Conference set to explore ESG

Andrew Hooker, Head of Technical at Solus Accident Repair Centres is set to unravel how and why environmental, social and governance (ESG) is now so vital within the accident repair supply chain at the ARC360 conference in November.

Andrew will provide an insight into how Solus – the 21 site repairer network owned by Aviva – is working to align its ESG practices with those of its insurer parent. From his unique perspective, Andrew will explore the reasons why; how it is achieved; and what a clear ESG strategy means for a sustainable future for all working relationships.

Taking place on Thursday 24 November at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry the ‘Gaining Ground Together’ themed event is offering free access to repairers who register as it bids to bring the repairer and supply chain communities closer.

Mark Hadaway, co-founder of ARC360, said, “Having the support of Andrew and Solus, with such a wealth of experience and understanding from both insurer and repairer perspectives, is a major coup for the event and aligns perfectly with the ARC360 theme of ‘Gaining Ground Together’.

“With ESG being such a topical subject, the session is sure to provide a great insight into both the realities of ingraining stringent ESG practices but so too the future expectations for supply chain partnerships.”

The event – sponsored by GT Motive – will also feature a host of ‘quickfire’ sessions focused on providing greater insight and context to market conditions via a ‘state of the nation’ look at market data and how it translates to everyday operations and future planning; procurement and battling the challenges of rising claims inflation; and an exclusive look at the latest technology to be deployed within the technician training environment.

The speaker line-up revealed to date includes:

  • Chris Brightmore, CEO, Chartwell
  • Andrew Eade, Head of AD Strategy & Fulfilment at First Central
  • Dawn Marsden, Head of GI Supplier Management, LV= Insurance
  • Nick Sweetman, Head of Vehicle Repair & Service Operations for UK & Ireland, Enterprise Holdings
  • Sharna Thomson, Head of Customer – UK Claims, Zurich Insurance
  • Chris Weeks, Executive Director of the NBRA

Tickets, sponsorship, and exhibition spaces are all now available for the event. Click here to visit the website or contact jonathan@iloveclaims.com for details.

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ARC360 set to explore practical impacts of industry challenges

Customer satisfaction, reshaping supply chain relationships and having the ‘why’ in your business are just some of the key topics set for November’s ARC360 ‘Gaining Ground Together’ event.

Taking place on Thursday 24 November at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Coventry the event will kick-off with a ‘state of the nation’ round-up of the latest data and hot topics of the day, followed by a host of sessions focusing on the implications of the current challenging socio-economic factors.

With well-documented challenges around areas such as inflation, parts availability and talent pool the event will bring into focus just what this means for general business practices and processes, and discuss how optimising such areas can provide significant benefit now and into the future.

Taking to the stage to help explore these three key areas are:

  • Chris Brightmore, CEO, Chartwell
  • Dawn Marsden, Head of GI Supplier Management, LV= Insurance
  • Sharna Thomson, Head of Customer – UK Claims, Zurich Insurance

They join the previously announced speakers:

  • Andrew Eade, Head of AD Strategy & Fulfilment at First Central
  • Nick Sweetman, Head of Vehicle Repair & Service Operations for UK & Ireland, Enterprise Holdings
  • Chris Weeks, Executive Director of the NBRA

More names are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

The day – sponsored by GT Motive and free to attend for registered repairers – will include a host of ‘quickfire’ sessions focused on providing greater insight and context to market conditions. It will deliver a ‘state of the nation’ look at market data and how it actually translates to everyday operations and future planning; explore procurement and battling the challenges of rising claims inflation; and the importance and impact of ESG on the supply chain.

The day will also feature an exclusive look at the latest technology to be deployed within the technician training environment.

ARC360 is supported by Corporate Partners: Solera Audatex; BASF; BMS; CAPS; Copart; EMACS; Entegral; Enterprise; Innovation Group; Mirka; Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance; and S&G; along with Partners: Repairify; The Green Parts Specialists; Indasa; and Prasco UK; and Associate Partners: Gemini ARC; Trend Tracker; and Thatcham Research.

Tickets, sponsorship and exhibition spaces are all now available for the event. Contact jonathan@iloveclaims.com for details or click here.

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CMA urges government to replace MVBER

The CMA is recommending that the government replace the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption (MVBER) with a UK Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Order (MVBEO).

