You may have read the article below or a similar one in an industry publication. What are your thoughts? Made any changes to they way you do business?
Ford tests slam aftermarket structural parts at CIC
Publish date: Jul 26, 2010
By: Bruce Adams
Ford Motor Company engineers picked up where Toby Chess left off at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting July 21 resulting in a stinging indictment of aftermarket structural parts.
Chess, an industry activist and trainer, conducted demonstrations at the November 2009 and January 2010 CIC meetings showing how structural aftermarket parts did not match the same quality characteristics of original equipment (OE) parts. He was set to embark on a third demonstration at the April CIC meeting in Atlanta when LKQ Corp. threatened to sue him if he proceeded. His demonstration was canceled at the last minute and many repairers were angry over what they said was a stifling of free speech.
LKQ said its tests indicated the aftermarket parts met quality standards and Chess’ demonstrations were spreading misinformation. See Threatened LKQ lawsuit stifles CIC meeting.
While Chess sat on the sideline during the most recent meeting, Ford engineers Paul Massie and Roger Chen provided extensive details about five aftermarket structural parts that the company tested against Ford OE parts. All five parts fell short of OE quality standards.
"We will show you that these aftermarket parts are poorly constructed, are inferior quality and could compromise occupant safety in a crash," said Massie, of Ford's customer service division.
Ford engineers measured a variety of characteristics including metal gauge thickness, weight, raw materials and structural integrity. They also subjected the aftermarket parts to simulated crash performance tests using computer aided engineering (CAE) analysis.
Ford ordered the following aftermarket parts to compare to its OEM parts:
• 2005-09 Mustang front and rear bumper beams
• 2008-09 Focus front and rear bumper beams
• 2005-09 Mustang bumper isolators
• 2006-08 F-150 bumper brackets
• 2004-07 F-150 radiator core support
CAE modeling was done on the two Mustang parts and the F-150 radiator core support.
Aftermarket parts' metal gauge thickness and weight were less then the OEM parts with only one exception, Massie said. They also found that aftermarket parts' material usage varied significantly from OEM parts. "There were significant structural differences between the aftermarket parts and the OEM parts," said Chen, a crash development engineer in Ford Safety Engineering.
One startling difference was in the Ford F-150 radiator core support. The OE part is made of lightweight magnesium and the aftermarket part was made of plastic.
"We could not get a metal replacement part, we could only get plastic," Massie said. "This part became the poster child in the OE vs. aftermarket debate. In this case, the airbag sensor would be mounted in plastic instead of high-strength steel magnesium. The aftermarket part will alter the sensing of the airbag and affect airbag deployment time. The timing of the airbag deployment is an extremely important safety feature."
He said the OEM radiator core support was twice the price of the aftermarket part because magnesium is more expensive than plastic.
Sections were cut from both OE and aftermarket parts and sent to Ford labs to determine material composition. Aftermarket parts were electronically scanned so their dimensions could be determined and compared to Ford OE parts using CAE testing. CAE models of the aftermarket performance were built by substituting the aftermarket parts' material composition and dimensional measurements for the Ford parts. This allowed engineers to predict how both parts would perform.
The differences were dramatic, according to Ford.
Aftermarket bumper beams did not meet Ford engineering specifications and would have been rejected by Ford based simply on dimensional differences.
In addition, aftermarket bumper beams were made of mild steel while the Ford bumper beams were made ultra-high-strength steel. Aftermarket bumper beams consisted of two stamped pieces spot-welded together while Ford bumper beam are one-piece rollformed, hot stamped at elevated temperature, water quenched in die and annealed through bake oven.
In describing what that means in terms of hardness and crashworthiness, Chen said it is like "tofu versus a rock."
Ford said the aftermarket parts it tested were substantially different from OE parts in raw materials, material weight and thickness, manufacturing processes to construct the part, dimensional and structural integrity and performance (for the tested bumper beam and radiator support.
"They do not meet the test of like kind and quality required by 20 states for use in collision repair," Massie said. "The use of these tested aftermarket parts will change the dynamics of the crash process resulting in a differing response from the vehicle safety system than those calibrated by Ford."
Massie said Ford will work with industry trade associations, automobile alliances, governmental and regulatory agencies and elected officials for oversight of aftermarket parts and their impact on the safety of the driving public.
