New England Automotive Report October 2014

www.grecopublishing.com

AUTAUT MM TIVETIVEN E WN E W E N G L A N DE N G L A N D

Serving The new englAnd COlliSiOn And MeChAniCAl repAir indUSTry

October 2014U.S.A. $5.95

MASSACHUSETTS

BUILDING THE SUCCESS OF THE AUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY

NEAR_Oct14_1-64.qxp_NEAR1014 10/1/14 11:18 PM

2 October 2014 New England Automotive Report


New England Automotive Report October 2014 5

DEPARTMENTS7 | Greco Publishing Announces Hiring of Managing Editor Jacquelyn Bauman

VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE8 | Where Do We Go From Here?by Molly Brodeur

IN THE AREA

16 | Fun-Filled MidState BBQ Raises Thousands for Auto Education

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT18 | Enterprise Rent-A-Car Provides Industry Leadership & Key AASP/MA Sponsorships

MARK MY WORDS20 | Good Customer Service? What’s That?by Mark Giammalvo

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE24 | Has the ADALB Ever Read the OpenMeeting Law?by James A. Castleman, Esq.

180BIZ FEATURE49 | The Power of Focusby Rick White

CONTENTS

10 | A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR11 | CAR STANDARDS NOTICE12-13 | AASP/MA ANNUAL CASINO NIGHT NOTICE

19 | AASP/MA SUSTAINING SPONSORS61 | AASP/MA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION62 | INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

October 2014 • Volume 12, No. 10

ALSO THIS ISSUE

28

40

FEATURES 28 | The 5S Method to Lean Collision Center Implementation by Judy Lynch

34 | FRUSTRATION & LITIGATION: The InsuranceIndustry Gets Served by Joel Gausten

40 | PERSEVERANCE PAYS: AASP/MA Thrives atStatewide Meeting by Joel Gausten




STAFF

PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc.244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202, Nutley, NJ 07110 Corporate: (973) 667-6922 / FAX: (973) 235-1963

www.grecopublishing.com

AASP/MA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEPRESIDENTPaul Hendricks

VICE PRESIDENTMolly Brodeur

SECRETARYGary Cloutier

ACTING TREASURERMolly Brodeur

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTRick Starbard

AASP/MA STATEWIDE DIRECTORSCOLLISION DIVISION DIRECTORAdam Ioakim

ASSOCIATE DIVISION DIRECTORDon Cushing

AASP/MA CHAPTER DIRECTORSN/E CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORAlex Falzone

S/E CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORKevin Gallerani

S/E CHAPTER MECHANICAL DIRECTORMichael Penacho

MIDSTATE CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORTom Ricci

WESTERN CHAPTER COLLISION DIRECTORPeter Langone

WESTERN CHAPTER MECHANICAL DIRECTOREd Nalewanski

PUBLISHERThomas Greco ([email protected])

DIRECTOR OF SALESAlicia Figurelli ([email protected])

EDITORJoel Gausten ([email protected])

ART DIRECTORLea Velocci ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITORJacquelyn Bauman ([email protected])

PRODUCTION Sofia Cabrera ([email protected])

WWW.AASPMA.ORG

AASP/MA EXECUTIVE DIRECTORJillian M. Zywien

12 Post Office Square, 6th Floor • Boston, MA 02109

phone: (617) 574-0741 Fax: (617) 695-0173

Email: [email protected]

MASSACHUSETTS


New England Automotive Report is published monthly by TGP, Inc., 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202 Nutley, NJ 07110. Distributed free to qualified recipients; $48 to all others. Additional copies of New Eng-land Automotive Report are available at $5 per copy. Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission of the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearingin this magazine are not necessarily representations of TGP Inc. or of AASP/MA. Copyright © 2014 by Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. Images: Cover ©www.thinkstockphoto.com/Digital Vision,www.thinkstockphoto.com/Pixsooz; pg. 5, 34: www.thinkstockphoto.com/Oksana Kostyushko; pg. 17: www.thinkstockphoto.com/ThinkStock Photos.

Thomas Greco, President ofThomas Greco Publishing Inc.,publishers of New Jersey Auto-

motive, New England Automotive

Report, Hammer & Dolly, AASP-

MN News and Wisconsin Auto-

motive News has announced thehiring of Jacquelyn Bauman asthe company’s new ManagingEditor.

Bauman will be taking overfor Alicia Figurelli, who waspromoted to Vice President/

Director of Sales of the companythis past August.

A 2013 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University,Bauman will oversee editorial in all Greco Publishingpublications and will also actively participate in the man-agement of the NORTHEAST® Automotive ServicesTrade Show.

“We are extremely excited to have Jacquelyn becomea part of the TGP staff,” Greco says. “Her backgroundand skills are a perfect fit for our company. We have agreat team in place and are looking forward to continuingour role as one of the country’s top automotive repairpublishers and trade show management companies.”

Jacquelyn Bauman can be contacted at: ph: 973-667-6922e: [email protected]

Jacquelyn Bauman

Save the Dates forNORTHEAST® 2015!MARCH 20, 21, 22WWW.AASPNJNORTHEAST.COM

Proudly Presented by

greco publishing Announceshiring of Managing editorJacquelyn Bauman



VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

where dO we gO FrOM here?The following message may come off a little harsh, and

I’m OK with that. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but ifthose reading my message are fired up by what I’m aboutto say - or better yet, are inspired to help me do somethingabout the following issue - then I’ve succeeded in commu-nicating to our membership this month. I speak to you thismonth from a place of frustration, from a place of wantingto do the right thing and, frankly, from a place of not quiteknowing what our next step should be.

As you will read on page 16, our 2014 MidState Chap-ter BBQ on September 5 was a great success. We experi-enced a huge outpouring of support from several shops inthe area, and after a night of prizes, fun, great food (cour-tesy of Firefly’s) and the generous support of our vendorsponsors, AASP/MA raised $5,000 for the association’s toolgrant partnership with the Collision Repair EducationFoundation (CREF). What’s unfortunate is that, while theevent was organized, promoted and created in order tohelp vocational schools and repair students, not one schoolwas in attendance at this year’s BBQ. And it was not for lackof trying on AASP/MA’s part. We invited schools fromacross the state, offering four free BBQ tickets to two in-structors and two students from each school. Our intentwas to let these schools and students into our process andenjoy the event alongside association members. We eveninvited the administrators from the schools. However,

despite emails, faxes and personal phone calls, we receivednot only zero attendance, but zero feedback as well.

The BBQ was a success and all who attended had agreat time, but where do we go from here? How can wecontinue to promote an event that’s supposed to be “for thekids” when it doesn’t seem like the kids want any part ofit? How can we continue to foster an era of mutual commu-nication and understanding between the industry and thevocational school system when we can’t even get them toreturn a phone call? Even the presence of a couple of stu-dents or teachers would have made a huge difference inhelping to illustrate what the event is really all about…iffor no one else, to our sponsors, who offer us their supportand generous contributions year after year.

AASP/MA had what I thought was a successful round-table discussion meeting with several local vocationalschool instructors back in April. There, we agreed that amindset of proactive, interactive and open communicationwas essential in promoting the goals of all parties involved.It’s only a few short months later, and I feel like thisattempt at interaction is becoming more and more one-sided. Even the presentation of our 2014 tool awardsshowed disengagement - of the five schools that were se-lected to receive cash for their classrooms, two didn’t evenshow up to collect their prize. I honestly don’t get it.

As I make plans to come on as AASP/MA President in



MASSACHUSETTS


November, a major part of my missionis going to be figuring out a way forthe collision repair industry to onceand for all have a meaningful, mutu-ally beneficial connection with ourschools. How exactly we will makethat vision into a reality remains to beseen.

The average age of Massachusettscollision repairers in 2014 is over 50,and it’s critical that we are attractingand retaining viable new faces asmore and more industry membersbegin to leave the field. The difficultylies not only in properly illustratingthat fact to the future technicians, butalso in getting instructors and admin-istrators to take the same initiativethat we are trying to in placing thesekids. I should note that as I was send-ing this message off to NEAR staff, Iwas fortunate to have a lengthy dis-cussion with Ken Stukonis, an instruc-tor from Assabet Valley TechnicalHigh School. While I am excited andhopeful to report that we have beguna meaningful dialogue in addressingthe issues presented in this message,and that Ken has expressed a commit-ment to making sure AASP/MA’sgrant money is being appropriatedcorrectly, it’s not enough. Don’t get mewrong; the engagement of one instruc-tor is terrific, and more than whatwe’ve had lately for sure. And I defi-nitely appreciate Ken reaching out.But this should be an ongoing, wide-spread discussion happening with allof our vocational instructors. Hope-fully, my next message to you willshowcase more involvement as wemove forward.

