Three 'Game-Changers' Win CollisionWeek Innovation Awards© CollisionWeek. All rights reserved. 2010undefined No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

In today's collision repair industry, it is more important than ever to discover and promote new ideas and technologies that benefit repair facility operations and/or enhance their outside relationships with customers, insurers and vendors. With that goal, CollisionWeek developed the idea of the Innovation Awards to recognize those companies that develop products or services with the repairer in mind.

Nominations were received from practically the entire range of products and services used throughout the collision repair industry from body repair solutions and refinish operations to shop marketing and front office administrative solutions. Following a process of elimination that resulted in a short list of finalists, the ultimate winners of the inaugural CollisionWeek Innovation Awards were selected by an independent panel of judges with over 100 years of combined industry experience and representing a mix of industry segments. The judges selected winners in three categories: Repair Operations, Office/Management Operations, and Shop Customer/Insurance Relations.

With that in mind, CollisionWeek is proud to introduce the three winners of the inaugural Innovation Awards: Summit Software Solutions, Inc.; Audatex, a Solera Company; and Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes.

For the Repair Operations category, Sherwin-Williams was selected for its HP Process Refinish system with Air-Dry technology. A paint system developed with speed and energy savings in mind, the HP Process Refinish system takes the vehicle refinish process from primer to clearcoat in under 50 minutes and does it without the need for UV lights or high temperature baking.

Audatex received our judges' approval in the Office/Management Operations category for the development of its 3D Intelligent Graphics that give the company's estimating system the ability to present images of automobile parts in a three dimensional view that allows zooming, color coding and 360 degree rotation.

In the category of Shop Customer/Insurance Relations, an innovative software application called "Help I Crashed My Car," produced by Summit Software and Mobile Solutions of Poway California received the highest vote from our judges. The software for mobile phones is an OnStar like application that directly connects the customer with the shop moments after an accident.

According to Frank Terlep, CEO of Summit Software, the idea for application occurred to him in the midst of a bench press during his morning workout.

Terlep was listening to a book, The Net Generation, on DVD and heard the author say that "there are more than 100 million Gen X and Y people in the U.S. that will live and die with their smart phones."
 
Terlep racked the weight he was lifting and sat up. "When I heard this statement," he said, "I immediately thought there was a huge opportunity for collision repairers due to the confluence between the number of young people who are the worst drivers, and smart phones, where email, text messaging, and GPS technology could now transmit a first notice of accident directly from the consumer to the shop, including a map and directions to the scene of the accident."

The result of Terlep's epiphany is Help I Crashed My Car, an integrated digital marketing platform for collision repair shops.

According to Rick Tuuri, vice-president of marketing Audatex, their customers provided the motivation to develop their 3D Intelligent Graphics. "They, and the industry, have been asking for better graphics since the introduction of automated estimating through the Audatex paper worksheet," says Tuuri. That need spurred Audatex to introduce the software that makes estimates easier and more accurate by enabling the user to see parts more clearly.

Likewise, Sherwin-Williams was seeking to satisfy its customers' need to complete repairs as quickly as possible, while holding down costs, when it developed the HP Process, a refinishing system that helps shops paint more cars while at the same time using less energy.

In announcing the Innovation Awards, CollisionWeek was seeking to recognize breakthroughs in collision repair products, business processes and technology that provide dramatic improvements for collision repair facility operators. All three of the winners certainly qualify under those criteria, while addressing three different aspects of collision repair facility operation: customer service and marketing, estimating, and the paint process.

"What excites me most about Help I Crashed My Car is the benefits it delivers to shops as well as the overall adoption opportunity," says Terlep. "Today more than 61 percent of North America's population wants to be communicated to, marketed to and serviced 'digitally.' Our Help I Crashed My Car platform is the only digital marketing and communication platform that allows a shop of any size to utilize virtually any digital marketing and communications capability, such as email, text, social media, customer reviews, ratings, digital promotions, coupons and website optimization improvements, to capture, service and retain more cars, customers, revenue and profits."