I recently received several calls with this question, thought it was worth sending it out to everyone. --- Luz
Current Arizona Statute
44-1291. Definitions
In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Aftermarket crash part" means a replacement for any of the nonmechanical sheet metal or plastic parts which generally constitute the exterior of a motor vehicle, including the inner and outer panels.
2. "Installer" means an individual who actually does the work of replacing or repairing parts of a motor vehicle.
3. "Nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash part" means an aftermarket crash part which is not made for or by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
4. "Repair facility" means a motor vehicle dealer, garage, body shop or other commercial entity which undertakes the repair or replacement of those parts that generally constitute the exterior of a motor vehicle.
44-1292. Identification of aftermarket crash part
A nonoriginal equipment manufacturer that supplies an aftermarket crash part for use in this state shall affix to the part or inscribe on the part the logo or name of the manufacturer.
44-1293. Disclosure on use of aftermarket crash part
A motor vehicle repair facility or motor vehicle parts installer shall not use a nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash part to repair a vehicle unless the part meets the specifications of section 44-1292 and unless the consumer is advised in a written notice attached to or printed on a repair estimate which:
1. Clearly identifies each part.
2. Contains the following information in ten point or larger type:
"This estimate has been prepared based on the use of replacement parts supplied by a source other than the manufacturer of your motor vehicle. Warranties applicable to these replacement parts are provided by the manufacturer or distributor of these parts rather than the manufacturer of your vehicle."
44-1294. Enforcement
Violation of this article is declared to be an unlawful practice and is subject to all of the penalties and enforcement procedures provided in chapter 10, article 7 of this title.
AMI Leadership Conference Update:
Registration closes Wednesday, May 5
BEDFORD, TEXAS, May 3, 2010 – The Automotive Service Association will hold the ASA 'Taking the Hill' Fly-In and Automotive Management Institute (AMI) Leadership Conference May 11-12 in Washington, D.C. The deadline to register is Wednesday, May 5. Event details and an online registration form are currently available at www.TakingTheHill.com. Travel and hotel accommodations are the responsibility of each participant.
The ASA Fly-In will address the key issues facing both collision- and mechanical-repair professionals, and allow members to meet face-to-face with policymakers on The Hill. The AMI Leadership Conference sessions scheduled for May 11 will allow attendees to participate in two three-hour workshops focusing on ethical leadership. The workshops are designed to enhance attendees' business and personal success.
For more information or to register online today, visit www.TakingTheHill.com. The Web site contains conference times, travel suggestions and a downloadable flier about the event.
The Automotive Service Association is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind dedicated to and governed by independent automotive service and repair professionals. ASA serves an international membership base that includes numerous affiliate, state and chapter groups from both the mechanical and collision repair segments of the automotive service industry. ASA's headquarters is in Bedford, Texas.
ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representation and member services. For additional information about ASA, including past news releases, go to www.ASAshop.org, or visit ASA's legislative Web site at www.TakingTheHill.com.
Author Daniel Pink in his book; DRIVE, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us tells a compelling story about the rise of Wikipedia, currently the largest online encyclopedia in the world. In less than a decade, Wikipedia has amassed over 13 million articles in 260 different languages. Their biggest rival for market share has been Encarta, the on-line encyclopedia software produced by The Microsoft Corporation. Encarta has been the standard for 16 years running and the giant, Microsoft, was the pioneer of the on-line encyclopedia.
On October 31, 2009 in a “David vs. Goliath” style upset, Microsoft permanently pulled the plug on the Encarta product. They simply could not compete with Wikipedia and bowed out of the fight. Now upsets happen all the time and by itself is not wildly impressive, but look at the facts behind Wikipedia;
The largest software company in the world, with tons of paid professionals working full time, was taken out by a bunch of people, amateurs, working for free in their spare time. How was this possible? Was this some business world anomaly, a rare occurrence? It turns out that the truth really is stranger than fiction, but you will probably have to read the entire book to get the full picture.
Pink goes on to talk about two elements that were essential in making such an upset occur and what fueled the intrinsic motivation of all of those amateurs to participate consistently, for free. The first was the human desire for Mastery; That is to say our instinctive need as social animals to continue to learn, grow and find our individual excellence. In a sense it is, to own a talent or skill, to find a unique personal greatness. The Wikipedia team was all on a pursuit to mastery in their own way, the writers, historians, IT geniuses and organizational developers, all worked through Wikipedia as a vehicle to become better professionals and master their crafts.
