“The materials in or on the vehicle, the materials used to construct it, the materials used to put it back together, all make a difference in how we approach it,” said Aaron Schulenburg, who chairs the committee. “For many of the repairers in the room, that may feel like common sense. For non-repairers, you may look at this and think, ‘I had no idea of those considerations.’”
Jason Scharton, senior manager of global expertise delivery for 3M, said those considerations include OEM repair procedures.
“We’ve got to be checking that OEM repair documentation and understand what product is specified,” he said. “And there’s the supply chain: Can I get that material if I don’t have it? If it’s three months out, it’s going to change some of the decisions I need to make.”
He said repair planners need to consider the labor time associated with the material: What type of preparation is needed? What type of conditions are needed for application? What are the clean-up requirements?
“And are any of these included or not included in the repair procedures when we’re calculating the time,” Scharton said.
How much of the material is needed is particularly important, as is considering the work time.
“If you’ve got a big job, you may need two or three technicians to make sure you’ve applied all the adhesive in the work time,” Scharton said. “Materials may change how you staff a job.”
During another committee presentation, I-CAR’s Scott VanHulle said the training organization is working to develop a searchable database of OEM refinishing guidelines for electric vehicles. He said the maximum temperature thresholds for electric vehicles varies by automaker.
“And one of the things that a lot of these [OEM] statements don’t make clear is whether the threshold is for the actual surface temperature of the vehicle, or the ambient temperature of the booth,” VanHulle said.
The limitations, designed to avoid overheating of the battery pack which can impact its range over time, have ramifications for the repair plan, he said, because the limits may require the use of a different paint product, may require air drying the vehicle which extends the time in the booth, or may require removal of the high-voltage battery.
John Yoswick