I welcome readers’ comments,feedback or suggestions on how wecan better bridge the communicationgap between the schools and our in-dustry. Together, hopefully we can ad-dress this disconnect and reignite thefocus on promoting the collision re-pair industry as a great place to work.

AASP/MA Vice PresidentMolly Brodeur is the

Chief Operating Officer ofAl Brodeur’s Auto Body in

Marlborough, MA. She can bereached at (508) 485-1082 or

[email protected].


Dear Members, Over the past year, AASP/MA,

under the direction of the Board, hasdelivered one particularly significantimprovement to the CommonwealthAutomobile Reinsurers (CAR) stan-dards. Additionally, we have seen realtraction with some of our legislativeand regulatory initiatives, createdbetter educational seminars and

programs, expanded our communica-tion and information sharing with ourallies and educated our new partners.We have positioned ourselves as amajor voice within the issues affectingour members.

As you are aware, over the lastyear we have been working with CARon an interim change to their Perform-ance Standards. It brings me great

pride to announce that after months ofnegotiations and overcoming severalapproval processes within CAR andthe Division of Insurance, our lan-guage changes were finally approvedon September 4. Please find the fullnotice regarding on the approvedchanges on page 11 of this issue. Iwould like to thank the LegislativeCommittee and my colleagues atLynch Associates for their leadershipand persistence in getting this done.

If you have been following our re-ports on the ADALB meetings, youmay also know we have filed com-plaints against the licensed GEICO ap-praisers operating drive-in claimcenters in body shops, which is unlaw-ful in Massachusetts. Following thelast ADALB meeting’s executive ses-sion, Chairman Cox suggested that theBoard needed more time to review ourcomplaints. Regardless of the decisionof the ADALB, we are moving for-ward with our complaint againstGEICO with both the Division of In-surance and the Attorney General re-garding their own areas ofenforcement. The next ADALB meet-ing, where we expect our complaintsto be discussed, was slated at presstime to be held on September 23 at9:30am. Members are encouraged towatch the videos on the members’only section of our website.

Many members have recently con-tacted us in regards to the strict en-forcement of the laws and regulationsrelative to the removal of vehicle in-spection stickers. In response to ourmembers’ requests, we have drafted a


A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AASp/MA negotiations Take hold

AASP/MA Executive DirectorJillian Zywien has been a

senior account executive atLynch Associates for over six

years. She can be reached at(617) 574-0741 or via email at

[email protected].

continued on pg. 55



DEVAL L. PATRICK GREGORY BIALECKI GOVERNOR SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BARBARA ANTHONY UNDERSECRETARY JOSEPH G. MURPHY COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE

Proposed Amendments to Performance Standards for the Handling and Payment of Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance Claims

by Assigned Risk Companies and to Performance Standards for the Handling and Payment of Commercial Motor Vehicle Insurance Claims by Servicing Carriers

Docket No. C2014-01 _____________________________________________________________________________

Order

Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers (“CAR”), established pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 175, §113H to administer the residual market for motor vehicle insurance, is required by statute to prepare performance standards for the handling and payment of motor vehicle insurance claims. It then submits those standards to the Commissioner of Insurance (“Commissioner”) who, after a public hearing, may approve or modify them. Since 2007, CAR has prepared separate performance standards for commercial and for private passenger motor vehicle claims. By letter dated June 26, 2014, CAR requested the Commissioner’s approval of proposed amendments to the performance standards for private passenger motor vehicle insurance claims and for commercial claims that the Governing Committee had approved on June 18, 2014.

On July 2, 2014, the Commissioner issued a notice scheduling a hearing on August 7, 2014 to afford interested persons an opportunity to provide oral and written comments regarding the proposed amendments to the performance standards.

One section of each set of performance standards addresses auto physical damage and property damage liability claims. Subsection 4 of that section relates to labor rates and times. The proposed revision consolidates paragraphs a and c of subsection 4 into a single paragraph a, and eliminates paragraph b. Instead of language requiring carriers to have a plan designed to control labor costs, the proposed amendment requires them to have a plan designed to seek the most competitive labor rates and times and to determine whether labor, repair and replacement times are reasonable and consistent with industry-recognized sources.

At the August 7, 2014 hearing, Daniel Judson, Esq., President of CAR, appeared on its behalf. No other person submitted written commentary or made a statement at the hearing. Mr. Judson explained that the proposed amendments responded to concerns that the current language requiring carriers to “resist labor rate increases” and “control labor costs” is no longer relevant in an era of managed competition. The amendment recognizes that cost control in this market is achieved through competition among repair shops and that industry-recognized sources provide data points for determining whether labor, repair and replacement times are reasonable.

After due consideration, the Performance Standards for the Handling and Payment of Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance Claims by Assigned Risk Companies and for the Handling and Payment of Commercial Claims by Servicing Carriers approved by the CAR Governing Committee on June 18, 2014 are hereby approved. September 4, 2014 ______________________ Jean F. Farrington Presiding Officer

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation

DIVISION OF INSURANCE 1000 Washington Street, Suite 810 • Boston, MA 02118-6200

(617) 521-7794 • FAX (617) 521-7475 TTY/TDD (617) 521-7490 http://www.mass.gov/doi



On September 5, more than 150 members of theAASP/MA community gathered for the MidState Chapter’sannual BBQ at the Hudson Elks in Hudson. Helped along byfantastic late-summer weather and a bevy of great prizes, themuch-anticipated event raised $5,000 for the AASP/MA ToolGrant in partnership with the Collision Repair EducationFoundation.

Early in the evening, the family-friendly party includeda special presentation by Animal Adventures, who wowedthe kids with guests both furry and scaly. Later, all of the at-tendees reveled in unforgettable food (courtesy of Firefly’s)and camaraderie while taking in great tunes by DJ/emceeTony Nesbitt.

Fun-Filled MidState BBQ Raises Thousands for Auto Education

MASSACHUSETTS


IN THE AREA


AASP/MA AND THEMIDSTATE CHAPTER

THANKS THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS/DONORS FOR

THEIR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS TOTHE FESTIVITIES:

Venue Sponsor: Long Automotive Dinner and Dessert Sponsors: Bald Hill, Long Automotive, Balise Children’s Meal Sponsor: Imperial Cars Children’s EntertainmentSponsor: Marlborough Nissan �Children’s Raffle Sponsor: FinishMaster� Live Auction

Donor: Wagner Motors General Raffle Sponsor: AASP/MA Western Chapter Grand PrizeRaffle Sponsors: Imperial Cars, Bernardi, J & R Auto Body Supply, Wellesley Volkswagen, Linders Auto Parts General Raffle Sponsors: Boston Bumper,

Sherwin-Williams,�Hertz, NAPA Hudson, NAPA Marlborough, BASF, Don Kennett Paint Supply, Worcester Sharks Direct Grant Donors: CPRAX Marketing, Relco Products



SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

As part of the largest car rental company in the world, theEnterprise Rent-A-Car brand always looks for opportunities tostrengthen longstanding business partnerships as well as to un-derscore the importance of industry leadership and integrity.

To that end, Enterprise not only supports the annualAASP/MA Golf Outing, but now they are also sponsoring the2014 AASP/MA Casino Night – scheduled for November 15 atGillette Stadium in Foxboro.

“We are extremely excited to join our colleagues andfriends in the collision repair industry at this special event,”says Greg Rusnak, regional vice president for Enterprise inBoston. “It is truly an honor for us, and we look forward tohelping make this year’s Casino Night the most successful oneyet.”

With more than 5,500 airport and neighborhood offices lo-cated within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population, theEnterprise Rent-A-Car brand is able to provide replacementrentals to customers of collision repair centers all around thecountry. In fact, there are more than 100 Enterprise Rent-A-Carlocations in neighborhoods and airports in Massachusettsalone.

Rusnak notes that Enterprise’s strong relationship withAASP/MA reflects the company’s neighborhood-network her-itage and their collaborative approach to working with colli-sion repair centers.

“It’s no secret that Enterprise established the home-city carrental business model more than 55 years ago,” he said. “Butmany people don’t realize what kind of behind-the-scenes ef-forts have gone into making our grassroots network such a sus-tainable success in thousands of communities.”

