The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) announced the creation of a new, optional ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) career path for collision repair professionals. The creation of the ADAS technician role has been in development since 2019, involving the critical inputs across all segments of the industry, I-CAR says.
“This new optional ADAS technician role represents an incredible win for advancing the collision repair industry amid today’s ‘tsunami’ of highly complex vehicle repairs and is calibrated with I-CAR’s ADAS Technical Leadership Strategic Response,” explained John Van Alstyne, I-CAR CEO & president.
“As with all of I-CAR’s educational programming, we followed an intentionally robust and thorough R&D process, gathering as much input as possible from all facets of the industry – from the shop floor/technicians to our OEM and Insurance networks, to I-CAR’s expansive bench of technical Subject Matter Experts as well as our Product Development Advisory Council members – which is why we couldn’t be prouder of the output of these essential and incredibly collaborative efforts,” Van Alstyne added.
“The new role is a direct response to accelerating industry needs to one of the fastest-growing and most technically demanding repair considerations inside the nations’ repair shops today – and that’s ADAS repairs,” said Jeff Peevy, I-CAR vice president, technical products, programs & services.
“The need for ADAS-specific technical skills and knowledge cannot be overstated and aligns with the explosive growth of highly sophisticated ADAS-equipped vehicles on the roads today, only deepening the drive for collision repair professionals to be fully prepared to perform complete, safe and quality repairs on behalf of the consumer,” Peevy added.
While currently an optional role for achieving Gold Class recognition, individuals who proceed with this career path will contribute to accurate system diagnostics, repairs, and calibrations in addition to potentially creating a new revenue stream for shops who can capture more value add by repairing ADAS-equipped vehicles, Peevy explained. For a technician, it is a career path that leads to Platinum status upon completion of ProLevel 3.
Requirements for the optional ADAS role will include I-CAR’s new, to-be-released capstone; a two-day ADAS Hands-On Skills Development (HOSD) course that is nearing final stages of development. This instructor-led course will be released in 2022 and will be taught by I-CAR experts at the new Chicago Technical Center, which is dedicated to the latest technologies impacting collision repair, I-CAR says.
I-CAR is offering two ADAS course bundles at a discounted rate. Each course bundle includes three online, ADAS-focused courses designed to prepare collision repair professionals working with ADAS-equipped vehicles. For ADAS courses, terms and definitions, news and more, visit i-car.com/adas
