NEWSLETTER

^{CHANGES TO WINDSCREEN STANDARDS}

Standards Australia has released the revised version of AS2080:2019 Safety Glazing for Land Vehicles.

In May 2018, the Auto Glass Association (AGA) was successful in obtaining approval from Standards Australia for the ME-055 committee to conduct a review of the standard.
Rick Janssen, AGA President, said, “The AGA takes its role in our industry seriously. We represent all interests equally and have worked together toward common goals for the entire industry. This is the second standards review the AGA has been responsible for initiating and once again, the AGA has played a significant key role in the revision of AS2080:2019 Safety Glazing for Land Vehicles.

AS2080:2019 is responsible for specifying requirements and testing methods for flat, curved toughened and laminated safety glass for windscreens and other glass for land vehicles.

The review has aligned the standard with the current Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 8/01- Safety Glazing Material 2005). The automotive glass replacement industry was adversely affected by conflicts across the standards.

Key areas the review focused on were; Luminous transmittance requirements, Resistance to radiation Fracture and adhesion.

The amendments also bring the standard in line with associated United Nations international standard (ECER43), which Australian law adopts.
The outcome promotes consistency and minimises confusion and the document now accurately reflects the modern AGRR market.

"The revised document will increase consumer confidence in the auto glass repair industry and eliminate confusion amongst auto glaziers about which rules affect them. Consumers are more familiar with Australian Standards than they are the Australian Design Rules so aligning the two will make it easier for them to interpret and understand" said Janssen.

Media Release:  Road Safety at the centre of auto glazing revisionStandards Australia 3 September 2019. Changes to windscreen standards Paint & Panel 9 September 2019.

Purchase your copy of the revised standard here!

The revised standards can be purchased via SAI Global purchase your copy using discount code AGA5 prior to the 10 November and recieve a 5% discount exclusive to the AGA.

^{NATIONAL SKILLS LIST TO BE MODIFIED}

On the 4th September, 2019

The Morrison Government announced a consultation process for a review of the National Skills Needs List, which identifies trades experiencing a skills shortage.

“The review will ensure skills shortages are identified using a forward-looking, up-to-date methodology and that apprenticeship incentives are targeted at addressing critical skills shortages in the Australian economy,” Minister Cash said.

“Developing a robust and enduring approach to determining how apprenticeship incentives address skills shortages is part of the Morrison Government’s commitment to maintaining a strong vocational education and training sector that supports employers’ needs and builds a skilled workforce.”

The review will consult widely with industry and other stakeholders across Australia and will ensure the National Skills Needs List is responsive to changing labour market conditions.

The AGA will be actively joining the consultation process to engage with The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business as a representative of the Auto Glass Industry.

Media Release: Skilled Migration Occupation List review to commence Wednesday 4th September 2019

_{THE WAR ON WASTE}

This article by the Australian Glass & Window Association (AGWA) highlights why waste is an issue for the glass industry, what are the legal obligations of your business, why it is important for your business to manage waste and what you can do?

The AGA is actively engaging with glass recyclers to understand our obligations as an industry and to support the expansion of recycling solutions for all our members across Australia.

Auto glass businesses in Sydney and Melbourne can contact the AGA (info@autoglass.org.au) to discuss recycling glass options.

AGWA Article Don't be A Casualty of the war on waste published 30 July 2019

WINDSCREENS OF THE FUTURE - WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE BEEN SAYING

Over the past decade experts in the industry have been predicting the advancements in automotive technology and how they will impact on the windscreen repair industry.

In 2014 Belron "Window to the Future" reported that by 2020, today’s generation of iTods, or children who have never known a presmart phone world, will be emerging young drivers. This multi-screen globally connected digital tribe will expect their cars to provide the same levels of intuitive, connective technology as their smartphones. At the same time, aging baby boomers, the golden generation born between 1946 and 1963, will be active, healthy and mobile for far longer than any previous generation.

The predictions this innovation would have on the role of our repairers is now todays reality the glazed area of cars has increased by 15% and the windscreen alone accounts up to 30% of the structural integrity.

