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August 2015 www.oregoncasualtyadjusters.org | PO Box 87 • Dexter, OR 97431

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Case Study

Case Study — See page 11

Visit us online at www.oregoncasualtyadjusters.org

— See page 3

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Three Key Things that the Insurance Industry Needs to Know About Aluminum Vehicles — See page 17

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OCAA — August 2015

Oregon OSHA convenes stakeholder group to review fall protection standard Reprinted from the Oregon OSHA Resource Newsletter

Following a determination by federal OSHA that Ore-gon OSHA’s fall protection standard and use of slide guards is not “at least as effective as the federal stan-dard,” Oregon OSHA will be working with a stake-holder group to address pending policy changes.

The first in a series of meetings is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Associated General Contrac-tors boardroom in Wilsonville. The discussion will cover the implementation, challenges, and fiscal im-pact of a revised fall protection standard.

Federal OSHA identified several state plans, includ-ing Oregon, as having a fall protection rule that did not meet its requirement.

Currently, Oregon OSHA’s fall protection rule in the construction standard has a trigger height at 10 feet, while the federal standard is at six feet. Additionally, Oregon has a unique provision that recognizes slide guards as a fall protection system.

Many commercial construction employers have al-ready implemented a six-foot trigger height for fall protection and do not use slide guards as a fall protec-tion system. However, residential construction em-ployers may see more of a significant impact.

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Drone over massive Lake Fire 'could've killed everybody in the air,' official says By Jim Steinberg © 2015 ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved Pro-Quest SuperText. (c) 2015 Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

SAN BERNARDINO >> As if four years of drought, thousands of acres of decades-old brush and more than 25,000 acres up in smoke weren't enough for entrenched fire crews, Southern Califor-nia's first major wildfire of the year brought a man-made hazard to the skies that could have cost lives: Drones.

Firefighters battling the massive Lake Fire deep in the San Bernardino Mountains found themselves waging war Thursday against the remote-controlled flying machines, in this case civilian drones that halted aerial fire-suppression efforts on Wednesday and contributed to the spread of the fire and threat-ened lives, officials said.

"We got law enforcement out there. If it's launched again, we'll be on you," said Mike Eaton, forest aviation officer for the U.S. Forest Service and air tactical group supervisor on the Lake Fire, during a news conference at the U.S. Forest Service Air Tanker Base in San Bernardino.

Eaton said the orange or red drone with a 3-to-4-foot wingspan cut between two planes, flying at ele-vations of 12,500 feet and 11,500 feet, at 5:35 p.m. Wednesday. The drone was flying at an elevation of about 12,000 feet, he said.

One air tanker was tailing the two planes and pre-paring to drop retardant near the eastern flank of the fire while another tanker orbited above, preparing for a second drop, when the drone forced the pilots to terminate the mission, Eaton said.

But only three of the four planes were grounded, while the fourth stayed in the air in search of the drone and its operator, Eaton said.

(See News… continued on page 5)

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"We wanted to continue monitoring the situation," Eaton said. "We were hoping to find the source (of the drone)."

While returning to the tanker base at San Bernar-dino International Airport, the pilots spotted a sec-ond, rotor-blade drone hovering above Heaps Peaks, in Lake Arrowhead, at an elevation of 700 feet - far above the 400-foot altitude restriction for drones, Eaton said.

Wednesday's drone encounter in the San Bernar-dino Mountains forced the air tanker pilots to jetti-son a total of about 2,000 gallons of retardant at a cost of roughly $15,000, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller said. It also forced the grounding of three aircraft, including two air tank-ers preparing to drop retardant along the eastern flank of the fire.

"More importantly, it could've killed everybody in the air," Miller said at the news conference, which was held specifically to address the drone situation.

News… (Continued from page 3) And it wasn't just the pilots in the air who were im-periled, he said.

"The purpose of today is to try to drive the message home to the American public that this is a serious life-safety threat, to not only our pilots and crews in the air but to firefighters and residents on the ground," Miller said.

Authorities were looking for the person responsible for operating the drone that grounded firefighters.

"We're working closely with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department to try to determine where these (drones) came from and who was operat-ing them," Miller said. "One of the things we're ask-ing from the public is if they did see anything, defi-nitely to give us a call or give the San Bernardino County Sheriff's (Department) a call, and then we'll take it from there."

