Ready for the Sequel?
ROLAGS 2 is in Development
By Linda Rollinson
Most people don’t like sequels as much as they did the original. For this reason, sequels are generally considered to be inferior to its predecessor—whether book, movie, play or yes, even a Standard.
To prepare for writing this article, I started taking a look at sequels from many different genres. I found that sequels have gotten a bad rap; they are often as good as or, better than the original. Silence of the Lambs, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, The Dark Knightand, of course, The Empire Strikes Back (one of my favorites) were all sequels. Ever read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Stephen King’s The Shining? Have you seen Wicked or War Horse in the theater? All of them are sequels. Can you imagine Harry Potter,The Godfather (or 50 Shades of Grey for that matter) without a sequel? They would not have half the following or leave half the impression as they do. A sequel can make an original stronger and give it a longer legacy.
While we may never call the Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard great literature, nor see it in a movie theater nor on a stage, it’s a very vital piece of work; now, its successor is about to be written. This vital sequel will be as important to our industry as the works I mentioned here are to popular culture.
The Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard (ROLAGS for short) was first developed nearly 20 years ago. It was originally developed by the National Windshield Repair Association under the policies and procedures of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
The ANSI process is a consensus building process of standards development that is open to all and transparent. Developing a Standard in accordance with the ANSI policies and procedures is a rigorous process. ANSI accredits two auto glass standards, ROLAGS which addresses the best practices in the repair of auto glass and the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) produced by the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) which does the same for auto glass replacement.
A New Look
When NWRA and AGSC merged last year, it made sense to take a new look at the ROLAGS Standard. Though ROLAGS has been updated over the years, it does not yet provide guidance on repairs in this age of new technology. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and a whole variety of other new technologies may well need to be addressed in the repair context.
So in order to do so, this new technology, along with the desire to synchronize the standards development process between AGSC and NWRD, the decision was made to undertake a sequel—ROLAGS 2. We have provided ANSI with a notice that this is how we plan to move forward and a new commit-tee is being formed. Individuals who were part of the original RO-LAGS committee are invited to be part of this one as well. Because I would expect much of the language in ROLAGS 1 form a base for ROLAGS 2, I would not expect the standards development process to take too long.
Unlike movies, books or plays, a standard is a living, breathing entity. It must grow and adapt in order to survive and be relevant to the world it inhabits. ROLAGS 2 will be and do just that. The ROLAGS Standard is a standard of best practices of when and under what conditions a repair can take place. It also explains when repairs could not take place. It brings our industry together under one consistent and continuous document. And ROLAGS is a great reference for customers, insurers and others who want to understand when a proper repair can be made.
Adhering to ROLAGS differentiates the companies that want to do work right for the safety of their customers, from those that don’t. It is no surprise that a sequel to the original ROLAGS would be developed. Times and technology have changed and we must change with them. We welcome your help.
Our next meeting is scheduled to take place at Auto Glass WeekTM in January. If you would like to become a member of ROLAGS 2, please email jmulligan@nwrassn.org.
ROLAGS may never win an Academy Award or be a bestseller, but can save lives and it does keep our industry and our customers safe. You can be part of one of the most important industry-wide sequels of all.
LINDA ROLLINSON is the chairperson of the National Windshield Repair Division Steering Committee of the Automotive Glass Safety Council™ as well as owner of Superior Auto Glass of Tampa Bay Inc. in New Port Richey, Fla.
superiorautoglass@tampabay.rr.com
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