ADAS – advanced driver assistance systems – has been a buzzword within the incident repair industry for a number of years, but despite that there still appears a widespread lack of indepth understanding of the technology.
The introduction of Thatcham Research’s Insurance Industry Requirements (IIR), backed by more than 30 insurer brands, in July 2020 and its subsequent implementation at the end of March 2021 has only emphasised that knowledge gap, with a flurry of activity evidenced as many in the aftermarket scrambled to make up the ground.
However, this technological tsunami is only just starting, with ADAS nothing more than step one on the path to autonomous driving.
That was the verdict of the third ARC360 on-demand webinar, in association with I Love Claims, entitled: ADAS – how is the technology impacting claims?
The webinar included insights from suppliers, manufacturers, training providers and outsourced service providers, with Richard Taylor, European business development director, asTech; Steve Plunkett, business development manager, Volvo body and paint; Rob Ward, director, RWC Training Centre; and Sean Harper, fleet supply chain manager, S&G Response, all taking part.
‘ADAS has been added to vehicles to make them safer and to support the needs of the driver,’ Richard said. ‘But it also makes things more complicated and will give people within this industry a massive headache trying to understand it and keep up-to-date with the changing developments in the vehicles and, more importantly, how to repair them to pre-accident condition.’
Awareness
The IIR has put the emphasis on repairers to ensure this happens, but Richard feels that in many cases awareness is not where it should be. He says that not only do drivers not appreciate how the technology in their cars will react in the event of an accident, but many technicians aren’t even aware the technology is there.
He said, ‘You could describe it as a fog. There is a lot of misunderstanding about what’s on a car and one of the biggest issues in the bodyshop world is knowing if the car they’re repairing does have ADAS technology built into it. They need to know if the bumper they’re about to repair has sensors or not, otherwise how will they know it needs to be recalibrated?’
He suggests bodyshops will need tech partners such as asTech – which uses OE tools to analyse the modules built within cars – to help them identify what technology is fitted into vehicles, what calibrations will be required, and how to invoice the job appropriately.
Richard said, ‘The first and most important thing is to understand the vehicle and what’s in it, but as an industry there are huge awareness issues around the technology, how it performs and what needs to be done to ensure it goes back to the customer in pre-accident condition.’
Support
Steve agrees, and he thinks the challenge is becoming increasingly acute as technology continues to develop at pace.
He said, ‘It feels like ADAS has been around forever, but there has been a tsunami of technology since 2015 and it’s only going to keep developing – and not just within Volvo.’
The benefits then of being a VM approved repairer could become even greater in the coming months and years. He explained how ADAS – and also EV – training has picked up again since Covid-19 restrictions have eased and Volvo’s approved network is now ‘in a great place’ to handle the technology within modern vehicles.
Steve said, ‘We’ve got 75-approved bodyshops, going up to 76 by the end of the year, and I’m quite confident that with the support of our retailers they have the tooling, training and equipment to repair the vehicles correctly, safely and first time. But I think it’s becoming increasingly challenging for non-approved repairers to repair these vehicles now.’
With ADAS filtering down from high end to mainstream, and all new models from 2023 to be fitted with some form of ADAS, that challenge will only accelerate.
Training
Perhaps it’s not surprising then that RWC has reported soaring demand for its ADAS courses. It has been delivering IMI-approved training from its Milton Keynes site for three years, but after a slow and steady start the uptake has surged this year.
Rob said, ‘We were doing one course a month, now we’re doing one or two a week. The driver behind that is IIR, which has caused a certain amount of panic.’
However, the rush for skills appears to be paying off, with Rob even suggesting that many bodyshops have now overtaken dealerships on the ADAS front, investing in technology that enables them to repair more of the car parc than brand-specific retailers.
He said, ‘The dealerships have been slow to the ADAS party, while repairers have invested in their own kit and many are leaving them behind. They need to promote that fact because drivers will soon be far more aware of ADAS and seek out repairers that have this capability.’
But it’s not just repairers rushing to get to grips with the technology. The RWC customer-base has evolved to include mobile windscreen replacement companies, service centres and smart repairers, while the courses themselves are also getting broader as companies appreciate the value of widespread understanding.
Rob said, ‘ADAS impacts on everyone in the business; customer-facing staff also need to be able to talk about the technology with a certain level of understanding and confidence. The next thing that’s coming is over-the-air ADAS calibrations. We’ve recently teamed up with a company to promote and train this, and if I was a repairer I would want to know all about it. It’s a big investment, but it’s the right investment to make.’
Claims
But while ADAS brings inevitable skills and training challenges, its influence on the claims process goes much deeper than that. The greater the complexity of the repair, the more costly it is likely to be and the longer it is likely to take – which only brings more cost.
Sean said, ‘ADAS is having a sizeable impact on claims. There is the process element; making sure everyone knows what they need to do, and the cost element; which has seen claims costs edging up due to extra complexity.’
S&G Response tried to address this by asking its supply chain to hand all ADAS repairs over to a trusted partner. But while this guaranteed the integrity of the repair and streamlined costs, it had a negative impact on key-to-key times as the chosen partner was not able to meet demand in a timely manner.
To address this, S&G Response now encourages its repairers to source their own ADAS partners if they are not able to perform the repairs themselves but requires detailed documentation of the process to ensure safety.
It’s likely that this flexible mindset and willingness to adjust will be crucial as the sector contorts around ever-more ADAS challenges. Because one thing is certain: this technology is not going anywhere.
Sean concluded, ‘ADAS is just the starting point of the technical challenges to come. We are only just starting on the road to autonomous driving. You can embrace it or push against it. We’re embracing it.’
ARC360, in association with I Love Claims, is supported by corporate partners BASF, BMS, Copart, EMACS, Entegral, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Mirka, Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance, S&G Response, Sherwin Williams and CAPS; partners asTech, The Green Parts Specialists, Indasa, Innovation Group and Prasco UK.