For example, in 1999, Enterprise Rent-A-Car developed theAutomated Rental Management System (ARMS) in responseto feedback received from focus groups and the collision repairindustry. Along the way, Enterprise continued to invest sub-stantial resources, initiative and intellectual capital – and in

2007, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent andtrademark1 for ARMS.

Then, five years ago, Enterprise began sharing this infor-mation – at no cost – with collision repair centers in an effort tohighlight below-market-average cycle times and provide criti-cal performance data for consistent industry-wide compar-isons. These length-of-rental metrics quickly gained traction asa means to track and improve cycle time. As a result, bothCollisionWeek and Mitchell’s Industry Trends Report2 have begunpublishing the Enterprise data as a comprehensive industryresource.

Today, ARMS data helps collision repair centers increaseoperating efficiencies, enhance customer service and streamlinecommunications with insurance companies and customers.The ARMS digital management platform enables repair centersto book rental reservations and send vehicle status updates toinsurance partners and customers. In addition, repair centerscan track, measure and forecast labor needs and generatemonthly reports through ARMS.

Recently, the importance of such metrics was highlightedand summed up in a comprehensive SearchAutoParts.comeditorial3: “You need to know your score in real time so youcan adjust your strategy.”

Although ARMS clearly helps decrease the duration ofrental periods, Enterprise has embraced the product as anopportunity to increase customer service and value for thelong term. To learn more about Enterprise Rent-A-Car, visitwww.enterprise.com. To learn more about the ARMS Automo-tive Suite, visit www.armsautosuite.com, which includes aprivacy policy4. To sign up for training or other resources,please email Amy Blair (Enterprise technology expert for theInsurance Replacement Division) at [email protected].

1 http://www.enterpriseholdings.com/pressreleases/erAC_ArMS_patent_release_Sept07.pdf2 http://www.mitchell.com/assets/pdf/itr-vol-14-no-2-spring-2014-apd.pdf3 http://www.searchautoparts.com/abrn/opinion-commentary-collision-repair/track-performance-real-time-maintain-drps4 https://www.armsauto.com/arms_auto/privacy.jsp

MASSACHUSETTS




Contact AASP/MA at (617) 574-0741 / [email protected] for information on becoming an AASP/MA sponsor!

2014 AASP/MA NEWSLETTER SPONSOR

AASP/MA ASKS YOU TO PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

WOLPERTINSURANCE


MARK MY WORDS

I’m not sure if I’m the only one that is having a hardtime finding any customer service lately, let alone good cus-tomer service, but it certainly feels that way.

First case in point: This past weekend, I decided tocompare some rates with two local banks that we use, San-tander Bank and Citizens Bank. I knew from a recent visitat Santander that they have an FDIC-insured Money Mar-ket Account (MMA) available, yielding 0.90 percent (or 90basis points, as the financial industry likes to say) for ac-counts with an initial deposit of $10,000 or more. I know,this is a terribly low yield compared to years ago, but bytoday’s standards, it’s pretty high considering the 10-YearUS Treasury bond is paying under 2.5 percent. Santanderalso had several varying CD rates available, although Ifound a higher-paying CD rate at the giant online bank,GE-Capital.

It was late Saturday afternoon and I figured my localCitizens branch was most likely closed, so I looked onlineto see their rates. On the Citizens Bank website, I was ableto see that the savings MMA Rates were not disclosed, butthat an 800 number was given to call for the information.This is where things got interesting.

I began talking to a pleasant banking representative.The call started off with the usual kerfuffle as they were un-able to find my account number (which I’ve had there for

at least 10 years) but, after rearranging a misplaced dash,we were able to get things going. When I asked him whatthe bank’s current CD and Money Market Rates were,under the reasonable assumption that this is the kind of in-formation a customer service representative for a bankwould know, I was told, “I’m not sure, but your current ac-count rate is 0.3 percent.” As politely as possible, I told thebank representative thank you, and that I was well awareof what my current rate was, but I was wondering whattheir CD and Money Market Rates were. The bank repre-sentative stated that he was not sure that he had access tothe CD and MMA rates. (Read: I’m not sure what a brakejob will cost if you ask, but just bring me your car and we’llget it done).

I was then placed on hold for several minutes while therepresentative tried to find an answer for me. Finally, I wastold that they had an MMA/CD that was set at 0.70 percentfor a minimum deposit of $25,000. That answer was a littlemore towards what I desired to know, but was ambiguous.I asked the representative what an MMA/CD rate was, asthis combination of accounts seemed unusual. Was the 0.70rate the CD rate? Or was it the MMA rate? After all, CDmoney is a “time deposit,” as the money is tied up for aspecific amount of time, while MMA money is a “demanddeposit” and the rates are normally lower, as this money is

GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?WHAT’S THAT?




not tied up as banking reserve. The representative didn’tknow. Ultimately, I thanked him for his time and was leftfeeling more confused than before I had called.

Second case in point: On this past Wednesday, I at-tempted to log onto the Internet only to find that I couldnot get online. I did the usual: Reboot computer, rebootmodem (Verizon DSL), reboot wireless router. Still no Inter-net connection. Normally, when all is working correctly, myDSL router lights are all lit. Today, that was not the case.My “ready” light was out. In the past, when this light hadgone out, the problem had been a DSL outage in the area. Ifigured it was time to call the Verizon 800 number. (I love800 numbers, I really do! I just don’t always get the an-swers I want.) After the usual tango with one of those va-cant and frustrating automated attendants, I got through toan actual representative.

First, he asked the usual particulars: Name, accountnumber and so forth. I briefly explained my dilemma to thegentleman assisting me and informed him that the last timemy ready light was out, there was a DSL outage in the area.Disregarding my previous experience with this issue, therepresentative had me go through a tedious process of dis-connecting and reconnecting every piece of machinery Iown. Somehow, the agent derived that the issue was withmy modem and told me a replacement would promptly besent to me, regardless of the fact that, after all was said anddone, my ready light was still not on. Although I remindedhim of my previous experience with this issue, he was cer-tain that my modem was the problem. The agent had mewrite down an eight-digit reference number for the servicecall and we went our separate ways.

By Friday afternoon, UPS had arrived with my new re-placement wireless modem. The included instructions werestraightforward and easy to follow: Connect computer tomodem, connect phone line to modem, plug in modem,wait for flashing DSL light to light up green. Ok, that’s aproblem. The DSL light was indeed flashing, but red, notgreen. Time to call the 800 number again. The automatedteller and I did our familiar routine and I was quickly con-nected to an agent.

This time, a pleasant-sounding female agent took mycall. I gave her the reference number the agent had mewrite down on my initial call on Wednesday. Strangely, shestated that this was not a valid reference number. (Surprise,surprise.) I gave her a brief synopsis of what had transpiredearlier, how I thought I had a DSL service issue and how Iwas sent a new modem/router anyway. She apologized forany inconvenience and we went on our journey together tosolve my problem. We went through the usual game ofSimon Says. She gave me an instruction (reboot themodem, read her the model number, etc.), and I followed.After a series of these tests, she came to the conclusion thatthere may be a problem on my line. What a shocker! Shestated that the problem was either inside the home or out-

side the home. (You think?) She set up an appointment fora technician to come out to my home to address the prob-lem. The window that the tech might arrive at my housewas between 9am and 9pm. (Convenient.) Even though itwas going to blow half of my weekend, I agreed. I justwanted to get the problem resolved. I wrote a new refer-ence number for my call and we said our goodbyes.

Saturday morning, I did some things around the house,only running quick errands if someone was available to bethere in my absence. By 3pm there was still no tech. Need-less to say, by 8:45pm, I was certain no one was coming. Itwas time to call Verizon. Again.

I got a representative on the phone and promptly gavehim my name, phone number and the latest reference num-ber. This time, luckily, my reference number was actuallyon file. The representative read through the notes on hisend and asked me how he could help. I asked where thetechnician was and reminded them that I had stayed homefor the 12-hour window. I was placed on hold for a fewminutes, was spoken to briefly, and was put back on hold.(Typical.) Finally, the representative returned, stating thatthe call notes showed that they had found that a “switch”needed to be replaced at the “central office” and that, real-izing this, the technician did not have to come out to myhome today. “Thanks for calling?” I said, but the represen-tative didn’t get my sarcastic remark. I advised the repre-sentative that it would have been nice if I had been giventhe decency of a phone call to let me know I would nothave to stay home all day for nothing. He agreed, apolo-gized and assured me that the problem should be resolvedbetween 24 and 48 hours. (Needless to say, I won’t hold mybreath.)