That is not to say that the paid professionals of Microsoft are not experts in their field, I’m sure they must have a measure of expertise to have gotten to their current positions. The difference is in the level of disciplined effort and execution on the project. For the Wikipedia people, the project represents their life’s work and a desire to do and be more. For the Microsoft professionals, they are being paid to complete a corporate objective…that’s it. The difference is the intrinsic motivation and that comes from the instinctive human desire for mastery. But that is just the beginning of the story….
The second key element was Purpose; there was a shared vision of how things should be, what an online encyclopedia should really provide to people. For the Wikipedia team there is an entire belief system built around this vision, morays and norms, direction and each person could rally around the purpose.
There is also a third, more obvious, advantage that Wikipedia has over Microsoft; strength in numbers. Microsoft as a corporation may out number Wikipedia as a whole in size, strength and resources but not on this particular project. Microsoft had perhaps 100-200 people committed to the Encarta product, at best. Wikipedia has over 10,000 strong for their participation level. A 10 to 1 personnel advantage is pretty significant.
So what does this all have to do with the Collision Repair Industry? Well, after sitting in on the last ASA Collision Industry meeting it’s pretty clear…everything! Up on the board were half dozen topics ranging from licensing to aftermarket parts. Now I’m no expert by any means with any of those topics but it was not difficult to tell that these could all be challenging fights against some industry “Goliaths”. There was much discussion about which fights to take on, who will lead the charge and the obstacles they would face. And there was some doubt in people’s voices; are these fights that can be won?
I suggest that they can because as I looked around the room, I saw something quietly familiar. I saw the very elements that Daniel Pink was indentifying in the Wikipedia story. There was Mastery; every person there was committed to continuous improvement of the collision industry, to their individual company’s success and growth, to themselves as professionals. In fact, that room probably was representative of 30-40 years or more of expertise in collision repair. There was purpose; everyone agreed on how the collision repair industry should be, what was right for the customers and the community. There was a call to action, to rally more troops and gain strength in greater numbers. The story of Wikipedia serves as a great example of how this winning formula can help create the intrinsic motivation and relentless discipline to move a team to consistent action. That consistent action, allows Masters of their craft to move markets.
In conclusion, I hope that as you read this it sparks some thought and serves as a reminder for what the ASA is all about. Each one of you is part of the ASA because you are masters of your craft, with a desire to continue to grow as professionals and people. This is your life’s work. There is purpose and collectively you all know how the collision industry should be, to best serve the community. Victory is possible; there are real examples even today where the Goliath falls. Be relentless, keep building your numbers and rally your strengths, keep fighting the good fight.
-Bryan Nann
ARE YOU GOING TO THE ASA MEETING ON MARCH 11TH!
It has been said a million times – collision repair shops are their own worst enemy. Some agree to ridiculously discounted rates or will “save” deductibles just to get another job in the door. A lot of shop owners feel there is nothing they can do to improve these things. They think the insurance industry is too big and powerful and that trying to change anything is just a waste of time. Well, that is certainly one way of looking at it.
So if things are this bad, why go to the ASA meeting on March 11th?
There are a lot of reasons to go. But the main one is that if you don’t go, you are basically giving up. Will you then just stand on the sidelines and complain about everything from rates to aftermarket structural parts?
Tell me, how has that worked out for you in the past?
If there is any hope of improving things, it will take your involvement. And your ideas. And maybe just a little bit of your time.
It is a proven fact that states with active auto body associations (like Minnesota, Rhode Island and Connecticut to name a few) are better off than those states with little or no participation by shops. Some states have actually made a lot of progress. In fact, one of them has even passed a law making it illegal for an insurance company to use only a portion of the procedure pages – they must use all of the P pages in the database the estimate is written in. I guess these states haven’t gotten the message that “nothing will ever change” in this industry.
We need as many people at this meeting as possible. Time to show up not give up! If you are planning on coming, call another shop and get them to come also. Accepting the way things are is just not an option.
Lets hear from you - what is your opinion?
Two years ago we met to discuss the issues of our industry. At that meeting we defined important areas of focus, and selected volunteers who took the lead - and as a result, gained successes.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
ASA State Office
5060 N. 19th Avenue, Suite 216
Phoenix, AZ 85015
Email Luz at info@asaaz.org to confirm yur attendance.