He said the biggest message authorities were trying to convey to drone hobbyists is to stay out of restricted airspace whenever there's a wildland fire or law en-forcement activity occurring.



"We want to reinforce the message to the hobbyists out there that they have to think before they fly, and if they fly, we can't," Miller said.

"We all have seen the rapid growth in the use of these things for a multitude of different uses. It's something that a couple of years ago we didn't have to deal with."

Donold Baligad, a 37-year-old Yucca Valley resi-dent and drone enthusiast who has been capturing video footage of the Lake Fire on his Yuneec Q500 rotor-blade drone, says he is always mindful of what he is doing and tries to keep his aircraft out of harm's way.

"In certain situations, such as when a fire is going on, I can understand when somebody's got a job to do," Baligad said. "I don't want my drone to be ran into by another aircraft, or somebody to be in dan-ger by my stupidity."

He said his motivation to fly his drone over the fire is the perspective it offers from its video camera.

"I actually got back from vacation up north and the first day that fire started, got it up in the air," Bali-gad said. "Who else can take a photo at 500 feet of anything at all? It puts a view of something in a new perspective."

Of Wednesday's encounter with firefighting planes, he said: "I am not the guy.''

Eaton said drones will likely continue to be an issue for public safety officials as their use proliferates.

"There's a lot of people buying them, and there's a lot of people flying them," Eaton said, adding that drones are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and people can fly them now for longer durations and at higher altitudes.

He said drones are an unnecessary, and potentially life- threatening, distraction for firefighters and law enforcement officials.

"The pilots need to be able to focus on flying the aircraft. We've got to watch for power lines and other planes," Eaton said. "Now, all of a sudden, we have a moving hazard that we don't know where it's going to appear and when it's going to appear. We

News… (Continued from page 5)


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just can't plan for it, and they'll pop up at the worst instant."

Though Wednesday marked the first time firefight-ers in San Bernardino County encountered drones in their airspace, the unmanned aerial vehicles have surfaced during other wildland fires.

In April, the Minnesota Department of Natural Re-sources enacted rules requiring that drones be kept at least 5 miles from active fire zones.

The agency enacted that rule to avoid collisions be-cause drones were flying at the same height as fire-fighting helicopters.

And in July 2014, the pilot of an unmanned aircraft filming the Sand Fire, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento was told cease his flight. Au-thorities said the flight was a potential danger to firefighting planes.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations on model aircraft and drones put a flight ceiling on the machines at 400 feet, with a weight limit at 55 pounds.

The regulations also require notification when drones are to be flown less than 5 miles from an airport. And they must be operated in accordance with a "community-based" set of safety guidelines.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department does not use drones as part of its own firefighting arsenal.

Nor has it had an incident with drones interfering with its firefighting efforts, said Randall Wright, a spokesman.

"It is one of the new technologies we will be moni-toring," Wright said.

The San Bernardino National Forest does not use drones in a firefighting role either, a spokesman said.

Experts have already begun monitoring the situa-tion, given the growing number of clashes between the technology and real-life efforts such as fighting fires.




From the desk of Jeffrey D. Eberhard: It has be-come an unfortunate American fact that random acts of gun violence have become almost common-place. The obvious impact of such senseless events is the death and injury of innocent people. Since the criminal does not have assets, naturally the victims of the assault will look elsewhere when seeking to recover money damages for their loss. In the fol-lowing case, the family of a shooting victim stand-ing in line at a club sought compensation for her death from the business where the shooting oc-curred. Read on to see whether the Court of Ap-peals allowed this suit to proceed.

Claims Pointer: In general, harm caused by crimi-nals is not foreseeable to a business where the harm occurred. However, when there is a history of criminal conduct, a business may be on notice of the same general type of harm. In this case, the Ore-gon Court of Appeals refused to uphold a trial court’s dismissal of a claim in which a mentally ill person shot a random patron waiting in line to get into a club. The important take away from this case is that a plaintiff will likely survive a motion to dis-miss and a motion for summary judgment on the issue of foreseeability of criminal violence when the defendant is on notice of any past criminal vio-

(See Case Study… continued on page 15)

Do Businesses Owe a Duty to Protect Patrons from Random Criminal Violence? By Jeff Eberhard

Case Study

Drone technology will continue to evolve with new uses that will create safety and privacy issues - something lawmakers will need to address, said Dan Nabel, interim director of the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Clinic at the USC Gould School of Law.