The existing MVBER, which provides a block exemption for vertical agreements relating to the purchase, sale or resale of spare parts for motor vehicles and to the provision of repair and maintenance services for motor vehicles, expires on 31 May, 2023.

The CMA (Competitions & Market Authority) will now ask the government to replace it with a new order that is more suitable to British businesses and customers, which would be in place until 31 May, 2029.

This follows consultation with the industry, including respected bodies such as the ABI and Thatcham Research, the SMMT, the Independent Garage Association, the RAC and UKAFCAR.

The CMA said, “Given the strong evidence and views in favour of a block exemption for motor vehicle aftermarket agreements, the CMA is recommending that there should continue to be a block exemption and that letting the retained MVBER expire without providing for replacement is not currently appropriate in the UK.

“However, the evidence we have seen also indicates that the retained MVBER regime should be revised in certain respects.”

This includes issues relating to the definition of ‘spare parts’ and access to technical and vehicle information.

The CMA added, “The CMA is conscious that there may be advantages in divergence from the EU in certain circumstances – for example to address features specific to UK markets and better protect UK consumers.

“Equally, the CMA recognises that, all things being equal, there can also be benefits in consistency between the EU and the UK block exemptions, particularly for the various businesses with activities in both the UK and the EU (eg by reducing administrative burdens and compliance costs).

“When deciding about how to best address the various substantive issues at play we have sought to be guided by what is best for UK consumers and businesses when balancing these considerations.”

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Mercedes sets new Assisted Driving standard

The Mercedes-EQ EQE achieved the highest ever score in Assisted Driving Gradings in the latest round of Euro NCAP testing.

The Gradings measure not just the safety systems in place, but the clarity of the marketing around them.

The EQE’s overall Assisted Driving rating of ‘very good’ was the best ever achieved, with an Assistance Competence score of 85%. The model also became the first to achieve a perfect Safety Back-Up result of 100%.

Matthew Avery, Chief Research Strategy Officer, Thatcham Research, said, “Mercedes is a brand that appears to be getting Assisted Driving right. Driver expectations are managed successfully thanks to appropriate naming conventions and marketing that clearly positions system function as ‘assisted’.

“The driver is encouraged to understand that it’s a team effort involving cooperative driving between motorist and machine, as opposed to becoming convinced that they can check-out completely.”

The Mercedes-EQ EQE was one of seven vehicles that went through rigorous impact protection and crash avoidance testing and a separate Assisted Driving Grading.

The Atto 3 from Chinese manufacturer BYD received a five-star rating, as did the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, BMW X1, SEAT Ibiza and VW Golf, while the Citroën C5 X and Mobilize Limo were given four-star ratings.

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Solera updates paint material prices

Solera Audatex updated its paint materials table on Thursday, 13 October, for its Irish customers.

The updates were made to bring the table into line with recent paint manufacturer price changes, which shows an indicative average increase of 19% on the calculated paint and materials.

The company said, “These calculations are based upon updated paint material tables represented by the basket of paint brands used in our system. Please note that this is an indicative percentage for guidance purposes only, as the actual increase per job will depend on a number of factors including the specific paint operations (new part, surface, repair), paint type, and the surface to be prepared/painted (metal versus plastic).”

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RWC secures Ford training contract

Milton Keynes-based training provider RWC Training has announced a new partnership with Skillnet to deliver Ford’s Body and Paint Apprenticeship programme.

Apprentices have already embarked on their training at RWC’s state-of-the-art facilities.

The national programme will deliver a continued pipeline of qualified level 3 Vehicle Paint technicians for the UK Ford Collision Centre Network (FCCN), and open the door to many more would-be technicians.

The announcement compliments the training RWC already delivers for Ford at its Dagenham factory and at the Henry Ford Academy.

RWC founder and director Rob Ward said, “The team at RWC are extremely proud to have been appointed by Skillnet to deliver the apprenticeship scheme and develop the skills and knowledge of many young people employed across the Ford network.”

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BMW Group announces cloud-based collaboration with AWS

BMW Group is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop new cloud technologies that will enable it to better leverage data generated by modern and future connected vehicles.

Today there are already more than 20 million connected BMW Group vehicles on the road, sending upwards of 10 billion enquiries – around hazard detection, ADAS and OTA updates – to the cloud-based infrastructure that manages connected vehicles.

The partnership with AWS will create a self-service portal enabling BMW Group developers to access all relevant data with just a few clicks. Only BMW Group will have access to the data, with AWS only providing infrastructure and services.

