The ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council recently identified heavy-duty truck collision repairs as a major area that lacks codified best practices through its S.16 Service Provider Study Group.
In 2018, S.16 established two new task forces to distinguish best practices for heavy-duty truck collision repairs, and to build a guide for fleet management to help them through the process of returning impaired trucks back to service.
Chris Sterwerf, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Fairfield Auto and Truck Service in Fairfield, Ohio, is also the Chairman of the Heavy Duty Collision Repair Guidelines Task Force and is playing a large role in solidifying these best practices.
“Trauma doctors undergo continuous training in new procedures and technologies in treating their patients,” Chris Sterwerf said. “Sending a modern high-tech truck to the body shop after a collision is a lot like going to a trauma center. How those repairs are conducted and how they affect the many systems on that truck will determine—whether that truck will be able to operate safely.”
He added, “The most dangerous statement you never want to hear is, ‘That’s how we’ve done that repair for 30 years.’”
The Heavy Duty Collision Repair Guidelines Task Force is closely examining the repair process, and how the management of the repair process affects both cost and repair success.
