Non-Deployed airbag sales to be made illegal in UK

The Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association has advised that this is what may happen if you don’t act NOW!

As part of the ongoing review of the Salvage COP, Insurers have asked Government to make the sale of non-deployed airbags illegal in the UK. This includes all pyrotechnic devices (airbags & seat belt pre-tensioners), from all salvage categories.

In reality, it will be impossible to distinguish ‘salvage’ from ‘non-salvage’ airbags, and of course the same concerns would apply to all airbags irrespective of source. So the only practical approach is to ban all airbag sales.  This is despite the fact two EU Directives on pyrotechnic devices currently being implemented by the UK do NOT make the sale of used airbags illegal.  Far from it.

Instead of reducing the availability of non-deployed airbags, this may simply drive the trade ‘underground’, into the hands of illegal operators, or overseas. Customers will simply buy non-deployed airbags from abroad – there’s already plenty available on-line. Or is Government also going to make it illegal to purchase non-deployed airbags?

It would also seem that insurers are not concerned about the effects on repairable salvage of a ban on non-deployed airbags. Or are they simply happy to see more salvage move abroad?

This has very serious implications for UK vehicle recyclers, and may only be the ‘thin end of the wedge’! Will we see the sale of other ‘safety critical items’ being banned – tyres? Suspensions? Brakes? Steering? Wheels?  The list goes on & on….

The significance of this cannot be over-stated.  What view will insurers & Government take on new-technology such as Autonomous Emergency Breaking, Lane deviation etc.? Will we see a ban on the sale of these parts?

It is by no means certain that the Salvage COP will become law. Currently it is voluntary, so vehicle recyclers are under no greater obligation than insurers. Even though the ABI has asked Government to legislate – this Conservative Government is strongly ‘de-regulating’ & is not keen on more regulation.

We understand that Thatcham will shortly be undertaking some work on non-deployed airbags, but we have no way of knowing or influencing the outcome. Despite UK vehicle recyclers having handled more than 225 million pyrotechnic devices since they were introduced into mass market vehicles in 1994, we are not aware of any evidence which shows non-deployed airbags are a safety problem. And as you know, MVDA has already undertaken research which shows that non-deployed airbags are safe to re-use.  But this all seems to be ignored.

So, we need your help – NOW.

Government does respond to business. So we need all MVDA members to write to Department for Transport saying that the proposal to ban non-deployed airbag sales is not based on fact and will cost UK jobs.

To help you do this MVDA has drafted a letter for members to send. All you need to do is add your name & address, sign it & post it!

We will be e-mailing this letter to all members TODAY

DO NOT DELAY!

Electric and Hybrid Accreditation

Salvage Wire’s Safe Handling of Electric and Hybrid training course has recently been accredited by the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board or WAMITAB. 

This accreditation confirms that the training offered by Salvage Wire will support professionals in the Auto Recycling and Motor Salvage industry as they raise their standards of knowledge and competence and their continued professional development.

This accreditation also provides national recognition of the added value that training  programmes bring to workers in terms of quality, job specific knowledge, skills and experience.

Arrangements for future training courses are already in progress, dates and locations will be released shortly, and for more information please contact Salvage Wire via their website www.salvagewire.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.  

Friday Reflections

So much publicity on accident damaged vehicles this week, the BBC’s Inside Out programme on Monday with John Dwyer, items by Fox News in the US, Auto Express in the UK, and the Motor Vehicle Dismantlers Association.

Every single one of the above highlighted issues in the handling of accident damaged vehicles that insurers decide not to repair and the devastating effects of these vehicles re-appearing on the road following poor quality repairs and being involved in another incident.

Putting aside the past and the reasons why this current state of affairs exists, as an industry we need to take steps to stop this happening in the future; most of the pieces mentioned above highlighted the need for better controls, improved standards and greater professionalism, but no-one is stepping out to lead this issue and make a difference, why?

Is it because we are comfortable where we are, and have a fear of standing apart from our peers and colleagues? Or is it because we do not want to make a commitment because of the trouble that this creates for us as we are challenged, questioned and tested? Or is it just because it will cost both financially and personally?

If you, like me, want to eradicate the people who constantly bring this industry down, who cut corners and endanger consumers and the environment, then please add your comments and thoughts to this blog and together we can build a future where the Auto Recycling and Motor Salvage industry is seen as professional; as a partner of other professional industries; a power to save money for consumers with quality Green Recycled Parts; provider of lower cost, well repaired, safe and reliable vehicles; and an environmentally aware and compliant industry then it is time for you to make your voices heard, to make a commitment to improve the quality and professionalism of your business, your industry and leave a legacy of strength for your children and grandchildren to build upon.