Technologies exist so that aircraft could send out a signal to shut off drones if they approach too closely, said Vincent Nestler, a professor of Infor-mation and Decision Sciences at Cal State San Bernardino.

These beacons, which would "drop drones out of the sky," could be placed on emergency service aircraft and helicopters - or all aircraft and helicop-ters for that matter, said Nestler, who has been tinkering with drones for more than decade.

He uses them to teach a cybersecurity class at the Cal State campus.

Jason Jeffery, a Long Beach-based flight instructor and pilot, said that when flying into the Long Beach airport, he dips as low as 200 feet above houses.

From his standpoint, the 400-foot ceiling for un-manned aerial vehicles is too high.

"There needs to be more regulations," Jeffrey said. And there should be mandatory training for future amateur drone pilots, he said.

Just as most states require hunters to complete a hunter safety course before purchasing a hunting license, prospective hobby drone purchasers should be required to take a course and pass an exam, he said.



lence. Whether the criminal act is a random act of violence—as opposed to drug or gang related vio-lence—is irrelevant as long as the general conduct and harm is foreseeable.

Piazza v. Kellim, 271 Or App 490 (2015)

Note: At the outset, it is important to state that this appeal arose out of a motion to dismiss the plain-tiff’s complaint. Typically, success on this type of motion is difficult. Merely because an appellate court reverses the granting of a motion to dismiss does not mean that the plaintiff has a valid claim, rather it means that that discovery should be al-lowed and the case can later be decided by either summary judgment or trial.

Martha Paz de Noboa Delgado (“Delgado”) was a 17 year old foreign exchange student from Peru staying with a host family in White Salmon, Wash-ington. On January 24, 2009, Delgado and fourteen other Rotary foreign exchange students were cele-brating a birthday of one of the students by visiting “The Zone,” a Portland dance club for minors. While standing in line to get into The Zone, Delgado was shot and killed. The shooter, Erik Ayala, suffered from mental illness and had gone to The Zone with the intent to kill “preppies.” Delgado’s estate (“Plaintiff”) sued The Zone for negligently failing to protect Delgado from foresee-able criminal acts of third parties.

The Zone moved to dismiss the claims against it on the basis that the plaintiff had failed to state a claim because the shooter’s actions were not foreseeable. The Zone argued that while its club was located in an area that had a history of drug and gang-related violence, it could not foresee this particular injury because the shooting was a random “spree” effectu-ated by a mentally ill person that could have oc-curred anywhere. In response, the plaintiff argued that The Zone’s characterization of the foreseeabil-ity was too narrow. The plaintiff explained that the foreseeability of harm in this case was foreseeabil-ity of violent criminal assault—not foreseeability of “random spree shootings” as argued by The Zone. The trial court agreed with The Zone, concluding that a business can and should be expected to pro-tect patrons from harms associated with that par-ticular business (in this case, gang and drug-related

Case Study… (Continued from page 11)

(See Case Study… continued on page 17)

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New fuel efficiency standards in the U.S. are a driv-ing force in requiring auto manufacturers to im-prove the miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks rolling off of the assembly lines in the next few years. By 2016, vehicles are required to reach 35.5 mpg and by 2025 that number should reach 54.5 mpg. Regulations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks will also require improved fuel efficiency and a reduction in carbon pollution for model years 2021-2027.

How will manufacturers achieve these more fuel efficient numbers? A number of ways including the use of hybrid engines, greater use of start and stop technology, more efficient air conditioning com-pressors and more electric power steering according to Susanna Gotsch of CCC Information Services.

(See Aluminum Vehicles… continued on page 19)

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activity), but not from violence that is unpredict-able, such as a mass shooting by a mentally ill per-son that bears no relation to the type of foreseeable harm associated with that particular business. The plaintiff appealed.

The Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiff, con-cluding that the shooting was not unforeseeable as a matter of law. The Court analyzed Oregon’s case law regarding foreseeability of harm, observing that when the theory of negligence is based on the fore-seeability of generalized criminal activity, that is different than analyzing whether it is foreseeable that a particular individual may commit an act of violence (i.e., whether a regular customer may be-come violent). With regard to a claim based on “generalized criminal activity,” courts focus on whether the particular defendant could foresee criminal activity of the same general nature, i.e., foreseeability of criminal assault. The Zone argued again that the shooting was “random” because Ayala was mentally ill and they could not anticipate that type of criminal act. The Court pointed out that The Zone was clearly on notice of criminal violence because there had been a shooting at The Zone seven years before the incident. There was also a history of fighting and violence in the line outside the club, violent confrontations involving drugs, and gang violence in the neighborhood. The Court further explained that a plaintiff does not need to show that a particular mechanism or series of events was foreseeable to the defendant, only that the type of conduct and resulting harm were fore-seeable.