Audatex, headquartered in San Diego, was influenced by advice Tuuri got years ago. "The best advice that anyone has given me when buying a computer is 'spend your money on the monitor,'" he says. "It's what you see, it's where your eyes spend their time. When you write an estimate now, you are looking at the screen a lot. 3D color graphics provide the best, most pleasing visual experience possible."

With Audatex's 3D Intelligent Graphics software, vehicle sections can be rotated 360 degrees on both the horizontal and vertical axis, and the estimator can zoom in to view color-coded parts. Substrates such as aluminum, boron and high-strength steels are all color-coded.

Tuuri says the system "has been flying off the shelf" since it was introduced a year ago. He says 80 percent of the most popular car models have been incorporated into the system.

Bob Lloyd, owner of Lloyd's Collision & Paint Center, in Santee, Calif. says that after installing 3D Intelligent Graphics, his estimating errors went from 40 to 10 percent. "And," he adds, "cycle times improved by an entire day per vehicle, from an average of five days to four."

Sherwin-Williams, winners in the Repair Operations category, used its HPC15 Clearcoat as a springboard for the HP Process. Brian Shenk, director of marketing services, says the process is a game-changer for collision repair shops.

"Our customers are under regular pressure from vehicle owners and insurers to complete repairs as quickly as possible," says Shenk. "Normally, improvements in speed come at significant cost -- new spray booths, IR lamps, etc. That's not the case with the HP Process. Through the use of a few new products and some basic training, our shops can cut paint cycle time significantly. Even better, this can be accomplished without the costly application of heat from a downdraft booth, thus saving significantly on natural gas bills."

Shenk says customer response has been so enthusiastic that Sherwin, at first, was hard-pressed to keep system products in stock. Now, with supply problems solved, testimonials are pouring in. Shenk says one shop reported that its gas bill dropped by 60 percent thanks to the innovative refinishing system. He says this was one of S-W's goals in developing the system.

"As important as productivity is," he says, "we feel it's equally important to lower our customers' costs of doing business."

Russell Thrall III, publisher of CollisionWeek, congratulated the winners "By presenting these awards, we hope to acknowledge and encourage the efforts of those who drive the development of products, business processes and technology that provide dramatic improvements for collision repair facility operators. I feel that these three companies have done that, and they are to be congratulated."

Category: Shop Customer/Insurance Relations Winner: Summit Software and Mobile Solutions, Poway, Calif. Innovation: Help I crashed My Car About the product: Help I crashed My Car enables car owners involved in accidents to use a single icon on their smart phone to contact, via email or text, up to three family members, their insurance company, and, importantly, their body shop. More important, the service gives the shop an extensive marketing program, utilizing all the social media to send advertising and promotional notices, conduct surveys, post consumer reviews, and much more. It is compatible with all major mobile phone operating systems and automatically integrates with the leading estimating systems. Benefits to collision repair facilities: Vastly increased marketing potential through all social media, to a huge potential customer base that depends on their smart phone for communication. Online: www.helpicrashedmycar.com

Category: Office/Management Operations Winner: Audatex, San Diego, Calif. Innovation: 3D Intelligent Graphics About the product: This software enables the estimator to see the vehicle in three dimensions. Vehicle sections can be rotated 360 degrees on both the horizontal and vertical axis, and the estimator can zoom in while viewing color-coded parts. Substrates such as aluminum, boron and high-strength steels also are color-coded. Benefits to collision repair facilities: Easier, faster, more accurate estimates; increased throughput. Online: www.audatex.us

Category: Repair Operations Winner: Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland, OH Innovation: HP Process Refinish System About the product: Utilizing S-W's latest primers, basecoats and urethane clearcoats, the HP Process produces a finish that can be sanded and polished in 40 minutes or less. Benefits to collision repair facilities: Faster paint repairs, using less heat, resulting in both energy savings and increased productivity. Online: www.sherwin-automotive.com