Well, as of this writing, I’m still waiting. The whole ex-perience has left a sour taste in my mouth regarding cus-tomer service these days. I know we, as service providers,may not be big, glamorous companies, but I like to thinkthat when a customer has a problem we do our absolutebest to solve it in short order. I think that’s one good thingabout being a small service provider. In this industry, we allget to know our customer base. We know the customerfaces and the families behind them that depend on reliableautomotive transportation. In one sense, these disappoint-ments we face from time to time, with large companies, canbe healthy reminders to us small providers of how impor-tant good quality customer service really is.

Mark Giammalvo specializes in driveability diagnostics at his family business, Sam Giammalvo’s Auto Sales &Service, Inc. in New Bedford, MA. He canbe reached at [email protected].

MASSACHUSETTS




LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

hAS The AdAlB ever reAdThe Open MeeTing lAw?

by James A. Castleman, Esq.

While watching the video recording of the August 2014Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) meet-ing on the AASP/MA website, I became disturbed by howthe Board was handling complaints that had been filedagainst individual appraisers. As has been their recentpractice, when the ADALB got to that part of their agenda,they announced that they were going to handle the ap-praiser complaints in executive session – that is, in private– outside of the public meeting. The chairman announcedthat they were doing so because the matters involved the“reputation or character” of the appraisers against whomthe complaints were being filed.

At that point, the attorney for Commerce, who hadfiled at least one of the complaints, assured the Board thathis complaint had nothing to do with reputation or charac-ter, but rather was regarding a question of the professionalcompetence of the appraiser based on whatever particularactions the person had engaged in during his work. Whenthe Board seemed to waiver on whether they might want toact in public, the Deputy Commissioner of Insurance whowas present – a lawyer who serves as legal counsel to theCommissioner – jumped up and adamantly advised theBoard that they were required to hear these matters in exec-utive session, that they could not consider them at a publicmeeting and that they would be putting themselves at riskif they discussed the matters in public. The Board followedthe Deputy Commissioner’s lead, and refused to publiclyconsider the complaints.

This seemed bizarre to me. Unless there had beenmajor changes to the Massachusetts public meeting law ofwhich I was unaware, this appeared to be contrary to boththe letter and intent of the law. Yet, legal counsel to theADALB as well as the chair of the ADALB (who also hap-pens to be a lawyer) shook their heads in complete agree-ment with the Deputy Commissioner and concurred thatthey were required to consider the matters in executive ses-sion. All three lawyers were in agreement. They could notpossibly be wrong, could they?

Well, yes they could. And, boy, were they incrediblywrong!

The BASiCS OF The pUBliC MeeTing lAwThe Massachusetts Administrative Procedures Act,

which controls the conduct of most Massachusetts govern-ment agencies, contains eight sections that comprise theso-called “open meeting law.” The essence of the law is

contained in one short sentence which succinctly providesthat, except for certain listed exceptions, “all meetings of apublic body shall be open to the public.” The definition of“public body” in the law goes on seemingly forever, and in-cludes just about any state, county or local agency, commit-tee, legislative body or board that you might be able tothink of. The intent is clear: Everything must be open to thepublic, unless there is some overwhelming and pressingreason for making an exception.

Not only must meetings generally be open to the pub-lic, but it is almost universally required that there be priornotice to the public of all meetings that are going to beheld. Additionally, there must be minutes kept, and thoseminutes must be made available to the public as well. Ifsomeone shows up to a meeting, then they have to be let in;if they want to record the meeting electronically or transmitthe meeting to others, the agency or committee must allowthem to do it, so long as they identify themselves in ad-vance and let the government board know that they arebeing recorded.

The exCepTiOnSThere are only 10 statutory exceptions to the open

meeting law.The rationale that was stated by the Deputy Commis-

sioner for having the ADALB go into executive session isthe first exception listed in the statute, i.e., “to discuss thereputation, character, physical condition or mental health...of an individual.” The problem, however, is that the statute also

makes it clear that discussions of an individual’s “professional

competence” are not included in the exception. So, if the



ADALB is discussing the professional competence of an ap-praiser, rather than the person’s reputation or character, thenthere is no excuse to reconvene in executive session.

Although not mentioned by the Deputy Commissioneror anyone else present at the August ADALB meeting, thecited exception additionally allows an agency to go into exec-utive session to discuss “complaints or charges broughtagainst a public officer, employee, staff member or individ-ual.” It is not clear to me if this might allow the ADALB todiscuss a complaint made against an appraiser in executivesession - I would argue that it does not. But even if it does,the statute also requires a government agency to follow strictprocedures before convening an executive session to discussthese types of matters, none of which were followed by theADALB at its August meeting.

In order to meet in executive session under the stated ex-ception, the agency must first notify the individual who isgoing to be affected at least 48 hours before the meeting, let-ting them know of the agency’s intention to discuss a com-plaint against him in executive session. Then, if thatindividual requests it, the agency must discuss the matter inpublic, rather than in executive session. It is solely the individ-

ual’s choice to make, not the agency’s. If the individual does notrequest it, that person has the absolute right to be present atthe executive session, to be represented by legal counselthere, to be able to speak on his own behalf and to be able torecord the proceedings. None of this occurred at the ADALBmeeting.

Further, the decision of an agency to convene in execu-tive session is – at best – optional.

Contrary to the bizarre statement of the Deputy Commis-sioner, there is absolutely no mandate whatsoever to meet inexecutive session to discuss a complaint against a regulatedindividual.

The other exceptions to the public meeting law listed inthe statute are for an agency to discuss strategy sessions forlabor negotiations, both with non-union and union person-nel; to discuss deployment of security measures; to discusscharges of criminal conduct; to discuss the value of real estateto be purchased or leased, if it is determined that a publicdiscussion might negatively affect the agency’s bargainingposition for the property; to comply with any special law thatrequires meeting in private; for a screening committee to con-duct a preliminary interview or consider applicants for em-ployment or appointment by the agency – but only in thepreliminary screening stages; to meet with a mediator withregard to a matter in litigation involving the agency; and todiscuss trade secrets or confidential information. The pur-pose of each of these exceptions seems self-evident.

Even if one of the statutory exceptions is present and anagency legally meets in executive session, the governingstatute has further procedural requirements that must be met- again, few of which were addressed by the ADALB at itsAugust meeting. In particular, the agency must first convene

in public session. Then, a majority of the members must voteto go into executive session and there must be a roll call vote.All subjects to be discussed in executive session must be firstrevealed in public session, then the agency chair must statewhether the board is going to reconvene in public session. Fi-nally, accurate records must be kept of the executive session -and those records must then be made public when the pur-pose of the executive session has been resolved.

enFOrCeMenT OF The pUBliC MeeTing lAwThe Attorney General is given the responsibility for en-

forcing the Massachusetts public meeting law, and is giventhe authority to issue regulations interpreting it. And exten-sive regulations have been issued.

Anyone who believes that the law has been violated hasthe right to file a complaint about the violation. This is ac-complished by filling out a complaint form that is availableon the Attorney General’s website. The official form must beused, properly filled out and be first sent to the offendingagency within 30 days of the alleged violation of the openmeeting law. The agency has the right to request additionalinformation from the complainant, and then must respondwithin a reasonable period of time. The time to respond isusually 14 days, unless the agency has “good cause” for tak-ing longer, as determined by the Attorney General. If anagency does not actually officially meet within that 14-daywindow, the governing regulation makes that a presump-tively good reason for not responding within the assignedtime period.

The agency may then take corrective action. If it fails todo so, however, the complainant may notify the AttorneyGeneral’s office – which has broad investigatory power – aswell as the power to make the offending agency takecorrective action and enter a wide variety of orders againstthat offending agency.

SO, HAS THE ADALB READ THE LAW?This may seem like a strange question to ask. Yet, there is

a good reason to pose it.You see, the public meeting law statute requires the Mas-

sachusetts Attorney General to develop educational materialsregarding the law, and those materials are required to be dis-tributed to all government agencies. The AG is also supposedto conduct training sessions for appointed members of allpublic agencies.

Further, the public meeting law statute specifically re-quires: “Within two weeks of qualification for office, all per-sons serving on a public body shall certify, on a formprescribed by the Attorney General, the receipt of a copy ofthe open meeting law, regulations promulgated pursuant tosection 25 [of the public meeting law] and a copy of the

continued on pg. 62


FEATURE

The 5S MeThOdto lean Collision Center implementation By Judy A. lynch, Manager, Collision repair design ServicesSherwin-williams Automotive Finishes

5S is a Lean tool that can be used anytime, anyplaceand is usually the first Lean method that organiza-tions implement when working to improve their

shop. 5S is the foundation for continuous improvement,zero defects, cost reduction and creating a safe work en-vironment. In order to produce high quality work, a col-lision center has to maintain certain standards andeliminate the waste that interferes with their dailyprocess.