The Court concluded that for purposes of the mo-tion to dismiss, even though the shooting in this case could be characterized as “random,” the type of criminal conduct (a shooting) and harm (injuries caused by third party while standing in line) were foreseeable to The Zone. The Court reversed and remanded.

— View the full case opinion at: http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/A153286.pdf

— If you would like to be notified of these new cases, please send an email to: [email protected].

This article is to inform our clients and others about legal matters of current interest. It is not intended as legal advice. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

Case Study… (Continued from page 15) Three Key Things that the Insurance Industry Needs to Know About Aluminum Vehicles — By Patricia L. Harman Reprinted from www.propertycasualty360.com


One major way to shed some significant weight and increase mpg will be the use of more aluminum in cars.

Manufacturers like Ferrari, Audi, BMW, Honda, Lotus, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Range Rover are creating completely aluminum cars or using it for body panels and hoods. Others are using alumi-num parts for fenders, trunks and liftgates.

The Aluminum Association says that manufacturers like the lighter weight material for its strength and environmental advantages. While steel is still the most used material in vehicles, aluminum comes in at a strong second, with almost 90% of it able to be recycled at the end of a vehicle’s life.

As manufacturers make the shift to more aluminum vehicles, this will also change how and where vehi-cles involved in an accident will be repaired. Ac-cording to Dan Young, senior vice president of in-surance relations for CARSTAR, there are any-where from 34,000 to 36,000 collision repair shops in the U.S. “Those shops are fixing cars for an in-dustry that is worth $30 billion and they are all vy-ing for this work.”

Not every shop is equipped or has technicians trained to work on aluminum vehicles. “There is a great deal of cost that a shop has to be willing to invest to get into this aspect of the business,” adds Young. “They have to get certified to work on wholly aluminum vehicles, have separate tools and work areas, and that can cost several hundred thou-sand dollars.” Because of cross-contamination is-sues, aluminum cars cannot be worked on in the same area as steel cars because the aluminum parti-cles will wear down the steel.

Young says that there are different training require-ments depending on the manufacturer. Audi, Jag-uar, Land Rover and BMW require technicians be trained to work on their aluminum vehicles. Those currently trained to work on steel vehicles will have to be retrained to work on aluminum as well. I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Colli-sion Repair, has developed training courses recog-nized by many manufacturers and is working with insurers to educate appraisers, adjusters and techni-

Aluminum Vehicles… (Continued from page 17)


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CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE OREGON CLAIMS ADJUSTERS ASSOCIATION ARTICLE III (Membership) The term “Claims” will include all types of Liability, Casualty, Property, Workers Compensation, Auto, Marine, Inland Marine, Subrogation and first party Medical Claims. “Adjuster” is any person, whose primary employment is the adjusting functions of investigating and evaluating coverage, liability and damages, including the negotiation and resolution of insurance claims.

Section 1. Active Member - Voting Privilege: Any person employed or retained by an insurance company or self-insured entity to engage in the active supervision or adjusting of Claims as described above upon application, acceptance and payment of dues.

Section 2. Honorary Member - Voting Privilege: Any Past President of the OCAA, not removed from office for due cause, upon retirement from the qualification of Active Member, or upon change of occupation, lifetime dues will be waived, with continuing voting privilege.

Section 3. Special Member - Non-Voting: The Insurance Commissioner of the State of Oregon and a Deputy selected by the Commissioner to represent the Commissioner in this Association. These memberships will be exempt from payment of dues.

Section 4. Associate Member - Non Voting: Any person retained or hired by an insurance company or self-insured entity who does not qualify as an Active Member may, upon application, acceptance and payment of dues, be an Associate Member. Associate Members will be limited to the following: Attorneys, Private Investigators, Fire Origin & Cause Experts, Forensic Engineers and Forensic Accountants whose work involves insurance defense work. Additionally, any person employed by an insurance company or self-insured entity engaged as active support staff in the adjusting of Claims.

