You don’t know what YOU don’t know
ADAS may be helping drivers become safer on the roads, but it is creating a whole series of new and complex questions for workshops to ponder over
Published: 10 July, 2020
The well known expression of ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ may in some cases be the reverse – that what looks like a good opportunity, actually has a hidden problem. The fitment of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) by vehicle manufacturers to provide ‘added value’ to their vehicles is mushrooming, as well as a significant number of these systems now becoming obligatory under vehicle Type Approval legislation. These twin trends offer a welcome increase in the work that will be needed to diagnose, repair and re-calibrate these systems in the workshop. However, the word ‘mushrooming’ may also have other connotations in this context with another well known expression of ‘being kept in the dark and covered in muck’ from the perspective of the independent workshop.
There are a number of problems when the implementation of ADAS is considered, not the least of which is just exactly what is defined as an ‘ADAS’. There are scant details when you start looking and there are ‘interpretations’ of the systems that fall into this category. From the legislative perspective, the transport section of the United Nations (which is increasingly the reference for vehicle Type Approval in the EU) simply shows the following:
- Remote control manoeuvring
- Automatically commanded steering systems
- Dynamics (steering, braking etc)
- Advance emergency braking systems
- Anti-lock braking system for motorcycles
- Electronic stability control
Alternatively, the IMI have an online training package for ADAS and the first page shows a long list of vehicle systems and asks the participant to identify which of these are ADAS. I won’t give you the answer, but just some of the systems that are listed include; parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, rain sensor, electric vehicle warning sound and traffic sign recognition. It may surprise you, but all of these are considered to be ADAS systems so clearly there is a significant difference between what the UNECE and the IMI consider to be in this category.
Perspective
From the workshop perspective, the answer to what systems on the vehicle are considered to be ADAS starts with this fundamental question of ‘who defines them?’ The simple answer is the vehicle manufacturer, but this is still not a simple answer for the workshop as there are no common definitions across all vehicle manufacturers. Fundamentally, the issue is where is this information available and how do you as a workshop identify all the relevant systems on the vehicle and are working correctly before handing the vehicle back to the customer? This is an increasingly important question, as the workshop has a duty of care and liability to ensure that the vehicle is returned to the customer in a roadworthy condition and this will be increasingly difficult to do with 100% confidence. Simple work may now create a wider requirement to not only check the work that you have done, but how this affects other systems on the vehicle. A simple example would be the replacement of a track-rod end. This would normally entail a corresponding wheel alignment check/adjustment, but now this would not only mean an alignment of the steering wheel sensor and require a full four-wheel alignment – as already needed, but now a re-calibration of the camera or other sensor(s) and a check that all affected ADAS systems are working correctly.
Requirement
There is now a requirement to be able to quickly and simply check what ADAS systems are fitted to the specific vehicle to allow an assessment of what additional checks and re-calibration may be needed. However, this is not so simple to do. There are typically two ways to do this – firstly use the vehicle manufacturer’s diagnostic tool to conduct a global scan of the whole vehicle to know what systems are fitted or to go to a vehicle manufacturer’s website and search their repair and maintenance information using the VIN. This raises further questions of ‘just what am I looking for? As I mentioned earlier, there is no standardised definition of what is an ADAS across all vehicle manufacturers and even if you search for all the systems on the vehicle, are you sure that you have found all of them and then which of them are classified as ADAS?
Let’s assume that you can identify what ADAS are fitted to the vehicle and that no faults are registered (e.g. a DTC) when you have conducted the global scan, but the problem is that you will still need to conduct a test drive to check that the vehicle’s systems are working correctly, but just how do you do that and be 100% sure that they are? The short answer is that you can’t in any practical way. Take the recent examples of when Tesla vehicles have crashed when the automated systems have failed to function correctly.