Nicolai Krämer, Vice President Vehicle Connectivity Platforms, said, “We already have around 20 million extensively connected vehicles on the road today. When the ‘Neue Klasse’ is launched, our offboard cloud platform, powered by AWS, will process roughly triple the volume of vehicle data compared to the current generation of BMW models. Together with AWS, we will continue to create innovative solutions, allowing us to develop new, data-driven functions and make them available to customers faster.”

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ARC360 offers free access to repairers

ARC360 is offering free access for repairers to its forthcoming ‘Gaining Ground Together’ themed event taking place on Thursday 24 November at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry.

The move comes as ARC360 steps up its efforts to bring the repairer and supply chain communities together by providing a platform of collaboration and understanding for all stakeholders.

The day will include a host of ‘quickfire’ sessions focused on providing greater insight and context to market conditions. It will deliver a ‘state of the nation’ look at market data and how it actually translates to everyday operations and future planning; explore procurement and battling the challenges of rising claims inflation; and the importance and impact of ESG on the supply chain.

The event will also include an exclusive look at the latest technology to be deployed within the technician training environment.

Mark Hadaway, co-founder of ARC360 said, “ARC360 has been developed around the core theme of Gaining Ground Together. Offering access to November’s event, at no cost, to repairers is very much a part of that approach in providing a platform for insight and knowledge sharing to support the long-term sustainability of the sector.”

ARC360 is supported by Corporate Partners: Solera Audatex; BASF; BMS; CAPS; Copart; EMACS; Entegral; Enterprise; Innovation Group; Mirka; Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance; and S&G; along with Partners: Repairify; The Green Parts Specialists; Indasa; and Prasco UK; and Associate Partners: Gemini ARC; Trend Tracker; and Thatcham Research.

The event is sponsored by GT Motive.

To secure tickets for the event, click here. Repairer tickets are allocated on a first come, first serve basis and limited to one ticket per site.

Tickets, sponsorship and exhibition spaces are all now available for the event – email jonathan@iloveclaims.com for details.

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Copart completes trial of cleaner fuel solution

UK salvage and remarketing experts Copart has completed a six-month trial of FuelActive, a new solution that delivers 92% cleaner fuel to engines.

FuelActive works by drawing fuel from near the surface of the tank, avoiding contamination from water and sediment that settles near the bottom. This reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by as much as five per cent.

Phil Briggs, Director of Operation Centres, Transport & Engineering at Copart, said: “This FuelActive trial is yet another ‘Greenest Fleet on the Street’ initiative we are exploring as part of our Plan-Net-Zero commitment, which is designed to address all aspects of our operations against our ambition of achieving carbon neutrality in the shortest possible timescale.

“We’ve already made significant investment into the latest telematics and camera technology across our transport fleet, providing unique data and insight into driving styles and fuel consumption, and we’re actively exploring the option of hydrogen fuelled vehicles going forwards.

“The initial findings from the trial are very positive and we look forward to sharing the results after further analysis.”

The trial is part of an ongoing strategy of sustainability, which has already seen Copart ensure Euro VI compliancy across its transporter fleet, invest in JCB loaders with lower fuel consumption and emissions, invest in single and three-car transporters to enhance efficiency and partner with HGVC to deliver carbon neutral training to its drivers.

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AutoRaise seeks fresh impetus

AutoRaise is looking to support further growth by appointing new members to its Board of Trustees.

It will consider applications from anyone within the vehicle repair industry but is particularly keen to appoint experienced professionals from automotive sectors such as education, marketing and management.

It said, “Some of the current Board of Trustees have continued in their tenure for longer than was required; this was to ensure both the smooth running of the charity and to get AutoRaise into an enviable financial position post pandemic. It is now time to welcome some new like-minded industry professionals who can give their support, experience, and a little time to secure the objectives of the charity. 

“AutoRaise will engage with all applicants to assess the candidate’s suitability, experience and skill set against the available roles. Successful applicants will be formally elected as officers of the charity and be allocated key responsibilities within a specific Trustee role with a level of expectancy around activity and input.”

The charity dedicated to promoting apprenticeships within the industry is also seeking volunteers to offer occasional support for specific projects, campaigns, initiatives, and events.  

Anyone interested is invited to email Jennifer Evans at jen.evans@autoraise.co.uk before Friday, 28 October 2022.

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