By Martin Pinnell-Brown, Director, Repairify Innovations

The advent of modern cars on the market impacts the body repair industry by making demands on technicians for new advanced repairs that require specific skills to address the new technologies that are presented within the vehicles.

This technological revolution is being led by ADAS. and bodyshops and repair centres, whether they are a single or a multi-site operation, are increasingly looking at introducing calibration services to their offering.

Implications
Adding this service to the work portfolio is good for business as it is a growing market. However, it has implications. Businesses need to provide the requisite training to technicians to enable them to carry out ADAS-related repairs safely and in a timely manner. They need to be able to work on vehicles from a specific vehicle manufacturer and will need the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure the job is done correctly and to the highest standards recommended by both the training body and the OEM.  
An example of the training available is the IMI ADAS AOM230 certification, which all the members of the Repairify UK team have completed. This certification ensures that the person that completes the course can identify and correctly interpret information relating to a specific vehicle and its ADAS features to determine which method of calibration is required.
Although the training is an essential introduction to ADAS repairs, the technician never stops learning on the job, but it does ensure that the engineer follows the best practice during the diagnosis and repair phases of the work. This then helps minimise vehicle downtime and, in turn, leads to a reduction in key-to-key times and prevents further costs to the business.

Top tips
Here are Repairify’s expert top tips when it comes to calibrating ADAS systems:
Remember that an ADAS system can be affected by anything that can change the sensor detection or location. Next, digest all the calibration instructions on the diagnostic tool before starting work.

Take your time when doing the calibration because if you rush the set-up, it increases the chance of the calibration not being completed properly. Make sure the vehicle is on level ground during static calibrations.

Lastly, road test the vehicle after calibration ensuring the systems are working correctly, and complete certification that complies with IIR requirements.