This starts to open a wider question of ‘who do you trust’ and this equally can be split into the source of the information and from the vehicle perspective, the design and functioning of the system and the ability to trust that the information you have is accurate. This leaves a certain level of exposure in that you are returning a vehicle to its owner without being fully sure that everything is working correctly after what may be an innocuous repair.
Advantage
Vehicle manufacturers are exploiting this inability to be able to quickly and accurately identify what is on a specific vehicle and that the work you have done does not create a liability issue – in this case not only to you as an independent workshop, but also to them as the vehicle manufacturer so that they can be sure that the ADAS on the vehicle are working correctly. The vehicle manufacturers claim that only their authorised repairers are competent to conduct the work on these ADAS and that independent workshops should not be allowed to do so.
By keeping the ability to scan the vehicle to identify the ADAS fitted to a specific vehicle is in their main dealer tools, or by not making it quick and easy to identify the information via their websites, (which they could, but choose not to), it creates the fundamental issue of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. I could see this as the exploitation of a certain ‘competitive advantage’, but what do I know?
xenconsultancy.com
- OBD provision and data access included in provisional Type-Approval legislation
The IAAF and FIGIEFA have welcomed news that crucial provisions on the OBD connector and access to RMI have been included in the proposed EU legislation on Vehicle Type-Approval regulation.
- Spring has sprung: New Snap-on software update
Snap-on has issued a new software release for its range of diagnostic platforms just in time for Spring. The release offers new coverage and features, as well as exclusive expert information enhancements.
- Snap-on launches Secure Vehicle Gateway
Snap-on has released its Autumn 2020 diagnostic software upgrade, which includes the launch of Secure Vehicle Gateway. Secure gateway modules are being put in place by VMs to prevent unauthorised access, and some functions now require registration and authentication through an approved scan tool as a result. FIAT Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has authorised direct access to its vehicle gateway module via Snap-on scan tools. In addition, there is an update to the Snap-on Vehicle Coverage Guide. This database allows technicians to search for and view coverage with the ability to filter by manufacturer, model, year and system. Other additions include ability to generate live battery voltage readings on the ZEUS and VERUS Edge platforms, while users can also take advantage of automatic mileage population on ADAS and Vehicle System Reports.
diagnostics.snapon.co.uk/software
- Sun EZ ADAS Recalibration System
The new Sun EZ ADAS Recalibration System has been designed to help technicians deal with the growing requirements surrounding ADAS systems. The system reduces the risk of errors in recalibrating and re-initialising vehicle components via laser measurement guides and intuitive target adjustment features. It contains a laser positioning system which, along with target position indicators and procedure, allows the technician to quickly position the targets in the locations required by the vehicle manufacturer. The system works hand-in-hand with Snap-on diagnostic tools running the latest software upgrades. The system has been designed to be used in variety of workshop spaces, and with storage in mind, thanks to its rotating cross beam, collapsible mast and small number of components. Features include integrated and adjustable rulers, multi-position lever locks and clutch brake height adjuster for precision front camera target height positioning. The Zero Stop allows precise front camera target positioning for certain marques, while the rotating cross beam allows system to be moved and set.
diagnostics.snapon.co.uk/ez-adas
- Powering up your future business
Life never stands still and this also applies to vehicle design and the subsequent diagnostic and repair requirements. Any workshop business that does not evolve will, sooner or later, fail. The pace of change in vehicle design has been exponential in the last 10 years, across vehicle systems such as the development of driver assist systems, but equally for powertrain designs.
Part of the powertrain development has been for engine management, such as direct injection for petrol engines, cylinder de-activation and Atkinson cycle technologies, but these have been developments of existing internal combustion designs. There have also been different fuels, such as hydrogen, but again, evolution, rather than revolution.
The real change has been the rapid increase in the number of electrically powered cars, partly due to the development of both battery technology and volumes, with the subsequent reduction in prices, making vehicles both more affordable and useable, but the most significant influence has come from the political environment to move away from the reliance on fossil fuels.