Professional Standards in Auto Recycling

Following an inquest into the death of a six-year-old girl in a previously written off vehicle the coroner said that he would be raising the issue with the relevant authorities, especially as the police report stated that a poor repair had compromised the integrity of the vehicle and may have contributed to the death of the little girl.

To date there has been little done so it is now time for the auto recycling and vehicle salvage industries to get their business in order and set out some minimum professional standards.

As is the case in the retail motor industry, anyone can set up a business repairing vehicles without previous knowledge, qualifications or experience, and the recent campaign by the Institute of the Motor Industry challenging government to introduce a licensing scheme for vehicle technicians (see more at http://www.theimi.org.uk/agenda/imi-calls-government-license-technicians-motor-industry) shows the need for professional standards, licensing and, potentially, legislation.

Auto recycling and motor salvage is a serious business, incorrect recycling techniques can be harmful to the environment, create health and safety risks and ultimately cause distress to the public, staff and consumers.

Correct handling of vehicles being recycled or dealt with as salvage can result in cost savings for consumers as quality Green Recycled Parts could give a major cost saving in vehicle repairs, correctly repaired salvage would be seen as a cheaper, safe, alternative to showroom sticker prices, and 95% of each scrapped vehicle will be recycled or re-used.

There is currently a plethora of various laws and regulations covering the auto salvage and recycling industry, from the operation of Fork Lifts, Cranes and the like, through to Certificate of Technical Competency that is designed to show that the yard management has the ability to run the yard correctly, however there is little else to show professional standards in all the other areas of the business. 

It is now time to combine all of these standards and training into a tier of qualifications that are able to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and occupational competence of the holder in areas such as Electric and Hybrid, Green Recycled Parts, Airbags, Vehicle Dismantling, LPG Vehicles, Parts Grading and Standards, Vehicle Body Repair, Vehicle Mechanical Repair, Air Conditioning and so-on.

These could include diploma’s, apprenticeships, and higher level qualifications, all accredited by various training organisations, giving professional status to the holders of these qualifications and the business they work for, and ultimately improving the safety of vehicles returning to use after an accident, giving consumers the confidence to use quality Green Recycled Parts and protecting the environment.

The biggest question is how to get there? This must be industry led otherwise the Government will come in with legislation that may force the industry down a route that could harm the many businesses that make up this sector. If the UK salvage federations or associations can’t or won’t start this then another organisation needs to take over and raise the standards and professionalism of the sector before it is too late.

AUTO RECYCLERS MANAGEMENT BOOT CAMPS

Do you want to accelerate your business? Read on and find out how.

Salvage Wire is investigating the potential for an Auto Recyclers Management Boot Camp led by Donald Cooper.

About Donald's “Accelerate Your Business” Management Boot Camp:

Who should attend?

1. This programme is specifically designed for business owners and their management teams from small and medium sized businesses, up to £15 million in sales.
2. Donald has successfully worked in over 40 different industries throughout the world, so whatever you do this will be enormously helpful.
3. Experience shows that the more managers who attend from the same company, the more extraordinary the results in the business.

How Donald helps business owners and managers:
Donald has helped thousands of businesses to achieve the following 5 outcomes:

1. Create a compelling competitive advantage.
2. Market and promote on a limited budget.
3. Create a clear vision for an extraordinary and more profitable future...and the Action Plan to get them there.
4. Manage every part of their business more proactively and effectively.
5. Create a top-performing team, and deal more effectively with non-performance.

The Extraordinary value:
Each delegate will take away:

1. A clear understanding of how to be a world-class manager in the business.
2. A complete handout of Donald’s bottom-line insights and real-life help examples.
3. Donald’s complete step-by-step Implementation Guide that will help you to more effectively manage your marketing, your team, your future....and your bottom line.
4. A renewed energy and commitment to be extraordinary, successful and profitable. Mediocrity is no longer and option!
5. Valuable insights into how to grow a successful business and also have and extraordinary life.
6. An opportunity to sign up to receive Donald’s monthly Management E-Newsletter at no cost.

For more details and the opportunity to respond, please click here 

Moving Written-Off Vehicles Around The World

Some time ago I was asked to investigate the background to an Audi TT that had been written off in the Channel Islands, what I found proved that written-off vehicles can be easily moved around the world.

