ARC360 and ILC supports Work Wellfest event
ARC360 and ILC have joined forces with Corporate Partners Entegral and Gemini Accident Repair Group to launch Work WellFest across the vehicle accident repair and motor claims sectors.
The virtual wellbeing festival has been created to coincide with World Mental Health Day on Tuesday 10 October 2023 and will feature a cross-section of virtual events designed to meet the needs of all colleagues and industry peers.
Key influencers provide claims insights
Three key influencers from within insurance claims will provide their thoughts on the latest in motor claims at the Exclusive Motor Claims Conference (EMCC) on Thursday 5 October.
Sarah Lang, Head of Claims Solutions, Admiral Insurance; Charmaine Pattenden, Head of UK Claims, INSHUR; and Dave Thompson, Claims Director, Tesco Insurance will each provide their unique insights on the latest developments within the UK’s motor insurance claims sector touching on areas such as data insights, inflation challenges, and future opportunities.
Repairify set for Equip Auto
Repairify will showcase its diagnostics and calibration technologies at Equip Auto, which takes place in Lyon from 28-30 September.
NBRA unveils Green winners
The National Body Repair Association has announced the winners of the Greener Bodyshop Awards.
The awards, which celebrate those businesses who have made great strides towards reducing their carbon footprint and showing environmental responsibility, were held at Alton Towers on 14 September.
Date set for dedicated AFV training course
Park Lodge International and Jeff Mack Consultancy are hosting an IMI-approved course to help anyone involved with alternative-fuelled vehicles handle them safely.
The eight-hour Alternative Fuelled Vehicle – Fire & Safety in Response, Recovery, Investigation and Examination course is aimed at insurance assessors, first responders, recovery agents and repairers.
Furness in the hot seat
Accident management specialist Activate Group has named Adrian Furness as new Managing director of its Motor Repair Network business.
Furness joins from Covea, where he was CEO.
Gemini recognised for apprenticeship success
Gemini ARC was presented with itsTop 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2023 certificate at the House of Commons.
The event celebrated the highest-ranked apprenticeship employers in the UK.
Team UK strikes gold in Gdańsk
Team UK scooped nine medals at the Skills Olympics in Poland. The competition saw elite apprentices and young professionals from 32 countries compete across 42 different disciplines.
The UK team, mentored by WorldSkills UK, took one gold and two bronze medals, plus six Medallions for Excellence.
Motofix secures EV Ready status
Motofix Accident Repair Centres has achieved EV readiness after completing Thatcham Research’s EV Ready training programme.
EV Ready equips everyone within the workforce with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle EVs.
Automotive vacancy rate 34% higher than UK average
The IMI has revealed in its latest Automotive Labour Market Briefing that there are 24,000 vacancies in the UK automotive industry.
This is down from 26,000 at the start of the year, but the industry’s vacancy rate is still 34% higher than the UK average.
AutoRaise Rally hailed a triumph
The AutoRaise Rally, which took place over three days last week, has been hailed as a huge success.
Among the winners, Gemini ARC’s beetle was named Best Designed Car, Copart’s Rolls Royce Ghost was Best Liveried Vehicle, while Synetiq’s Vikings were named Best Dressed.
The Tyne is right for Lloyd Motor Group
Lloyd Motor Group is set to open its fourth site in Newcastle and 34th across the north of England and southern Scotland.
The 10,808 sqft site has been acquired from Cazoo and when it opens later this year will operate as a used car retailer and vehicle preparation centre.
IMI supporting government-led EV inquiry
The IMI is supporting the government’s inquiry into the challenges of adopting EVs ahead of the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.
The inquiry, which is seeking responses from industry stakeholders and drivers, is examining the costs and benefits of transitioning to EVs as part of the government’s net zero ambitions.
Chartwell champions good mental health
General Manager at Chartwell Lou Lawes has been awarded the Mental Health Awareness First Aider Certificate.
He is one of eight colleagues to achieve the certification, underling the company’s commitment to staff wellbeing.
Thatcham Research welcomes self-driving report
Thatcham Research has welcomed the House of Commons Transport Committee’s self-driving report, which addresses insurance, government policy and consumer adoption.
Vehicle technology specialist Tom Leggett said, “It encourages the government to embrace self-driving technology cautiously and gradually, ensuring that the focus is on safe implementation, legal clarity and public acceptance. This can only be achieved by a unified approach by vehicle manufacturers, government and insurers.”
New EV gigahub unveiled in Birmingham
The UK government has unveiled a new EV charging gigahub in Birmingham that can charge 180 vehicles at the same time.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said, “The ground-breaking site will be a major transport hub for the future and marks a significant step in our rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.”
GT Motive partners with OEC
GT Motive has announced a new partnership with OEC to provide its customers with access to competitive OE parts from the VISION collision platform.
BMW going all-electric in Oxford
BMW Group is investing more than £600m in its Oxford and Swindon sites to transform them into EV production factories.
The Oxford plant will build the MINI Cooper 3-door and the compact crossover MINI Aceman from 2026, with a view to making production exclusively electric by 2030.
Activate Group takes next step in incident reporting
Activate Group has launched Activate Initiate, an incident-reporting application for insurers, fleets, drivers and policyholders.
Initiate combines digital solutions with telephone FNOL to promote efficiency and improve data accuracy.
MTI unveils hydrogen training portfolio
The MIRA Technology Institute has announced a raft of new courses to promote awareness and understanding of hydrogen fuel cells and their application.
Courses include The Impact of Hydrogen HGV, Understanding Hydrogen HGV, Hydrogen Fuel Cells and their Applications, and IMI Level 1 Hydrogen Vehicle Awareness.
Core blimey
ITAS Core is set to reveal its latest update, which will see the management tool adapted for all mobile devices.
Easily connected to other ITAS software, it also offers advanced data security protocols and deeper analytics to provide users with even deeper insights, enabling data-driven decisions.
Autotech Group set for Peak challenge
Autotech Group’s Stephen Hughes, Mark Armitage, and Laurence Abbott will support industry charity Ben by joining The Garage Hive Peak District Hike, which will cover 19.3km with a 713m elevation gain on 11 October.
New regulations could catch industry napping
The automotive industry is unprepared for new, United Nations-backed vehicle safety regulations that will come into force next July.
The regulations address pollution, safety systems and automated and connected vehicles, but a new survey found that 42% of respondents do not have a plan in place to meet them, with 63% admitting they were ‘not very involved’ in preparations for the new rules.
A day in the life of an FNOL technician
INSHUR has highlighted the critical role its FNOL technicians play in delivering excellent customer service and ensuring repairs are ‘right first time.’
It says that gathering as much information as possible is a priority, along with continued communication with the customer throughout the process.
Ezi Methods finalists confirmed
The 20 finalists competing in the Ezi Methods Industry Golf Challenge for the honour of being best golfer in the vehicle repair sector have been confirmed.
They will tee-off at the prestigious Old Thorns Golf Club in Hampshire on Wednesday, 27 September, after securing their places during qualifying rounds hosted by CAPS, Stellantis, Morelli and Fix Auto UK.
People
David Punter has been named Chief Executive Officer at iSalvage.
The Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors has appointed Philip Briggs as President-Elect and Press Officer.