Any person who has been an Active Member in good standing for at least five years and does not presently qualify as an Active Member may qualify as an Associate Member upon application, acceptance and payment of dues.

Section 5. Retired Member - Non-Voting: A person retiring while qualified as an Active Member may be considered a Retired Member. Retirement means no longer employed in the insurance industry.

Send your completed application, along with your check payable to: OCAA — PO Box 87, Dexter, OR 97431

Application is: (Check one) Renewal ______ New ______ Change ______ Referred by ______________________

Applicant is: (Check one) Active Member Associate Member — Any person employed by an insurance company or self-insured

Active Claims Adjuster entity engaged as ACTIVE SUPPORT STAFF in the adjusting of or Supervisor Claims; also includes Attorneys, Private Investigators, Fire Origin & Cause Experts, Forensic Engineers, Forensic Accountants, whose work involves insurance defense work Honorary Member — OCAA Past President RETIRED - No Dues Retired — Any Claims Adjuster or Supervisor retiring while an Active Member

If you do not qualify for membership in the OCAA, please visit the OCAA website at www.oregoncasualtyadjusters.org, click on the Resource page then click on "Advertise with Us" for information on how to become a Vendor Partner. Name__________________________________________ Job Title_______________________________________ Company______________________________________ Property Casualty Auto Work Comp Other Company Address____________________________________ City____________________ State_____ Zip________________ Member Home Address____________________________________ City____________________ State_____ Zip________________ Work Telephone __________________x______ Email_________________________________________________

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OCAA Meeting Minutes of 7/14/15 Meeting was called to order. There were two past presidents in attendance: Mike Meadows, Margaret DeFrancisco. Two guests in attendance: Dennis Syrothkin and Igor Pivkoch both from God Will Provide International Missions. Treasurer’s Report: $22,219 in the general fund; $567 in the Scholarship Fund. Committee Reports: Trevor reported that the symposium is looking for com-mittee members and ideas for topics. Mike reported the golf tournament is coming up on July 24; please register; there are a few hole sponsorships left; there will be a comedian at the dinner. Unfinished Business: None New Business: None Speaker/Topic: John Bachofner of Jordan Ramis on the topic “It’s a Whole New World — Changes in the PIP/UM/UIM. Raffles/Drawings: No info Submitted by Trevor Arnold, President-Elect

cians on what is involved in repairing these new vehicles.

Training time “Training for working with aluminum in collision repair differs from training for working with steel in that you’re often using different tools and different techniques because of the properties of each mate-rial,” explains Jason Bartanen, director of industry technical relations for I-CAR. “It’s not that alumi-num is more difficult to work with; it’s more a mat-ter of getting trained on how to use the different tools that are specific to each material and the proper material-specific attachment techniques.”

However, Bartanen says that the training techni-cians have already received for working on steel cars definitely translates into repairing aluminum vehicles. “You have the three-dimensional measur-ing, many of the basic hammers and dollies that they’re going to be using a lot on aluminum, corro-sion protection, etc. I often hear from people, ‘Well, aluminum doesn’t need corrosion protection.’ It ab-solutely needs corrosion protection. So a lot of the foundational pieces translate to aluminum.”

The welding machines from steel to aluminum are completely different, as are the techniques utilized for the repairs. “Right now, the majority of steel vehicles aren’t repaired with rivet guns, so they’re learning a new tool, a new piece of equipment. In the future, we’ll probably be using rivet guns for steel cars, but right now the majority of steel repairs are not made with rivet guns; they’re repaired with spot welders and MIG welding, so there are some tool differences there,” explains Bartanen. “Even from a damage-analysis standpoint, some of the rules for what is repairable for a steel vehicle don’t apply to aluminum.”

I-CAR uses a “kink versus bend rule,” which says if the part is kinked, it should be replaced; if it is bent, straightening may be an option. “So there are some differences from a damage-analysis standpoint,” adds Bartanen. “Micro cracking occurs in alumi-num panels, and you can’t see it with the naked eye, so you need dye penetrant to identify it. Now, dye penetrant isn’t something that we use as often on steel vehicles, but it might come in handy on alumi-num vehicles. So there are some subtle differences from a damage-analysis standpoint, as well.”

