By Mike Davey
Toronto, Ontario — June 30, 2016 — Vehicle scanning has received a lot of attention lately. Increasing vehicle complexity means that the best practice is to run both pre- and post-repair scans. This ensures that all of the vehicle’s issues are addressed and all systems are functioning properly. In turn, this can help to safeguard repairers against liability.
Scanning and associated technology were the main topics at the recent Collision Diagnostic and Technology Symposium, hosted by Prochilo Collision Group at one of its facilities in Toronto. The event was attended by vendors, insurers, representatives of OEMs and other members of the value chain.
The featured speaker was Jake Rodenroth, Director of Client Services for Collision Diagnostic Services (CDS). CDS is the company behind the AsTech remote diagnostic tool. Essentially, the AsTech is a scanning tool that allows a collision facility to run diagnostics using OEM factory scanners without having to purchase one for every brand.
Instead, the AsTech scans the vehicle and uploads the information to the cloud. From there, it is fed into the appropriate OEM factory scan tool by CDS. According to CDS, this provides the most accurate possible results and covers most of the popular makes and models. The unit can identify issues within the vehicle’s internal sensor systems that may be difficult or impossible to identify with a visual inspection. The AsTech also provides documentation of every scan performed.
Demonstrations of the system were conducted by Rodenroth and Dan Dominato of Precision Marketing. They conducted the demonstration on three vehicles: a 2017 Lexus RX350 F Sport, a 2016 Toyota Camry and a 2014 BMW 3 Series. During the demonstration, Rodenroth hooked up the system to each vehicle and the scans were automatically uploaded to the CDS head office. Results were returned in about 20 to 30 minutes.
Domenic Ieraci heads up Sales/Marketing and Communication for Prochilo Collision Group. He outlined the goals of the Symposium in a recent interview with Collision Repair magazine.
“Our overall goals were to add value, educate our stakeholders, leverage technology to enhance performance, reduce costs and create a better and safer repair experience for our customers,” he said.
The AsTech scanner shows fault codes, but it also indicates where and how the fault originated. This can be vital for a collision repair facility.
“It shows whether the fault is accident related or non-accident related,” said Ieraci. “That really helps to determine what we as repairers are responsible for and what our insurance partners will pay to repair. It’s a way to do a better, more thorough repair, while at the same time containing costs and protecting the business from liability.”
For more information on Prochilo Collision Group, please visit prochilobrothers.com. For more information on CDS and the AsTech scanner, please visit astech.com.
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