Following an accident, an Audi TT was being inspected by the insurance company, the insurance engineer wasn’t happy about the vehicle and asked me to complete some further investigations.
The vehicle concerned had a Jersey registration and was Left Hand Drive - not unusual in the Channel Islands given their close proximity to mainland Europe, but the main difference to the majority of LHD vehicles was the speedo and distance recorders where in miles, not kilometres.

The registration paperwork confirmed that the vehicle had come into Jersey from Poland, but this didn’t explain the speedo reading miles per hour, so a little more detective work was required.
Audi UK were able to confirm that the vehicle was produced for the North American marketplace, and some extra work on the NMVTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information System) database in the US gave us the information required, the vehicle had been registered in New Jersey and written off after an insurance claim.

None of this was recorded on any of the documents provided to the authorities in the Channel Islands when they registered the vehicle, the owner of the vehicle had no knowledge of the previous history and wasn’t aware that the vehicle had been previously written-off.

So what does this tell us? That written-off vehicles can move across borders with impunity and lose their ‘written-off’ status; that potentially dangerous vehicles could be sold with no checks on roadworthiness or safety; that the vehicle could have been stolen and cloned to a different identity; that the auto recycling and motor salvage industry needs to do more to track written-off vehicles across the world, making certain that potential owners are aware of the previous history of the vehicle, and setting standards for roadworthiness of any repaired vehicles.

The correct forum for this will be the International Round Table on Auto Recycling (IRT) that is being held in Japan in October, for more details refer to http://irt-autorecycling.org/next-irt-kushiro-hokkaido-japan

If you have a vehicle that you would like investigating, please contact Salvage Wire through the web site or at admin@salvagewire.com

Time to Think

Tick! Another second gone that you will never get back; we have 86,400 seconds in each day, on average we will be sleeping for 28,800 seconds so there are 57,600 seconds available for us to use, please allow me to take around 120 seconds of your daily allowance.

One of the best pieces of advice I received when moving jobs many years ago was “take time to think and write in pencil, because you can rub out those ideas that were no good”.

22 years later this is even more relevant in the current business climate we face.

I mentioned this to one customer a few months ago and he immediately came back to me saying ‘I haven’t got the time to do that, I’m too busy’.

Many years ago I regularly attended evening meetings for local Motor Traders and noticed that one of the more regular attendees had missed a few of the meetings – he had been in a serious car accident and spent over 6 weeks in hospital before recuperating at home for another 3 months, when I saw him again he was a changed man – yes the accident had affected his mobility, but more importantly it had changed the course of his company, for the first time in nearly 10 years he had had time to think. As a result he now takes every Tuesday morning away from the office to sit and think, and the company has grown, diversified and is still very profitable 20 years later.

A car accident is a bit extreme, and I hope that this isn’t the catalyst for anyone reading this item, but it could be an illness or other type of injury that forces a period of time away from the business. I know, I have just spent 2 weeks at home with a bad back and have had plenty of thinking time – technology helps, the I-Pad is easy to use when you are laid flat on your back, and you don’t need a pencil and eraser.

But there is a better way that avoids accidents or illness; set aside a regular time each week away from the day to day activities of the business, and take yourself away from the office so you won’t be tempted to get involved in anything else – switch off your phone as well.

Many struggle with how to fill their thinking time, especially if the idea is new to them – there are no hard or fast rules to this, it is more a case of what works for the individual, personally I like to start with this question:

Why am I in business, what am I doing now and what do I want to be doing in 3 years’ time? 

This can then help to drive thinking into different areas such as:

• Sales – weekly, monthly, could they be better, how can we sell more?
• Costs – weekly, monthly, annually, are there areas we can save money on?
• Staff – do I have the right number of employees, the right type of person in the correct role; are they doing the best for my company or department?
• Customers – are we attracting more customers? What can we do to attract more, give better service, and make them buy from us rather than the guy down the road or on the internet?
• Business – Don’t be afraid to question the viability of the business, can it work as it is or would it be better to completely change the focus of the company, or relocate, or even sell out because the land you own is worth more than the company could ever return to you.

This won’t be completed in one session; it will probably be a few weeks before there is a good vision for your company and its future, before the hardest bit – making the changes. 

Change Management will be dealt with in another issue and this is where your thinking time comes into its own; people do not like change! Despite assurances that change is welcomed, deep down there will be anxiety, stress, worry and much more, and this will be reflected by resistance to the new ideas, reluctance to make the changes requested, and a tendency to revert to old ways of doing things. A regular ‘time-out’ is important because it enables you to reflect on progress, remind yourself why the changes are necessary, and how to continue with the changes required to improve your business and succeed in that vision.

The stark truth is this, without regular thinking time there may not be a business to think about in 3 years’ time!