Back to School, Back to SEMA: A Glance at SCRS’ 2024 Repairer Driven Education Agenda

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

It’s difficult to believe summer is already over and kids are heading back to school, and it’s even more surreal that it’s time for collision and automotive repair professionals to prepare to boost their knowledge by making plans to head to the 2024 SEMA Show, taking place November 5-8 in Las Vegas!

Renowned as one of the world’s largest and most exciting automotive shows, SEMA features the industry’s latest products, innovations and trends from thousands of vendors, but the Show’s plethora of networking and educational opportunities offer even more reasons for repairers to book a hotel room and schedule a flight. Auto body professionals seeking the most relevant education, training, discussions and networking won’t want to miss the lineup planned by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) for its week-long Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series!

“It’s become very inspiring to me to hear why collision repairers choose to attend the SEMA Show every year,” shared SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “There is always such variety in the answer and what people are looking for out of our collaboration with the Show, from some of the most amazing and thought-provoking sessions in the classrooms, to future-facing conversations about technology and infrastructure in the OEM Summit, to simply networking with friends and colleagues from around the globe that someone may only see once a year because of the SEMA Show. I just think we always felt the Show adds a spark of excitement to what we do in our businesses. It makes it fun to be part of the automotive industry, and it opens eyes to possibilities that might change or amplify how you can support your customer.”

SCRS’ contribution to the educational extravaganza features presentations on everything from repair planning to total losses, calibrations and more, taught by some of the collision world’s leading subject matter experts – including Mike Anderson (Collision Advice), Danny Gredinberg (Database Enhancement Gateway) and AkzoNobel’s Tim Ronak and Tony Adams plus over a dozen more familiar names and some that may not be as familiar. This year’s agenda offers brand-new insights from four first-time RDE speakers: Sheryl Driggers (Collision Advice), Taylor Moss (OEC), David Ghodoussi (Opti-Coat) and WMABA President Kris Burton (Rosslyn Auto Body; Alexandria, VA).

Burton will be accompanied by Michael Bradshaw (K&M Collision; Hickory, NC) and Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body & Paint; Mechanicsville, VA) as they take participants on a transformative journey into strategic role segmentation and explore its impact on maximizing shop efficiency in an encore performance of their popular seminar, “Efficiency Unleashed: Rethinking Roles in Collision Repair,” which debuted earlier this year at the Southeast Collision Conference.

Driggers will tackle the ever-changing expectations of today’s vehicle owners in “Creating an Extraordinary Customer Experience,” and Moss will offer insights into the best ways to incorporate process and technology into the shifting landscape of collision repair shops during “Crafting a Collision Repair Powerhouse Through Process and Technology.”

Future-focused shops should definitely plan to learn more about what artificial intelligence (AI) holds in store with Ryan Taylor’s (BodyShop Booster) “AI is Here: How Others are Leveraging AI Interactions with Automotive Consumers.” They can gain even more insights by attending “Cracking the Code: Understanding AI and the Invaluable Role of Human Intelligence,” presented by Josh McFarlin (AirPro Diagnostics). 

Combat the technician shortage by learning “How to Catch Talent and Keep It” with Kena Dacus of Dacus Auto Body and Collision Repair (McPherson, KS).

Gredinberg’s “Repair Planning with Precision” offers a unique perspective on using technology and defined processes to navigate overly complex repairs, procedure documentation and consumer communications through documentation and building a fact-and-evidence-based repair plan.

And no collision training is complete without an appearance by industry icon Mike Anderson, who has updated his renowned “Negotiation Best Practices” class to include some new inspiration from Chris Voss’s Never Split the Difference, as Anderson seeks to help attendees understand and employ empathy, complete an audit of all the possible negatives in the situation and learn how to handle when insurers say “you are the only one” or “no one else charges for that.”

Wednesday afternoon wraps up with the IDEAS Collide Showcase, which will feature 10 fast-paced presentations designed to stimulate thought, innovation and resolution of business challenges with brash, outspoken and provoking concepts from thought leaders both in and out of the industry.

The final day of SCRS’ educational delights kicks off with a special FREE RDE session, “Blend Outcomes in Black and White: Using Documentation to Drive Informed Conversation About Blending,” as Schulenburg provides an update on how the information providers (IPs) have responded to the blend study results revealed at SEMA 2022. In addition to discussing the outcomes and system updates that have taken place as a result of the study, he will strive to help attendees understand how those changes can provide opportunities to document variations in the refinish process and provide both painters and repair planners a foundation for more informed conversation surrounding the application of refinish for color match.

RDE 2024 concludes with SCRS’ OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit, an all-afternoon series broken into three special sessions, which features experts in automotive innovation and design. Details will be released closer to the Show.

“We are finalizing some really amazing content for the OEM Summit,” Schulenburg added. “The Summit has always been intended to put collision repair operators in a room with innovators in automotive structural design and technology and provide access to people and perspectives they can’t reach anywhere else. The sessions typically focus on emerging trends and collision industry preparation so that the industry can benefit from better insight into how vehicles, materials and technologies are evolving and what that means in the repair process. This year’s program is poised to deliver on that promise, and I would secure a seat early!” 

Although repairers’ calendars are sure to be jam-packed with the RDE sessions taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, auto body professionals from all segments of the industry won’t want to miss the final Collision Industry Conference (CIC) of the year, taking place on Tuesday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. A quarterly forum consisting of participants from all segments of the industry, CIC provides attendees with an opportunity to discuss and explore the issues that most impact their businesses, seeking to form consensus on various concerns through discussion, research and extensive interim committee work; CIC recognizes that all such findings are non-binding and must be accepted voluntarily. Meetings are open to all interested parties from any segment of the industry, including repairers, insurers, paint/material companies, equipment suppliers and manufacturers, OEMs, data providers, trade association representatives and more.

There’s tons to see and do at SEMA each year, so don’t delay; make plans NOW to avoid missing out!

Registration is now open to automotive and collision industry professionals for the 2024 SEMA Show at semashow.com. Sign up for SCRS’ RDE series at scrs.com/rde, and learn more about CIC at ciclink.com.

Want more? Check out the September 2024 issue of Hammer & Dolly!