As Volks Wagon Group Chairman, DR Martin Winterkon predicted in 2014 at the Geneva Motor show People’s “mobility expectations have undergone a fundamental transformation. Their wishes concerning their own cars have changed. And digitalization has redefined the way we live and work.

What was once a simple piece of glass is now an elaborate grid of different technologies, each playing a vital role in the performance, comfort and safety of a vehicle. For some time now, the onus has been on the individual auto glass technician to stay abreast of developments to ensure their work practice complies with modern standards and new recommendations from vehicle and glass manufacturers. Seeing the future through a windscreen AGA 2014

Windscreen technicians are now in a world where technological involvedness has and is growing more and more rapidly.

The introduction of technologies that target the improvement of safety for drivers, passengers and pedestrians is now a standard feature of today's vehicles.

This means that the actual process of replacing and repairing windscreens has become more demanding, the industry is constantly trying to redesign itself and its technologies to ensure the best tools, processes and skills are in place.

Keeping up with changing technology is key, with expediential growth in automotive innovation technicians of the future may well be equipped with virtual and augmented reality tools ‘We see windscreens becoming the key interface. In that sense, we expect HeadsUp Augmented Reality Displays will be only a stepping stone to a safe ‘full screen’ technology said Dr Chris Davies of Belron.

So what's next - will augmented dashboards become a reality or are they already here ?

^{AGA UPDATE}

2019 AGM

Continued progress on strategy; membership, education and compliance

AGA held its Annual General Meeting at the National Auto Glass Head Office in Riverwood NSW on Tuesday 3rd September 2019.

Rick Janssen, President of AGA, said:

The AGA has continued to focus on the areas identified by the AGA Executive Committee in the strategic plan, the three focus areas remain:

1.       Membership

2.       Education

3.       Compliance

The future of the AGA and the extent to which the industry accepts and engages with the AGA, significantly depends on our executive committee members. Without your support and input, without your commitment, the work undertaken by the AGA will stagnate.

Looking back, we have achieved a great deal and if we all stay committed and involved, we will create an industry that compels AGGR specialists to install every piece of glass to the Australian Standard, become trained and certified, use only quality products and operate ethically and professionally.

Elected Office bearers and Executive Committee members:

President           Rick Janssen Innosolv Pty Ltd

VicePresident    Steve Simpson National AutoGlass Supplies

Treasurer          Gareth Brown SGM Industries Pty Ltd

Secretary          Hiliary Bradbury Top End Windscreens& Tinting Pty Ltd

EC Member        Maggie Lo National Auto Glass Supplies

EC Member        Murray McGrath Instant Windscreens

EC Member        Eric Heine National Windscreens Group

EC Member        Fawad Saleem O'Brien Glass

EC Member        Terry Golledge APP Industries

EC Member        Ray Semeri iAutoglass

EC Member        Dean Tolhurst The Fixer Windscreens

EC Member        Adam Davies 5R Solutions

EC Member        Stuart Howe Hella Australia Pty Ltd

^{IT’s A HOAX}

Tesla Driver spotted asleep at wheel

It was recently reported in the US that a Tesla driver appeared to have been caught sleeping ta the wheel. A pedestrian has filmed a driver in a Tesla asleep at the wheel while the car is cruising down a highway in the United States and posted the video online.

In response to the video Tesla has issued a statement “Many of these videos appear to be dangerous pranks or hoaxes,” the company said. “Our driver-monitoring system repeatedly reminds drivers to remain engaged and prohibits the use of Autopilot when warnings are ignored. At highway speeds, drivers typically receive warnings every 30 seconds or less if their hands aren’t detected on the wheel.”

Tesla says its autopilot feature is to be used "with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While Autopilot is designed to become more capable over time, in its current form, it is not a self-driving system."

"Tesla owners have driven billions of miles using Autopilot, and data from our quarterly Vehicle Safety Report indicates that drivers using Autopilot experience fewer accidents than those operating without assistance," the spokesperson added.

^{JOIN THE AGA}

The AGA is a forum that brings together all of our industry’s influencers? Well the AGA aims to be just that - come and join us.

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