“Waste” is a broadly defined term and includesthings like: Waste in movement of material; carrying toomuch inventory; defects or rework; producing scrap; su-perfluous waiting or unnecessary motion. By implement-ing the 5S process, waste is exposed and can be easilyeliminated. Production becomes optimized throughmaintaining an orderly workplace and using visual cluesto achieve more consistent operational results.

The 5S method enables increased quality, waste iden-tification, standard process, visual control and promotesemployee satisfaction. Many collision centers seeking to

make operations moreefficient and looking toimprove the bottom lineby reducing their costsimplement the 5S system.

“5S” was invented in Japan, and stands for five (5) Japan-ese words that start with the letter “S.” An equivalent set ofEnglish “S” words would be sort, set, shine, standardize andsustain.

SOrT:remove all items that are not needed for current

production operationsleave only the bare essentials when in doubt, throw it out

SeT:Set everything in proper sequence for

productivityArrange necessary items so they are

easily accessiblelabel items so that anyone can find

them or put them away


Judy Lynch has 26 years of automotive industry experience working with deal-erships, independents, consolidators and multiple shop operators. Judy createdthe Collision Repair Design Service department within Sherwin-Williams Auto-motive Finishes. For more information, go to www.sherwin-automotive.com/collision-repair/consulting-services/shop-layout-design.

continued on pg. 30



SHInE:Clean and change the mindset

of the employees

identify cleaning activities and

required routine maintenance

Maintain a clean workplace to

enhance quality, safety and pride

STAnDARDIzE:establish standard operating

procedures for each area to gain

and ensure consistent quality

work towards continuous

improvement in order to uncover

abnormalities in production

SUSTAIn:Use discipline to make this the

way of doing business every day

Make a habit of properly main-

taining correct procedures

Implementing the 5S method

means more than just cleaning up and

organizing the shop. This Lean

method encourages employees to im-

prove their overall working conditions

and helps them to reduce waste, un-

planned downtime and inventory. Re-

member that 5S is the starting point to

implement all Lean initiatives by

using basic organizational skills first.

5S programs are usually implemented

by small teams work-

ing together, organiz-

ing materials closer

to operations, creat-

ing easy access to

equipment for

technicians and

prioritizing

and labeling sup-

plies to facilitate

operations with

the smallest amount of wasted time

and materials. The 5S system is a good

starting point for all improvement ef-

forts aiming to drive out waste from

the production process. Ultimately, it

can improve a collision center’s bot-

tom line by boosting products and

services and lowering internal costs.

5S provides the foundation for

improved production. A typical 5S

implementation may result in the

FEATURE

Above: Lean implementation makes a world of difference in keeping the shop organized and minimizing waste.


reduction of square footage necessary

for existing operations. It may also re-

sult in the organization of tools and

materials into labeled and color-coded

storage locations identified to perform

a specific task. A wide range of ideas

are considered and, while not all ideas

will be viable, all are worthy of inves-

tigation. The key is to observe

processes that add no value and mod-

ify them to create an environment that

promotes highly valued work through

waste elimination. Continuous im-

provement should be a mind-set

throughout the whole organization.

The key is to not get caught up in only

trying to create big ideas; small ideas

often lead to big improvements.

Applying Lean principles can

greatly improve efficiency as well as

quality. Benefits to the collision center

include raising quality, lowering costs,

promoting safety, building employee

and customer confidence and improv-

ing cycle time. A key aspect of this sys-

tem is the building of quality into the

process. For example, don’t pass a de-

fect on to the next person who touches

the vehicle (the next process). Through

strict application of this fundamental

rule, problems are highlighted imme-

diately and addressed just as quickly.

Many collision facilities have

opted to follow the path towards a 5S

workplace organizational method as

part of a process of continuous im-

provement. 5S is a fundamental part

of any Lean initiative. Lean thinking is

about creating efficiency, increasing

collaboration and ultimately increas-

ing customer satisfaction. This is all

done in an effort to increase your colli-

sion center’s bottom line. Lean think-

ing is a culture mindset in your

organization. This is a system to re-

duce waste and optimize productivity

through maintaining an orderly work-

place/office and using visual cues to

achieve more consistent operational

results. The intent is to have only what

you need available in the workplace, a

designated place for everything, a

standard way of doing things and the

discipline to maintain it.

Adopting the “Principles of 5S”

provides a framework of efficiency

and continuous improvement.

Collision centers implementing

this can make work more efficient, cre-

ate better systems and positively im-

pact quality, employee commitment,

communication and, ultimately, in-

crease the bottom line.


MASSACHUSETTS




FEATURE

If you ever felt like you needed a law degree to get through your day in the collision repair field, you’re not alone.

These days, it’s virtually impossible to conduct busi-ness as an auto body shop without defending yourselfagainst potentially dangerous third-party influences. Frombeing forced to use questionable parts to seeing worksteered away from their shops, repairers are dealing withmore roadblocks to success than ever before. But now, auto-motive professionals throughout the industry are takingtheir battles to the legal arena – and could potentially alterthe industry forever in the process. This month, New Eng-land Automotive Report offers an overview of various high-profile cases that could change the way you run yourbusiness in the future.

BAD nEWS FOR A GOOD nEIGHBORAs most visitors to New Orleans surely know, a Hurri-

cane is one of the city’s most popular – and potent – adultbeverages. But when the nation’s largest auto insurer con-siders hurricanes in Louisiana, they likely think of thestorm currently descending upon them thanks to AttorneyGeneral Buddy Caldwell. On August 19, Caldwell filed alawsuit against State Farm, alleging that the carrier “hasengaged in a pattern of unfair and fraudulent businesspractices aimed at controlling the auto repair industry andforcing unsafe repairs on vehicles without the knowledgeor consent of Louisiana consumers.”

The suit, filed in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial DistrictCourt, alleges State Farm violated Louisiana’s Unfair TradePractices Act and Monopolies Law by (according to an offi-cial statement by the AG’s office) “using scare tactics tosteer Louisiana consumers to State Farm’s preferred repairshops and forcing shops to perform vehicle repairs cheaplyand quickly, rather than in accordance with consumersafety and vehicle manufacturer performance standards.”In his media announcement regarding the suit, Caldwellchastised the insurer for creating “unsafe business practicesin which consumer vehicle repairs are performed with cost-savings as the primary goal rather than safety and reliabil-ity.

“In some cases, we’ve found that these parts are noth-ing more than used junkyard parts. In others, we’ve found

them to be foreign knock-off parts of questionable quality,”he added. “Auto repair is not an industry where you cancut corners to save a little money...It could be a matter oflife and death.” State Farm currently holds the largest shareof auto insurance policies in Louisiana. In 2012, State Farmwrote one third of all auto insurance policies in the state,totaling over $1 billion in premiums.

While Caldwell’s media release was hard on StateFarm, the verbiage against the insurer in the actual suit(available online at https://www.ag.state.la.us/Shared/ViewDoc.aspx?Type=3&Doc=402) is downright scathing.Although State Farm does not currently operate in Massa-chusetts, the issues addressed in the suit – and the effectState Farm’s defeat would inevitably have on the entireauto insurance field – are worthy of attention. For onething, the suit uncovers some universal issues regardingthe auto repair field’s often-tumultuous dealings with in-surers:

• ...State Farm adjusters have become increasinglyinvolved in the everyday tasks performed by repair facili-ties, including but not limited to locating specific re-placement parts and mandating that repair facilities usethe specific parts identified by the adjuster, even whenthe repair shop believes that such use is neither safe norappropriate.

• State Farm and other insurers routinely dictatethe use of non-OEM aftermarket parts in a variety of re-pairs and mandate that such parts must be Certified Au-tomotive Parts Association (CAPA)-certified. In truthand in fact, the CAPA certification process does not in-volve any actual safety testing of parts whatsoever.

• Each automobile manufacturer publishes guide-lines for the appropriate repair of its vehicles, includingthe types of replacement parts and specific repairprocesses that should be used in order to make repairsthat comply with the existing safety and performancestandards associated with the vehicle. Pursuant to theSelect Service Agreement and similar DRP contracts,insurers are able to exert a great degree of influence overthe specific repairs performed by participating repair fa-cilities, including but not limited to mandating the useof specific used, recycled or non-OEM replacementparts.

