADAS

Depending on their role, most FenderBender readers are familiar with advanced driver assistance systems and their increasing need for calibration. But systems continue to evolve. New details continue to emerge, such as recent testing showing that with time and mileage, they can gradually become uncalibrated.

Technical education and the industry’s understanding of ADAS continues to grow. Although your more technically minded technicians or repair planners may be experts, how do you train the rest of your staff? And how do you educate your customer or an insurance company employee about how these systems work? The Collision Career Institute has developed an online course that breaks ADAS down to its essence.

“What's so important is creating the understanding and awareness what ADAS is, how important it is, that people understand it and address it properly,” says Dan Dutra, a collision repair industry veteran who admits it’s been difficult to slow down since he “semi-retired” after selling the MSO he co-owned in Hawaii, Sigs Collision Centers, in 2021.

The genesis of the ADAS Essentials Awareness course

The ADAS Essentials Awareness course was an outgrowth of a need at PACE to educate collision repair shop owners and operators about ADAS and make them aware of the calibration processes PACE uses in a simple-to-understand format. Although it’s designed to be simple for novices, even those with a firm grasp of ADAS can learn from it, such as this author did about sensor fusion characteristics.

“Anybody who touches ADAS, I think, would learn and gain benefit from it,” Dutra says. “But one of the big things is for an estimator, what I've seen estimators do is even if they understand a little bit on ADAS, they don't understand enough to push back on an insurer when the insurer is pushing back on them.”

The 2-1/2-hour course uses the Canvas online learning platform, so students can learn at their own pace. Its interactive lessons offer engaging visuals, real-world examples, and situational learning checks to appeal to the novice learner, but also to those who may have a grasp on most aspects of ADAS but could use a refresher.

The CCI course empowers shop personnel when they’re challenged by an insurer about why a calibration operation is needed, Dutra says. With a surface-level knowledge of ADAS operation, the estimator/repair planner may not understand why certain ADAS calibration operations are necessary.

“We've created the training so that it gives you such a solid foundation, without having to get too technical, that you can exude that kind of confidence that you can at least engage in a conversation so you can tell the insurer, ‘No, wait a minute. That’s not true, and here's why we need to do this.”

The learning activities are branched to allow the student to practice making calibration decisions to get immediate feedback. Quizzes at the end of each of the five modules check learning progress, followed by a final exam.

Videos and slides dive into each sensor type to help explain how they interact as a system, and after each module, there is a discussion tab that includes a case study where course-takers can offer their insight and methodology

There are even downloadable tools, such as an interview guide for ADAS calibration providers and a quick checklist for choosing the right provider if you’re not doing all ADAS calibration in-house.