In this session, static and dynamic calibration steps will be discussed and reviewed for all three major vehicle types:  Asian, Domestic, and Euro will be reviewed.  This includes environmental and prerequisite requirements for performing ADAS calibrations and steps for verifying that the vehicles were calibrated per OEM specification.

This course provides collision repair technicians with the necessary knowledge and procedures to safely identify, approach, and handle electrified vehicles in a post-collision environment. Emphasis is placed on early-stage risk mitigation, proper use and maintenance of PPE, high-voltage system recognition, visual and electrical inspection methods, and manufacturer-compliant vehicle power-down techniques. The training ensures that technicians can confidently recognize and manage high-voltage hazards before beginning structural or mechanical repairs.

• Establish foundational safety practices for identifying and mitigating EV risks in the collision environment
• Understand the role of signage, barriers, and technician awareness in early-stage safety setup
• Learn proper inspection, maintenance, and storage routines for high-voltage PPE and tooling
• Recognize indicators of electrified systems and evaluate vehicle condition post-collision
• Determine state-of-charge and identify airbag deployment loops and high-voltage cable routing
• Conduct visual inspections of high-voltage components and identify damage or exposure risks
• Perform electrical verification, including absence-of-voltage tests, prior to hands-on work
• Follow documented OEM safe-down procedures using example vehicle platforms
• Verify system deactivation and maintain a controlled work environment throughout repairs

ADAS calibrations, resets, initializations etc are certainly more common today and if they go smoothly then completing the repair and returning the vehicle to your  customer can proceed as planned, but what about when it doesn’t go as planned? This class will go over various procedures related to ADAS before, during and after the repair in order to minimize surprises and increase the likelihood of staying on schedule. Whether you do calibrations and related procedures in house or sublet them this discussion will uncover common and not so common issues related to ADAS. Knowing these issues upfront can help you and your shop develop plans and procedures to identify, prepare for and eliminate surprises before the calibration is
attempted.

In today’s competitive marketplace, effective marketing is essential for growing your business and strengthening customer relationships. In this session, Mike Duncan—Director of Marketing for Industrial Finishes—will share practical strategies and real-world insights to help businesses stand out and succeed in the modern collision repair and coatings industry.

Participants will learn how to build a strong brand presence, leverage digital and traditional marketing tools, and create campaigns that attract and retain customers. The class will also cover key principles of market positioning, storytelling, and community engagement—helping attendees develop marketing plans that deliver measurable results.

Whether you’re a shop owner, manager, or sales professional, this course will give you the tools and confidence to market your business more effectively and drive sustainable growth.

Every organization has a culture, whether it is intentionally designed or silently developed. The unspoken habits, small compromises, and unchecked behaviors are already telling the story of your business. This interactive half-day seminar pulls back the tablecloth and exposes what is really happening under the table, where culture is truly defined. Through guided reflection, practical exercises, and honest dialogue, participants will uncover the hidden norms shaping their teams and learn how personal leadership directly determines collective culture. You will walk away with clarity, tools, and accountability to align what you say you value with how you actually show up.

You Will Discover How To:
• Identify the unspoken rules, stories, and habits driving your current culture.
• Recognize how your communication, consistency, and presence define the environment around you.
• Confront the behaviors and blind spots you have been tolerating that quietly shape “the way things are done.”
• Replace default culture with intentional leadership practices that reflect your highest values.
• Create daily alignment between personal integrity and organizational identity.

Key Takeaway:
Culture is not written in your handbook; it is revealed in your habits. What you do not address becomes your culture. This seminar gives you the insight, language, and leadership framework to start changing that today.

In the average collision repair center, parts typically make up 38-40% of the average RO. In addition, the parts storage, ordering and mirror matching processes are pointed to by many as the main reason vehicles weren’t delivered on-time. This Collision Advice course addresses every aspect of parts management – from 100% disassembly and how to properly store parts, to ordering, receiving, mirror matching and utilizing the parts carts as visual production cues.

In this Collision Advice course, you will learn why a standardized parts storage process, staging areas and visual controls are critical to guaranteeing all parts get ordered. Learn the basics and advanced nomenclature to ensure one-time use parts are identified. Learn to utilize technology, such as dual monitors, scanners, inventory control systems, as well as your management system reports to monitor your orders, credits and returns.

Understand the value in mirror matching and how to perform the process consistently to ensure the correct parts are received for the repair.

In this fast-moving session, learn how to optimize every stage of the repair process - marketing, capture, estimating, production, parts, and customer communication - and in many cases, using the tools you already have at your fingertips! Perfect for any role, from new users to seasoned pros, from estimating-only to management system customers. Walk away with practical tips to boost efficiency, cut cycle times, and elevate your shop’s performance.