FrUSTrATiOn & liTigATiOn:The inSUrAnCe indUSTry geTS Served

By Joel Gausten



MASSACHUSETTS


The Caldwell suit calls for State Farm to “pay restitu-tion to all consumers who have incurred a loss due to theconduct of the Defendants through any manner deemedpracticable by the Court.”

REVEnGE FOR RACkETEERInGWhile the Louisiana AG has earned a great deal of at-

tention for his efforts, he is far from alone in taking on cor-porate giants. On April 30, Crawford’s Auto Center ofDowningtown, PA filed a 164-page lawsuit against StateFarm, Allstate, GEICO, Progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mu-tual and Nationwide, alleging that the carriers conspired tocontrol the cost of automobile repairs. The suit argues thatthe defendant insurers also violated the Racketeer Influ-enced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) by creating ar-tificial “prevailing” rates based on their DRP shops’ use ofproducts by the industry’s three leading InformationProviders (Audatex [AudaExplore], CCC or Mitchell), whohave been named as conspirators. The suit also namesUSAA, Travelers and American Family as conspirators, butnot as defendants.

According to the suit, the action against the defendantinsurers aims to address their “long-running unlawful con-duct to suppress compensation to repair facilities for auto-motive collision repairs covered by insurance.” The suitclaims that the defendant insurers (together with the threeconspirator carriers) collectively hold 70 percent of the mar-ket “and control all aspects of collision repairs, includingestablishing the industry standards for compensation paidto repair facilities.” Additionally, the suit alleges that the In-formation Providers “serve two masters” - the defendantinsurers as well as “the repair facilities, which must use theestimating programs to perform their work because the es-timates are the only means by which insured repairs arepaid.”

Crawford’s seeks to have the lawsuit granted class ac-tion status, allowing for the inclusion of any non-DRP facil-ities that “performed automotive collision repair work orservices on or in connection with a vehicle insured by, orcovered under insurance issued by” any of the seven de-fendant insurers and that used a CCC, Mitchell or Audatexestimating program for a repair estimate or supplementsince January 1, 2006.

On July 14, Crawford’s filed an Interested Party Re-sponse opposing the consolidation of its suit with a num-ber of other suits currently seeking damages againstcarriers. According to CollisionWeek, these suits include an-titrust litigation currently filed in Mississippi, Florida, Indi-ana, Utah and Tennessee. While the Plaintiffs in the casedid not seek to have Crawford’s consolidated with theother lawsuits, Allstate identified the lawsuit filed byCrawford’s as a potential tag along suit. Explaining theiropposition to the motion, Crawford’s response states, “Likethe majority of defendants who have filed responses to theproposed MDL [multidistrict litigation]...Crawford’s op-poses consolidation of the RICO Class Action with the An-titrust Actions.” In early August, the Judicial Panel onMultidistrict Litigation (JPML) approved the consolidation

of the five suits to the US District Court for the MiddleDistrict of Florida. These suits include:

Capitol Body Shop, Inc., et al. v. State Farm MutualAutomobile Insurance Company, et al. (filed on Janu-ary 6 in the US District Court for the Southern Dis-trict of Mississippi, Northern Division-Jackson);

A&E Auto Body, Inc., et al. v. 21st Century CentennialInsurance Company, et al. (filed February 24 in theUS District Court for the Middle District of Florida,Orlando Division);

Indiana AutoBody Association, Inc., et al. v. State FarmMutual Automobile Insurance Company, et al. (filedApril 2 in the US District Court for the SouthernDistrict of Indiana, Indianapolis Division);

Alpine Straightening Systems, Inc., d/b/a Alpine BodyShop, et al. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile InsuranceCompany, et al. (filed April 10 in the US DistrictCourt for the District of Utah, Central Division);and

Brewer Body Shop, LLC, et al. v. State Farm MutualAutomobile Insurance Company, et al. (filed April 22in the US District Court for the District of Ten-nessee, Western District)

The plaintiffs had originally filed a motion to consoli-date the suits to the US District Court for the Southern Dis-trict of Mississippi for consolidated pretrial proceedings.The RICO suit remains unchanged by the decision.

The Crawford’s lawsuit appeared four months follow-ing an extensive suit filed in January by Mississippi-basedattorney John Eaves, Jr. on behalf of 21 Mississippi shopsagainst a host of carriers including State Farm, Progressive,Allstate, Nationwide, GEICO and USAA. The complaint al-leges that the defendants “have engaged in an ongoing,concerted and intentional course of action and conductwith State Farm acting as the spearhead to improperly andillegally control and depress automobile damage repaircosts to the detriment of the Plaintiffs and the substantialprofit of the Defendants.” Eaves has expressed his intentionto add all 50 states to the cause.

With more and more repairers pursuing legal avenuesin their fight against insurers, the pushback from the autobody industry has never been stronger. Now, it’s up to thecourts to decide where the battle goes from here.



COVER STORY

On September 9, AASP/MA welcomed a full house of members,vendors and industry representatives to the Doubletree Hotelin Westboro for the association’s Fourth Quarter Statewide

Meeting. Fueled by news of a strong victory in the regulatory arena, theevening event offered a packed agenda, focusing on everything fromlegal matters to what shops need to know to successfully handle one ofthe year’s most anticipated vehicles.

FROM CAR TO STARSAs the fourth quarter of 2014 carries on, AASP/MA continues to

address industry-related issues on a variety of levels. Updating meet-ing attendees on the group’s recent activities, AASP/MA LobbyistAnne Lynch shared the positive news that Commonwealth AutomobileReinsurers (CAR) recently made substantial changes to its performancestandards pertaining to auto physical damage and property damage li-ability claims. Per a September 4 letter distributed by the Division of In-surance (see page 11), “Instead of language requiring carriers to have aplan designed to control labor costs, the proposed amendment requiresthem to have a plan designed to seek the most competitive Labor Ratesand times and to determine whether labor, repair and replacementtimes are reasonable and consistent with industry-recognized sources.”

The revision of the performance standards was the result of contin-ual efforts by AASP/MA, who first started pursuing the matter withCAR eight months ago.

“We are thrilled that [the previous language] has now been re-moved from the CAR standards,” remarked Lynch. “Insurance ad-justers cannot point to that as a reason why they can’t pay you a fairrate.”

In other news, AASP/MA continues to maintain a strong presenceat the ADALB. Recently, the group filed five complaints regardingGEICO’s operation of drive-in claims centers in body shops, whichLynch said was “a very clear violation of both the law and the regula-tion.” Interestingly, Commerce Insurance has filed a complaint with theADALB to the same effect.

“It was a unique situation in that both an insurer and AASP/MAwere essentially on the same side of this issue,” she said.

Lynch reported that the ADALB has taken the complaints underadvisement and is expected to address the matter in the near future.Lynch is confident that the association will continue to attend – and filecomplaints at – every ADALB meeting moving forward.

“It’s a new game,” she said. “They are definitely feeling the heat of

PERSEVERAnCE PAYS:AASP/MA THRIVES ATSTATEWIDE MEETInG By Joel Gausten

Top: AASP/MA Lobbyist Anne Lynch an-nounced the association’s recent victories inthe regulatory arena. Bottom: Jason Bartanenof I-CAR discussed the organization’s workto address the growing need for aluminum repair training.



these things.”Lynch’s update was followed by a brief presentation by

Charles Goodhue of Eastern Research Group, Inc., who of-fered an overview of the Sustainability Training and AutoRepair Shops (STARS) program. Eastern Research Group,Inc. is currently under contract from the Massachusetts Of-fice of Technical Assistance and Technology (MassOTA) toupdate the CRASH Course compliance guidance document.The original CRASH Course consisted of guidance on themost basic and important compliance activities every shopshould conduct and advice on how to prevent and/or re-duce pollution from everyday operations. The CRASH

Course included a workbook that could be used to docu-ment the implementation of these activities. The enforce-ment agencies issued a joint letter that stated that theywould consider such documentation evidence of goodfaith, and if a facility was nevertheless found in violation ofa regulatory requirement, that this good faith would betaken into account to reduce or eliminate any potentialpenalty stemming from such a violation. The originalCRASH Course is still in use, and has even been translatedinto Spanish, while other jurisdictions have contacted Mas-sachusetts seeking information about how to develop simi-lar guidance documents.

