The Future is Upon Us: Repair and ADAS

By Troy Mason

The introduction of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in vehicles has been a major topic of concern in the automotive glass industry in the last few years. There has been much discussion about recalibrating an ADAS camera after a replacement, who can and should do this, and more. But what about repair? Thus far little has been discussed about how repair technicians should handle a windshield with ADAS, but the time has come for us to answer this question.

ANSI Standard

The current ANSI standard does not yet address ADAS, but discussions have begun and there are many questions to be answered to be incorporated into the standard. The Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS™) was only recently updated with language discussing ADAS, and the Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) has formed a committee to focus on the ever-changing issue.

Following are just a few questions we must answer as an industry, and I encourage you to participate in the discussion with AGSC’s Repair and Replacement Safety Standards committees.
• Can you complete a windshield repair in the area where the cam-era is located? And, if you can, what extra steps are required?
• If you repair a windshield equipped with ADAS, how do you know how wide the sweep of the camera is? How do you ensure you are not interfering with it?
• Do you need to recalibrate the system the way replacement technicians do?

These are all questions—and there are many more—that we must not only research and dis-cuss, but hopefully incorporate into the standard in the near future.

How Can You Help?

So, what is the next step? How can you get involved in this re-search effort and discussion? I en-courage you to attend the next Re-pair Standards Committee meeting, which will be held in Indianapolis at Auto Glass Week™ in September. The meeting will be held on Thurs-day, September 5, from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. What makes a great wind-shield repair standard is the fact that all facets of the industry have participated in its development, and we want to continue that.

Please join us at that meeting and help us navigate the future as we explore this important topic of ADAS. Adding ADAS-related language to the Standard will be quite an undertaking, and one that can use as much industry participation as possible.

I hope to see you there.

TROY MASON is the chairperson of the National Windshield Repair Division of the Auto Glass Safety Council™ as well as CEO of Techna Glass Inc. in South Jordan, Utah.
troy.mason@technaglass.com

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