(This is a 2 part class, you will need to sign up for both part 1 & 2)

With the advance of new and vibrant colors the OEM's are using, our job in the collision centers is increasingly more difficult to repair these pastel and high chromatic colors. This varies from matching/blending factory candy colors to blending pastels to a smooth transition. In this hands-on class, we will demonstrate the tips and processes we acquired to be successful with these new challenges. Due to the complexity and the amount of booth time required to complete these repairs, this is a full day class that will take up the morning and afternoon sessions. Please bring your own PPE (suite & respirator), gloves will be provided. This is a 2 part class, you will need to sign up for both part 1 & 2.

There will be a meal served during the Expo.  There will be eight exhibitors there for you to see. 

This class provides an introduction to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) with a  practical focus on where to find official ADAS documentation and how to accurately 
interpret it. Students will learn how to locate manufacturer service information, OEM repair procedures, calibration requirements, and technical bulletins, and understand how these documents apply to real-world diagnostics and repairs. Emphasis is placed on reading system descriptions, interpreting specifications and warnings, and recognizing the implications of ADAS documentation for safety, liability, and proper vehicle operation. 

(This is a 2 part class, you will need to sign up for both part 1 & 2)

With the advance of new and vibrant colors the OEM's are using, our job in the collision centers is increasingly more difficult to repair these pastel and high chromatic colors. This varies from matching/blending factory candy colors to blending pastels to a smooth transition. In this hands-on class, we will demonstrate the tips and processes we acquired to be successful with these new challenges. Due to the complexity and the amount of booth time required to complete these repairs, this is a full day class that will take up the morning and afternoon sessions. Please bring your own PPE (suite & respirator), gloves will be provided. This is a 2 part class, you will need to sign up for both part 1 & 2.

Are you taking advantage of the opportunities that are here now? Do you have a plan for the substantial increase in the near future?     

What used to be “Just an Alignment” has changed dramatically. It’s no longer just a maintenance or after part replacement need.  It is the foundation that many safety systems depend on for proper operation and must be or should be done prior to certain calibrations or resets.  Additionally, many manufacturers require very specific resets or calibrations after an alignment is performed, certain parts are replaced or even simply removed and re-installed.  

The number of ADAS-equipped vehicles, both on the road and in your shop, is growing daily and moving beyond their factory warranties. This class aims to assist you in recognizing the opportunities associated with adhering to procedures that uphold the integrity of current safety systems.  You may be able to do many of these procedures now without any additional equipment while others may require additional equipment or sublet.  The first step is understanding the need and then the how.  ADAS controls Steering, Braking and Throttle, and no codes, no lights does not mean no problems especially when it comes to ADAS.  This class should answer many questions and likely create some, all in an effort to help you take care of your customers, your business and your bottom line. 

This course provides a focused overview of OEM-defined safety protocols and electrical procedures required when working on high-voltage vehicle systems. Aimed at collision and repair professionals, it emphasizes the importance of correctly identifying high-voltage risks, following vehicle-specific service disconnect steps, and using the appropriate electrical safety tools. The course also addresses critical concerns such as isolation fault detection, equipotential bonding, structural welding precautions, and the thermal sensitivity of EV components during refinishing. By the end of this session, technicians will be equipped to apply OEM procedures confidently and safely throughout the repair process.

- Navigate OEM repair procedures related to high-voltage service disconnects, battery removal, and handling protocols
- Identify required electrical safety tools including CAT III meters, and perform basic electrical tests to verify safe working conditions
- Understand when high-voltage systems remain energized post-collision and learn how to recognize signs of welded contactors and isolation failures
- Apply methods to confirm zero potential and practice correct equipotential bonding procedures in the collision environment
- Follow OEM welding guidelines to maintain system integrity during structural repair work
- Recognize how bake booth temperatures and cycle times impact battery packs, inverters, and other thermally sensitive components
- Implement refinishing best practices that minimize thermal stress on electrified vehicle systems

Most, if not all, OEMs have safety inspections that need to be performed when a vehicle is in a collision whether the airbags deploy or not. In this event, Mike Anderson of Collision Advice discusses these safety inspections, what is involved and what components need to be inspected. He’ll also discuss how to educate consumers and insurers about these inspections in a way that educates, not alienates. This session will be Mike’s impassioned plea to the claims and repair industries to place consumer safety at the forefront, by performing critical steps to ensure safety.

In this fast-moving session, learn how to optimize every stage of the repair process - marketing, capture, estimating, production, parts, and customer communication - and in many cases, using the tools you already have at your fingertips! Perfect for any role, from new users to seasoned pros, from estimating-only to management system customers. Walk away with practical tips to boost efficiency, cut cycle times, and elevate your shop’s performance.

Every organization has a culture, whether it is intentional or accidental. This session explores how communication and personality drive the atmosphere, expectations, and relational experience within a team. Through interactive learning and practical application, participants will discover how their communication style influences trust, clarity, emotional tone, and ultimately, culture.

When leaders understand themselves and those they lead, communication becomes meaningful, expectations become clear, and culture becomes a reflection of intentional actions rather than unspoken patterns.

