CollisionCast
CollisionCast is the premier collision repair industry podcast, helping shop owners and operators improve their businesses with real-world solutions to common problems, delivered by leading industry experts and elite shop leaders.
Episodes
Leadership isn’t just for those with a title. Every team member has a leadership role. Whether you're a manager or a technician, success comes from shared vision, ownership, and consistent action. Great cultures are built intentionally by people who lead from the front, together. Everyone, regardless of their role, has the power (and responsibility) to lead by example. In this special episode of CollisionCast, Chris Messer, executi...
There are several reasons to consider adding ADAS calibration, including reducing cycle time, offering a profitable service, or gaining control over quality.
Steve Dawson, regional manager in the Washington, D.C., area for Hunter Engineering, joins the CollisionCast to talk about what you might need for a facility and the return on investment you can expect, which Steve says can be recouped in as little as a few months for higher v...
Are you a manager, or are you a leader? Do you know the distinction? If you are setting specific outcomes and making sure projects are moving forward, not just waiting until the deadline, you’re likely a leader, someone who follows up and follows through. For over 30 years, Mike Jones, president and master trainer at Discover Leadership Training, has urged his followers to follow up and follow through. To help his followers remembe...
As it relates to ADAS calibrations in collision repair shops, what is the skill level of technicians?
AirPro Diagnostics conducted a survey and presented the data to professors at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, for analysis.
The 26-page report from Dr. Debbie Wang and Dr. Pingying Zhang, "Skilled Labor Shortage in Auto Collision Industry Posts Motorist Safety Risk," was published in July and is available ...
In this episode, we explore the critical role that training and development play in driving success at CARSTAR, one of the leading collision repair networks in the country. Our guest, a proud CARSTAR owner, opens up about the inspiration behind making employee growth a top priority and how this focus has transformed both their team and customer experience.
For anyone who has ever uttered the words, “failure is not an option,” Mike Jones, president and master trainer at Discover Leadership Training, has a message you should consider. In this special edition of CollisionCast, Jones, who works extensively with small to medium-sized business owners and their teams on evolving to improve, talks with Chris Messer, the executive vice president of the Transportation Group at Endeavor Busine...
At a time when many across the country are experiencing slowing sales, Greg Lobsiger, owner of Loren's Body Shop in Bluffton, Indiana, and monthly FenderBender Shop Profits columnist, had the best sales month since his grandfather opened the shop in 1951. Lobsiger offers a message of hope and a few tips shop owners and operators can implement immediately, and at little cost, to help bring more dollars through the door.
The on-again, off-again nature of the various tariffs that apply to our industry can be confusing. To help our listeners gain a better understanding of what tariffs currently apply and how they could soon affect collision repairers, we talk with veteran analyst PartsTrader Chief Industry Relations Officer Greg Horn. Go here for a summary on FenderBender.com of Greg's blog post, as well as a link to the original post.
In California, the Bureau of Automotive Repair is implementing new regulations July 1 that will change how collision repairers will do business. These changes will be detailed in the Write it Right guide, also on July 1.
Andrew Batenhorst, body shop manager of Pacific BMW in Glendale, California, Glendale and Foothill chapter president of the California Autobody Association, and FenderBender columnist, joins the CollisionCast to t...
Vehicle complexity, including the growing average number of replacement parts — up by 15% — and lightweight parts that more often need to be replaced instead of repaired, means repair times are longer and the labor required for this is more specialized.
This has increased severity. Meanwhile, claims frequency is down. In this CollisionCast episode, John Barbagallo, strategic advisor for fleet safety and compliance telematics firm S...
A paint booth is essentially a large air mover. The freer air can move in and out, the better off you'll be. But if a booth is imbalanced, the air can be turbulent and dirty, and that creates more work to sand out and polish dirt nibs. In this CollisionCast episode, sponsored by Accudraft Paint Booths, Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht sits down with Jeremy Winters, content and marketing at Accudraft, to talk about the importance of having...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, formed in 1949 by what is now known as Mental Health America. This year, its campaign theme is "Turn Awareness into Action," which celebrates "the progress we've made in recognizing the importance of mental health — and challenging us to turn understanding into meaningful steps toward change."
In this month's FenderBender magazine feature, Andy Tylka, owner of TAG Auto Group in Indiana, underst...
Join this episode of the CollisionCast, in which Mike Brockway, owner of Dabler Auto Body & Collision Repair in Salem, Oregon, talks with Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht about some of the challenges facing the collision repair industry today, including pushback from insurers on certain line items, and how he plans to meet the challenges in the coming months.
Beginning in May, 3M is rolling out its new Front Office Collision Repair Training course.
Intended for repair planners/estimators, adjusters, collision repair shop managers and owners, the focus of the three-day course is on foundational processes in the body repair and paint shop areas. FenderBender Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht talks with the two who developed the course, 3M Digital Performance Manager John Ascheman and Application ...
In this CollisionCast episode, sponsored by AMAROK, Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht sits down with AMAROK Enterprise Development Manager Jackson Skey to talk about how improving your collision repair shop's security can be a turnkey solution that can give your customers peace of mind their vehicle is being cared for. It can even save time and reduce vehicle damage because vehicles may not need to be jockeyed around just so they can be st...
Women are not well represented in collision repair, and there’s one organization that aims to support women in this male-dominated field.
Liz Stein, vice president of strategic initiatives at Certified Collision Group and current WIN chair, and Cheryl Boswell, CFO and partner for DCR Systems and a past WIN chair, discuss the importance of WIN and its impact.
Following OEM procedures closely is needed not only to ensure proper calibrations of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS,) but can also help seed up works in process (WIP.) Hear how the co-founders of Lightning Auto Service advocate for proper procedures and some steps they've taken to reduce friction with insurers. Check out some of the resources they've made available here.
Caliber Collision doesn’t just combat the tech shortage with their Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP); they’re also changing the lives of active-duty service members by giving them a smooth transition not only to the collision repair industry but also to civilian life.
Andrew Vaccaro, director of apprenticeships at Caliber Collision, discusses Caliber’s work in their Changing Lanes initiative.
Focus Advisors is a mergers and acquisitions firm specializing in the collision repair market and helping MSO owners achieve maximum value through a strategic exit. President Chris Lane and Senior Associate Madeleine Roberts Rich join the CollisionCast to discuss how collision repair business owners can help prepare for a sale.
An Abra location in Minnesota participated in a program that gives hands-on collision repair experience to public school teachers so they can apply what they learn to their own teaching.
Danyell Wendland, an Abra operations manager, discusses how the program went and what the goal was.
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