Viable
Although electric vehicles are far from a new idea – the first (small scale) electric vehicles were developed in the 1830s, with viable vehicles being manufactured from the very early 1900s, including the first hybrid vehicles. Although the concept is not new and workshops have dealt with low voltage ‘electrics’ in the form of starting, ignition and lighting (SIL) batteries for over a hundred years, today’s electric powertrains pose significantly different challenges.
These challenges fall into several distinct categories, some of which you can directly do something about, while others which are outside of your direct control.
Firstly, doing nothing to develop your business is not the answer – the expansion of electrically powered vehicles is here to stay and the key is to understand what you need to do and when you need to do it. For the workshop, from the technical perspective, it is principally a competency issue that involves having the right equipment and the skills of the technician. Both of these will depend on how deeply you feel is necessary to be able to handle the level of work on the electrification of the vehicle’s powertrain and to some extent, this will be dictated by the demographics of your location, and your customer base.
There are several new vehicles which are now entering the market that use 48-volt systems, so these are not so challenging, but the existing and bulk of the future electrically powered vehicles will have much higher voltage systems and this is a key tipping point. To work on these systems imposes a duty of care on the business to ensure that technicians are not asked to work on potentially lethal systems without the appropriate equipment, protection and skill levels. For the workshop, this imposes a compliance for both the Electricity at Work Regulation (EWR) 1989 and the Safety at Work Act 1979.
Investment
However, the level of involvement in these higher voltage systems will also dictate the level of investment. This is illustrated by one vehicle manufacturer’s policy of implementing three levels in their main dealer networks for their hybrid or fully electric vehicles – level one is purely vehicle maintenance, level two is repair and replacement of components and level three is working on live systems.
In both Canada and Germany, compulsory training and accreditation of all vehicle repair technicians is mandatory.
For independent workshops in the UK, this three step approach would also allow the workshop to adopt an ‘evolutionary’ approach to investment, starting with some basic equipment and then building on this with the more specialist tools and equipment as the business develops, but I would strongly suggest that the technical training should be at a higher level from the outset to ensure that the technician fully understands the wider design and functionality of electrically powered vehicle systems to know the boundaries of where the work on a vehicle changes across the three levels – a good case of avoiding that ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. Once your business has the competencies, then it is about promoting this to existing customers who at some stage will be hybrid or electric vehicle owners, or to those who already are, but don’t know that you can handle their vehicles – so if you make the investment, shout about it.
Opportunity
On another positive point, the European Commission have confirmed that electric vehicles still need to support access to their in-vehicle systems for repair and maintenance – clarifying the mis-held belief that if there were no emissions, then no OBD connector needed to be fitted.
These are the things that you may be able to control about electrically powered vehicles, but there are other aspects that are outside of your control which will impact your business. The most obvious is the extended service intervals and the reduced level of work which electrically powered vehicles need. Fairly obviously, this directly relates to no engine components on fully electrically powered vehicles, but even if tyre wear may increase due to their increased weight, their brakes last longer due to the capturing of energy when slowing down to re-charge the battery.
Electric vehicles will require new skillsets for their repair, away from mechanical repairs into more electrical and electronic orientated repairs. This will change the profile of the technician that is needed and also create an increased dependency on downloading software updates. However, these may be increasingly over-the-air updates from the vehicle manufacturer, without the need for a vehicle to come into a workshop. Just think about what TESLA are already doing. The way that the vehicles are purchased is also changing – especially for electric vehicles – as there is a separation of the cost of the vehicle and the renting of the battery to avoid the twin problems of the higher price of new electric vehicles and the concerns around the cost of replacing a battery as the vehicle ages.
Additionally, there will be changes in the ownership of the vehicle as ‘mobility as a service’ develops, but this may be an opportunity for independent workshops to provide competitive local repair and maintenance services to these new mobility operators, but only if the workshop is competent to do so – and so there is both a threat and an opportunity presented by electrically powered vehicles.
xenconsultancy.com