Purpose
To equip participants with an understanding of how communication patterns and personality traits influence team dynamics and organizational culture, and to give them tools to communicate with clarity, intention, and awareness.

In this session, we will look at the environmental and component factors that will keep you from completing a calibration and how to address those factors to finish the job. 

This hands-on class traverses post collision safety inspections and focuses on identifying system components, verifying proper operation, and recognizing conditions that may affect system performance.  Attendees will perform post collision OE required inspections of vehicle systems while learning how physical damage, misalignment, environmental factors, and improper repairs can compromise vehicle and consumer safety.  Emphasis is placed on real-world inspection techniques, safety awareness, and understanding the importance of post collision safety inspections. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to conduct thorough post collision safety inspections and recognize when further diagnostics or repairs are required. 

Success in today’s collision repair industry isn’t just about turning wrenches—it’s about knowing your numbers. This session will help shop owners, managers, and team leaders identify and understand the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that drive profitability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Keith Clark and Donnie Martin will break down the most important metrics for body shop operations—cycle time, touch time, gross profit, labor efficiency, paint and materials usage, and more—showing how to track, interpret, and act on them. Participants will learn how to use data to pinpoint bottlenecks, improve production flow, and make better business decisions.

Whether you’re looking to increase shop performance, improve employee accountability, or simply gain clearer insight into your bottom line, this class will equip you with the practical tools and industry knowledge to take control of your KPI’s and your business success.

 Customer-pay work represents one of the greatest untapped profit opportunities in today’s collision repair environment—yet many shops struggle to communicate value, build trust, and convert estimates into approved repairs. This immersive 3-hour course equips collision repair professionals with the sales, communication, and service-experience skills needed to confidently present repairs, overcome objections, and increase customer-pay closing rates without feeling “salesy.”  Participants will learn how to quickly establish credibility, explain complex collision information in simple language, and position their shop as the safest, most convenient, and most trustworthy solution.

This class is an in-depth review of CCC’s move to CCCone.com and browser-based estimating. The class will review:

-Estimate writing and home screen organization in the browser platform, including AI-assisted estimates through the Jumpstart process.

-Production management through the new Production Boards screen and discuss how it can proactively drive WIP on the shop floor.

-The enhanced Parts Dashboard and vendor messaging, allowing more seamless than ever communication with parts vendors.

-Labor and Pay Workflow, keeping technicians involved and up to speed on their pay and elimination of the pay day rush.

-Audience participation, live demos and questions, and answers.

Achieving a flawless finish starts long before the first coat of paint is sprayed. In this advanced session, industry experts from Industrial Finishes will take a deep dive into the critical steps of paint preparation and precision color matching.

Brian Marier will share proven techniques, best practices, and the latest advancements in materials and technology that help ensure consistent, high-quality results in every refinish job. Participants will learn how to properly prepare substrates, manage environmental variables, and utilize digital color tools and mixing systems to achieve perfect matches the first time.

This class is ideal for refinish technicians, painters, and production managers looking to elevate their craftsmanship, reduce costly rework, and improve overall shop efficiency.

Post collision wheel alignments should be treated differently than traditional maintenance or mechanical driven alignments. Whether you perform alignments in house or sublet them it is important to understand a proper wheel alignment goes beyond Camber, Caster and Toe, especially post collision repair. Today’s alignment equipment can provide many additional measurements to help diagnose issues and ensure you are returning your customers vehicle to them in pre accident condition. In a nutshell, don’t guess what's bent.This class will address the additional measurements such as SAI/IA, Setback, Turning Angle, Max Steer, and Symmetry. It will also cover the relationship of wheel alignments and vehicle electronics from ABS and Stability control to ADAS and related calibrations. Modern vehicle control and safety systems rely on a solid foundation that starts with a proper wheel alignment.

In 2025, the collision-repair industry stands at a crossroads. Technology is advancing faster than ever, customer expectations are rising, and our responsibilities as repairers continue to grow as vehicles become more complex.

This year’s Collision Advice theme — Ignite Excellence — is a call to action for every shop, every technician, every estimator, and every leader who is committed to raising the bar.
Ignite Excellence is about sparking something deeper than compliance. It’s about fueling a mindset.

It’s the fire that pushes us to repair every vehicle as if our own family will be riding in it. It’s the spark that drives us to invest in training, understand OEM procedures, embrace new technology, and build cultures where people feel valued and empowered. It’s the recognition that true excellence isn’t a destination — it’s a daily discipline.
In 2026, “Ignite Excellence” challenges our industry to:

• 
  Light the torch of leadership by coaching, mentoring, and uplifting the next generation of technicians and estimators and knowing your “Why”
• Fuel a deeper commitment to safe and proper repairs using OEM guidelines, ADAS understanding, and continuous learning.
• Spark innovation by embracing emerging technologies — from AI to digital blueprints — that elevate accuracy and efficiency.
• Burn away complacency and replace it with accountability, integrity, and passion.
• Illuminate the customer experience so every interaction builds trust and confidence.