The updated version of the CRASH Course will becalled the Sustainability Training and Auto Repair Shops(STARS) guidance. Eastern Research Group, Inc. is lookingfor auto body and auto repair shops to host site visits to

help inform this guide. These shops will become membersof the Massachusetts Clean Auto Repair (MassCAR) Part-nership, receiving recognition for their participation. Toparticipate, shops are being asked to fill out an outreachsurvey at www.masscarsurvey.com, provide their shop in-formation and request to host an on-site assessment. Formore information on the STARS initiative, please contactGoodhue at (781) 674-7249 or [email protected].

THE nEW AGE OF REPAIRWith the aluminum-intensive 2015 Ford F-150 hitting

dealerships in a few short months, AASP/MA welcomedKevin Lombard (Lombard Equipment, Inc.), Jason Bartanen(I-CAR) and Larry Montanez (P&L Consultants) for an ex-tensive discussion on how the growing use of aluminum isaffecting the collision repair industry. A longtime auto bodyequipment supplier and AASP/MA supporter, Lombardviews the escalating use of aluminum as an opportunity forrepairers to embrace change in an exciting new era.

“Don’t fear aluminum – love it,” he said. “It’s here.”According to Lombard, every leading auto manufac-

turer will eventually have an aluminum body program inplace. Ford, GM, Fiat and Chrysler are expected to be thebiggest users of the material, with seven out of 10 pickuptrucks being aluminum within the next 10 years.

“Be careful of what you tell yourself about aluminumand being afraid of it,” he offered. “Embrace it, love it andlearn it.”

Kevin Lombard (left) of Lombard Equipment offered hands-on demonstrations of aluminum repair equipment.



COVER STORY

Lombard’s presentation includedvideo overviews of the F-150 andhands-on demonstrations of some ofthe equipment (including the Pro SpotSP-5) that could be used to handle as-pects of aluminum repair. More infor-mation on Lombard Equipment isavailable at www.lombardequipment

inc.com. Of course, repairers need to receive

proper training on how to fix the newF-150 when it arrives at their shops.That’s where I-CAR comes in. Accord-ing to Bartanen (who serves as I-CAR’sdirector of industry technical relations),I-CAR and Ford worked together ex-tensively to develop a training pro-gram to get technicians up to speed intime for the new truck’s late-2014launch.

“Obviously, there’s been a lot ofbuzz around the Ford F-150,” he said.“We’ve been working with Ford for thepast three years to develop a trainingprogram specifically on that vehicle sothat technicians across the country –and insurance personnel – [receive] in-formation on what they can and can’tdo to the vehicle.

“This is the first course that we’veever done that we worked with the ve-hicle manufacturer prior to the produc-tion of the vehicle,” he added. “We’vebeen teaching the course since May,and the truck is not going to hit theroad until November at the earliest.”

Bartanen explained that the rise ofthe 2015 Ford F-150 and other alu-minum-focused vehicles is the result ofmanufacturers’ push towards utilizingalternative lightweight materials to ad-here to government fuel efficiency re-quirements.

“That’s really driving a lot of this,”he said. “The motoring public is de-manding safer, more fuel-efficient vehi-cles.”

For more information on I-CAR’s2015 Ford F-150 Structural RepairTraining Course (FOR06) is available atwww.i-car.com/FORD150. Wrappingup the aluminum repair discussion,Montanez spent a considerable amountof time dispelling some of the commonmyths and misconceptions associatedwith the F-150. For one thing, he ques-tioned Ford’s use of the phrase “mili-tary-grade aluminum” in marketingthe truck to the masses, noting thatmost of the truck’s outer body panelsare 6000 series aluminum.

“There’s no such thing as ‘military-grade’ aluminum,” he insisted. “Mili-tary-grade aluminum would be what?Bullet-proof [and] bomb-proof. Ishould be able to walk up to this F-150and start shooting .50 caliber [bullets]at it and it should bounce off. Am I cor-rect? Do you think that’s going to hap-pen?”

As Montanez sees it, the primarydifference between aluminum and steelis its reparability.

“Unfortunately, you’ll buy a lot oftools to fix very little damage [with alu-minum],” he explained. “You’ll changea lot of parts.”

Additionally, Montanez cautionedattendees that there are considerabledifferences in the training requirementsbetween the 2015 F-150 and other

aluminum vehicles. For example, theMercedes-Benz welding test is twoweeks and costs thousands of dollars,while the current I-CAR Ford F-150course is a one-day event.

“Most of the other European com-panies have a one-week training coursethe first time, then the re-certification isevery two years – which is three to fourdays depending on the company,” heexplained.

Although most of Montanez’s pres-entation focused on aluminum, hemade it clear that attendees needed tofirst focus on their skills at repairingsteel before even considering taking onthe F-150 or any other vehicle with sim-ilar material. When he asked howmany attendees took and passed the I-CAR Welding Qualification Test forsteel, only a small number raised theirhands.

“I’m going to tell you probably 80percent of the shops can’t fix a currentpickup truck properly,” he said, em-phasizing the need for greater educa-tion throughout the national auto bodyfield.

nEW FACES nEEDEDPrior to the start of the meeting,

AASP/MA President Paul Hendricksreminded attendees that the associa-tion’s work – including the high levelof presentations offered at statewidemeetings – is made possible throughthe ongoing support and participationof industry volunteers. With the nextBoard elections slated for November,he urged the younger members in theroom to carry the torch from thoselongtime members who will be step-ping down.

“[The older Board members] havepaid our dues,” he said. “In order forthis to keep moving and for us to winthese battles, we need some of theyoung blood to step up.”

For more information on AASP/MA, please visit www.aaspma.org.

Frequent new england Automotivereport contributor Larry Montanezoffered an aluminum repair realitycheck.

MASSACHUSETTS



Focus is a critical component to un-locking the greatness within you. In orderto better understand, let’s look at whathappens when a lack of focus creeps intoyour plans.

It’s Monday morning - you start theday jazzed up and ready to rock! As theday progresses, your focus slips and youare pulled into activity-driven tasks mov-ing you no closer to your dream businessor even your dream YOU. Before youknow it, you realize the day is gone. Thereis always tomorrow, right? Tomorrowmorning, you start the day a little lessjazzed but have a renewed sense of pur-pose. Before you know it, you are onceagain wrestling alligators and end up witha repeat of the day before. After a fewdays like this, you finally just give up, de-feated, and retreat back into old ways ofdoing things.

It would be nice if we could leave thesense of defeat and derailment at the of-fice, but it doesn’t work that way. You gohome each evening, kicking yourself fornot achieving your goals for the day. In-stead of leaving your work issues at workand truly enjoying your family, you allowyour work issues to seep into your per-sonal life. Then, instead of being 100 per-cent focused on work the next day, youfeel guilty about your lack of connectionto your family and spend your work timewishing you were home. Can you see howthis cycle feeds on itself and gets biggerand bigger?

This cycle can become a dream killer,but I have GREAT news! You can turn thissituation around almost overnight by com-mitting to engaging fully at work. Go inthat next day, promising to stay the courseby only performing those tasks that moveyou closer to the vision you have for your-self and your business. If you find yourselfstarting to get sidetracked, STOP and re-group. Get yourself back on track. Beforeyou finish up for the night, mentally re-view your day, celebrate the tasks youcompleted and create your task list for thefollowing day.

When you finally leave for the day,feel great about what you accomplished.

Leave the business behind and focus onstrengthening your family relationships.

When you know what you want andyou want it as badly as you want tobreathe, intense focus becomes your ally;from intense focus comes discipline.

Discipline allows you to hone in on onlythose high-producing activities that moveyou closer to your dream by forcing you torecognize and choose to focus on long-term gains over short-term wins.


180BIZ FEATURE

continued on pg. 55

The pOwer OF FOCUSby Rick White


I have a proven technique for building focus and developing discipline.Just follow these next five steps and you will successfully achieve yourdreams and constantly challenge yourself.

1. “Visit” your destination at least three times a day. To experience truesuccess, your destination needs to be painted in your mind in vivid detail. Youdon’t get in your car and just drive, do you? Why allow yourself to do thiswith your day? Take some quiet time and create a crystal clear vision for youand your business. Where do you want to end up? What does that look like?How does this benefit you? The more time you invest in this exercise, theclearer your “picture” will be. Now that you know where you are going, youneed to remind yourself of it first thing in the morning, at lunchtime and thenas the last thing you do before you turn in for the night. This will keep youexcited for your future and keep you focused during the day. Your “destina-tion” creates your focus.

