NORTHBROOK, IL — The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) announced today that the newly commissioned Repairers Advisory Panel (RAP) held its first meeting in Scottsdale, AZ on July 26.
In a gathering of about 11 attendees, the first CIECA Repairers Advisory Panel met to discuss a variety of electronic commerce topics affecting them and the collision repair industry. Among the topics discussed were SCRS (Society of Collision Repair Specialists)’ “two-way communications” project, the CIECA Resource Center, incorrect expectations in the marketplace regarding what CIECA can do for repairers, and the proliferation of different Status Message systems (to report the repair status of the vehicle).
Jerry Burns of Automotive Impressions, said that “CIECA needs to communicate in (what Jerry called) ‘Shop-eze’ and less in technical language.” CIECA Board Chairman Paul Krauss of Craftsman Auto Body said that he hoped that this panel would “go a long way toward bridging the language gap between repairers and the standards developers.” Work on developing an effective method of communication with the repairers will be the topic of future RAP meetings.
In a unanimous vote, the RAP recognized the importance of addressing the proliferation of Status Messages and systems. Barry Dorn of Dorn’s Body and Paint said that “a standardized method of reporting vehicle repair status is needed.” “Without a defined standard, the industry potentially will have a similar situation that we had before the EMS was developed by CIECA,” Fred Iantorno, CIECA’s executive director, added.
Iantorno reported that CIECA’s Resource and Knowledge Center has been receiving many questions regarding the actual repair of vehicles. These types of questions were originally outside the scope of the center. Burns announced that ASA (Automotive Service Association) would provide CIECA with the answers to those questions. Dan Risley, SCRS executive director, added that SCRS (Society of Collision Repair Specialists) would also provide answers. The RAP decided to accept these offers and outlined a procedure where these repair questions would be forwarded to both ASA and SCRS with the answers posted on the Collision Industry Resource Center provided by CIECA.
“The concept of the Repairer Advisory Panel for CIECA is big. The open dialogue between all participants will prove to be a valuable tool as CIECA pushes toward a cleaner more concise manner for all parties to communicate and conduct business electronically. Our industry revolves around the exchange of information. I am excited to be a part of identifying ‘Repairer Friendly’ initiatives and results,” said Gary Wano, GW & Sons Auto Body.
After the meeting, Wano accepted the ongoing chairmanship of the Repairer Advisory Panel. The next meeting will be held Sept. 14 in San Francisco. Those repairers that would like to participate should contact Fred Iantorno at CIECA or any Panel member.
More information about CIECA and the Repairer Advisory Panel can be viewed on the CIECA web site.
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