Farzam Afshar (VeriFacts), John Bosin (I-CAR), Aaron Clark (Assured Performance), Gary Ledoux (American Honda) and Gary Wano (G.W. & Sons Auto Body) will serve as panelists in the discussion, which will seek to discover (1) what may be the most important elements for an OEM to consider when adopting a quality control program and (2) what may concern shops in working under the various OEM strategies.
With OEMs, “certification appears to be a forgone conclusion” says Michael Quinn, NASTF Collision Repair Committee member and President of uParts (California). “But I believe the question is what level of validation will exist if any at all?”
“It’s important for OEMs, and other entities, to know that the vehicles under their umbrella are being properly and safely repaired as the vehicle’s performance reflects on their brand. To that end, some require I-CAR Gold Class status, or VeriFacts VQ or Medallion status, or ASE Blue Seal as a means of doing this; thereby validating or verifying that the shop has a certain level of expertise.” explained Gary Ledoux, Assistant National Manager for Collision Parts Marketing at American Honda.
Why are OEMs introducing validation programs? What is validation? What are OEMs hoping to validate? These are some of the opening questions to set the stage for an open dialogue on this hot, collision industry topic.
“NASTF is very grateful to AASP-NJ for their invitation to host the NASTF Spring 2015 General Meeting as a prelude to their popular 38th Annual Northeast Automotive Services Show and Conference,” said Allen Pennebaker, NASTF Chair of the Board of Directors and owner of Orinda Motors (California).
The collision panel discussion is early on the agenda for the NASTF Spring 2015 General Meeting, which begins at 1pm eastern in the Meadowlands Convention Center, Secaucus, NJ. Pre-registration for the NORTHEAST 2015 Show can be found at www.aaspnjnortheast.com. While pre-registration is not required to attend the NASTF General Meeting, it is appreciated and will serve to assist in planning. Register at www.nastf.org/Spring2015RegForm. Information about NASTF General Meetings is always available at www.nastf.org/GeneralMeetings.
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. NASTF was incorporated in 2006 as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization. Additional details can be found at www.nastf.org.
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