2. Know why you want to go here. There is a reason behind every journeyyou take. You need to identify what you get out of going on this trip, and itneeds to be powerful. Your WHY will motivate you and keep you going evenwhen the going gets tough or boring. Your WHY is the fuel you use pro-pelling you toward your destination. Your WHY maintains your focus.

3. Write your goals down. The exercise of writing down your goals flips aswitch in your brain making these goals more “real.” Writing your goalsdown keeps you on track and in the driver’s seat. This prevents your day fromrunning you and keeps you running your day. Write down your goals everymorning, every night and each time you fail at a particular task. The physicalact of writing goals down on paper effectively installs a set of blinders, help-ing you to ignore the distractions throughout your day. Writing them downkeeps you focused on the right activities.

4. Make a TO-DO list. The only two times of the day you can truly con-trol are the beginning of your day and the end of your day. Take that time tocenter your thoughts and actions. By making time at the end of your day tocreate a list of goal-oriented activities for the next day and by reviewing thelist first thing in the morning, you stay focused on those activities that bringyou closer to your goals.

5. Celebrate! As you complete each item on your To-Do list, give your-self a pat on the back. You are one step closer to leading the life you havedreamed of for yourself! Each time you celebrate, it builds your self-esteemand self-confidence, motivating you to tackle the bigger and more dauntingitems on your list. Remember that part of the fun is seeing who you becomeas you travel this road to GREATNESS!

AASp/MA negotiationsTake holdcontinued from pg. 10

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letter for you to distribute to your customersexplaining the law and how auto body and in-surance appraisers must comply with thissafety initiative. At the time of this writing, weare awaiting Board approval; however, wewill post it to our members’ only section of theAASP/MA website as soon as it is available.For any members who are interested, JimCastleman will be presenting on this veryissue to the Midstate Chapter member meet-ing on October 14. Please contact MollyBrodeur to register or for more information.

As we head into the state’s election pe-riod, the AASP/MA Board will be holding re-elections in November. Our new Board ofDirectors will be introduced to the member-ship during Casino Night. We feel confidentthat all of our candidates will continue to sup-port the AASP/MA mission and lead the in-dustry to make a difference in building thesuccess of our profession. Currently, there areentry-level openings in our Board and we arelooking for leaders to join in this effort. If youare interested in becoming a part of our Boardof Directors, please contact the office at (617)574-0741.

We are continuing to build our member-ship to present the unified voice of the indus-try and, if you are not a member, pleaseconsider joining NOW. Through November,non-members are eligible to receive a FREEmembership for the remainder of 2014. GiveAASP/MA a chance to impress you. I stronglyencourage our members to speak with theirpeers and invite them to attend a meetingwith you. The association is on the move: Bepart of the future of the auto body profession!

Sincerely,

Jillian Zywien, Executive Director


About rick white & One eighty Business Solutions

Rick White is a managing member of One Eighty BusinessSolutions (180BIZ), a Virginia-based coaching and businesssolutions provider to the automotive and truck repair indus-tries. Rick’s clients consider him a trusted advisor, helpingthem to increase profits and free time while reducing stress.If you would like more business tips and thoughts just likethis, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/180biz. 180BIZ provides affordable, down to earth, one-on-one business coaching with no long-term commitments and amoney-back guarantee! To see how we can help you and your business, please emailus at [email protected] or call (540) 833-2014.

MASSACHUSETTS


The power of Focuscontinued from pg. 49



As a member of the Alliance of Automotive Service providers of Massachusetts (AASp/MA), i will abide by the association’s bylaws and code ofethics. i understand that membership in AASp of Massachusetts is non-transferable, and i must remain current with my dues in order to be a member in good standing. i understand that if i discontinue my membership that i must immediately cease using any association promotions,logos or materials. Additionally, i understand that as part of my AASp of Massachusetts membership, i will receive New England Automotive Report, the official publication of AASp of Massachusetts, faxes, emails and other mailings.

2014 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

Mr. Mrs. Ms.

Business Representative Name: ____________________________

Business Name ____________________________________________

MEMBERSHIP TYPE

REPAIRER MEMBER (check one)Collision Repair ShopMechanical Repair ShopBoth, Collision & Mechanical Repair ShopsOther Repair Shop

SUPPLIER/ASSOCIATE MEMBER (check one)Auto Paint/Crash Parts/Auto Parts/WholesalerEquipment/Tool SupplierManufacturer/Sales AgentServices (Computers, Software, Vehicle Rental, Other)

LIST OTHER SPECIALTIES ____________________________________

________________________________________________________

What benefits motivated you to join AASP of Massachusetts?

________________________________________________________

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Name ____________________________________________________

Nickname ________________________________________________

2014 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES (The AASP membership year is from January to January 2015)

Total Due ....................................................................................$395.00

NEW! Political Action Committee (PAC) Donation ...............$_____

Check or Cash

Credit Card: Visa MasterCard

Card Number: __________________________________________

Expiration Date: ________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________

Date: __________________________________________________

*** PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT LEGIBLY ***

12 post Office Square, 6th Floor • Boston, MA 02109phone: (617) 574-0741 | Fax: (617) 695-0173|[email protected]

FOr OFFiCe USe OnlyCheck number ______________________________Check date ________________________Check Amount ______________________________date Joined ______________________________Member number ______________________next Bill date ______________________________

Street Address ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mailing Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number ( )____________________________________ Fax Number ( ) __________________________________________

E-mail Address ________________________________________ Web Site Address ____________________________________________

Enrolled By (Name and Address) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Street City State Zip

Street City State Zip

Just like good tools and equipment, membership in AASP of Massachusetts is avaluable investment. AASP of Massachusetts works for you through

such outstanding programs as: (1) management and technical training; (2) discount uniform rental; and (3) a wide variety of other business services.

Put AASP of Massachusetts to work for you today. COMPLETE THE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND

RETURN IT WITH PAYMENT TO AASP OF MASSACHUSETTS.

As required by the U.S. Tax Code, AASP of Massachusetts, Inc. informs its members that 75% of the dues paid to the associationare tax deductible. The remaining 25% is allocated to legislative activities and is not tax deductible.

MASSACHUSETTS




180Biz ..............................................................49

American Honda............................................56

Audi Group ....................................................27

Axalta Coating Systems ..................................4

Bald Hill Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram............58

Balise Wholesale Parts Express ....................44

Baystate Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge ..................42

Bernardi Group ........................................32-33

Best Chevrolet ..............................................IFC

BMW Group ..............................................38-39

BMW/Mini of Warwick ................................46

CCC One..........................................................23

Clay Subaru ......................................................8

Colonial Auto Group ....................................54

Empire Auto Parts............................................9

Enterprise ........................................................13

First Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram ..................22

First Ford ........................................................22

First Hyundai..................................................22

Ford Group ....................................................36

Future Cure ....................................................10

Goyette’s Inc. Auto Parts ................................9

Honda Group..................................................48

Hyundai Group..............................................57

Imperial Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep ......................6

Imperial Ford..................................................36

Infiniti of Norwood........................................52

IRA Group..................................................14-15

Jaffarian Toyota/Volvo..................................53

Kelly Automotive Group............................IBC

Linder’s, Inc. ..................................................31

Long Automotive Group ..........................OBC

Mazda Group..................................................47

McLaughlin Chevrolet ..................................22

Mopar Group....................................................6

NORTHEAST® 2015........................................7

Nissan Group..................................................26

Nissan World of Dartmouth ........................43

PPG ....................................................................3

Robertsons GMC Truck ................................43

Sarat Ford-Lincoln ........................................58

Sentry Group ..................................................56

Subaru Group............................................50-51

Tasca Group ....................................................37

Toyota Group..................................................59

Toyota of Nashua ..........................................62

Village Auto Group........................................60

VW Group ......................................................29

Wellesley Toyota/Scion ................................42

AD INDEX


educational materials prepared by theattorney general explaining the openmeeting law and its application . . . .”

So, I pose the question to all ofthe members of the Auto Damage Ap-praiser Licensing Board (who wererequired to receive a copy of the law),and to those lawyers at the Divisionof Insurance who are advising them:Have any of you ever actually read

the Massachusetts open meeting law?If not, it’s never too late to read it.

And, once you do, maybe you shouldconsider actually following it.

Attorney James Castleman is a

managing member of Paster,

Rice & Castleman, LLC

in Quincy, MA. He can be

reached at (617) 472-3424 or at

jcastleman@

prclawoffice.com.

continued from pg. 25

MASSACHUSETTS


LEGAL PERSPECTIVE


New England Automotive Report October 2014

Documents

Transcript of New England Automotive Report October 2014