Aluminum Vehicles… (Continued from page 19) Working with steel is not a prerequisite for learning to work on aluminum cars and the amount of time required to train technicians really depends on the individual and his (or her) aptitude for picking up the repair techniques. “Sometimes, the experienced technician may have some bad habits that they need to unlearn, while an inexperienced technician who is completely new to collision repair may absorb a bit better. Conversely, of course, a new technician may have trouble grasping some of the concepts, whereas an experienced technician may have some familiarity that helps them,” says Bartanen.

I-CAR training options vary in length and intensity depending on the technician’s experience level and employment goals. There is a three-credit-hour pro-gram on aluminum panel removal and installation, classroom-based night classes held at local schools or training facilities, intense certification courses for manufacturers like Jaguar and Land Rover, as well as introductory courses for those who have never worked on a car before to help them learn industry terminology, tools and estimating.

Manufacturers also have their own in-house train-ing programs for technicians. “Audi offers up to a 10-day program for its aluminum network, which is very hands-on intensive,” says Bartanen. “Students go through an internationally recognized ISO weld-ing certification test. It’s much more hands-on, a lot more time, and because of this, more costly.”

Different tools required Training isn’t the only differentiator for working on aluminum vehicles. Among the tools that differ sig-nificantly from steel to aluminum cars are the riv-



ets. ”Definitely rivets, whether it’s a self-piercing rivet, a blind rivet or a solid rivet, are something that we’re not using to repair most steel vehicles today,” explains Bartanen. “Conversely, we’re not using spot welders on aluminum vehicles, but we’re using them on steel today. The MIG welding equip-ment that we use – although you can use a MIG welding piece of equipment – you have to convert the machine unless it offers multiple guns with it. You’re using a different shielding gas for steel ver-sus aluminum. You’re using different electrode wire for steel versus aluminum. Even the different techniques – you can either push or pull for steel welding – while for aluminum you have to push, or you’ll get contamination in the weld. So there are some subtle differences in technique as well.”

Repair process of the future In addition to requiring new training, tools and equipment, and segregating the repair areas for alu-minum and steel cars, there will be some new chal-lenges for repair shops and insurers to consider.

“When you look at the investment that shops will have to make go get into this business, it will im-pact the repair cost,” says Young. “Fifty percent of the U.S. market has a vehicle that is 12 years old. Everyone will be focused on the average cost of repairs as they creep up. As technology in vehicles gets more sophisticated, breaking a computer now means damaging the command center. Aluminum cars require different tools and skill sets, which will mean more expenses.”

“Going forward, we’re not going to be working on a steel-only vehicle or an aluminum-only vehicle – we’re going to be working on a vehicle that has a combination of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, mag-nesium, and probably some other materials that we’re not even familiar with yet, so when we reach that level of hybridization, we’re not going to be able to segregate them,” warns Bartanen.

“The Cadillac CT6, for example, has both alumi-num and steel on the side of the vehicle. You can’t use conventional welding techniques because you can’t weld steel to aluminum – not in an aftermar-ket process anyway. So we’re going to be repairing those types of vehicles with rivet and rivet-bonding techniques that we’re going to be learning as we

Aluminum Vehicles… (Continued from page 21)

OCAA Membership

We extend membership to anyone involved in the resolution of an insurance claim: Claims Adjusters, Casualty Claims Support Staff, Defense Attorneys, Private Investigators, Fire Origin & Cause Experts, Forensic Engineers and Forensic Accountants. Trade Vendors are asked to support the organization by becoming a Vendor Partner-Advertiser in lieu of membership. To apply for membership or to RENEW DUES for 2015-16, please see page 20, or visit our website where you’ll find the membership application in PDF format and the opportunity to pay dues online with a credit card.

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start to repair more aluminum cars.”

Bartanen believes that it will be critical for repair facilities to provide a learning culture for techni-cians to encourage them to learn new techniques in order to adapt to the changes they will be seeing in future vehicles. “There’s going to be a learning curve there, and those who have embraced a learn-ing culture, believing training and knowledge-sharing are valuable and contribute to improved business performance sooner rather than later are going to be more prepared—not only to repair alu-minum vehicles tomorrow, but also to repair hybrid vehicles that have aluminum and steel on them.”

I-CAR’s Platinum ProLevel designation can pro-vide insurance professionals with the information they need to stay current with changes in the auto-motive repair industry, particularly vehicles like the aluminum-intensive 2015 Ford F-150. USAA is one of the insurers who has committed to training 100% of its auto physical damage appraisers (APDAs) to achieve the Platinum ProLevel 1 and to date, 96% have achieved the designation.

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