Free collision repair training resources

Chief Automotive Technologies has added best practices guides, how-to videos and other educational materials to its website, chiefautomotive.com, to help collision repair professionals keep up with the evolving industry.

‘In the rapidly changing collision repair field, you have to continually educate yourself to stay ahead of the curve,’ said Bob Holland, director of collision sales in North and South America for Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG). He continued, ‘Discovering new techniques or learning how to get the most out of your equipment can help make your shop more efficient. The educational materials we’ve added to chiefautomotive.com are available at any time for free, making it easier than ever to stay on top of the latest industry advancements.’

Much of the new educational content at chiefautomotive.com focuses on the hot topic of aluminium repair. Chief’s aluminium repair equipment page includes information about aluminium-compatible holding, pulling and welding tools, plus the ‘Aluminum Industry Terms Guide’, a primer on aluminium terminology like ‘GMA,’ ‘PNGV’ and ‘heat shrinking’.

Other educational material on the Chief site was created to provide customers with a broader understanding of current vehicle design and the tools and techniques needed to repair modern vehicles. ‘The Collision Dynamics Guide’ shows how the forces involved in a collision travel beyond the point of impact, and how the whole vehicle structure can be compromised by a collision. In order to ensure no ‘hidden’ damage goes unnoticed, each vehicle should be measured with an advanced Live Mapping system, a process outlined in Chief’s ‘Measuring Equipment Basics’ guide.

While the evolution of vehicle design has led to an increase in sectioning and parts replacement, the traditional frame rack remains an integral part of the repair process. Chiefautomotive.com visitors can learn about securely holding a vehicle with a frame rack by downloading the ‘Anchoring Concepts’ guide. They can also view a series of videos on Chief’s structural holding page to see how Structural Holding Package components can be used to create a wide variety of holding points.

Bodyshop owners and technicians can also keep up with the latest industry developments by checking out Chief’s new ‘Collisionology’ blog at blog.chiefautomotive.com.