Double Standards
By Linda Rollinson
The Auto Glass Repair and Replacement (AGRR) industry has always been grounded in the alphabet. Companies like PGW and XYG sell throughout. NAGS issues list prices. We all have to worry about MDATs and MSDSs.* Even our major safety organizations, AGSC and NWRD, are acronyms.
Amid this alphabet soup, two main ingredients stand out. AGRSS™ and ROLAGS™ are acronyms for the standards that govern the auto glass aftermarket industry. AGRSS is the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard, which regulates auto glass replacement. ROLAGS™ means the Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard and governs vehicle glass repair.
Both standards have many similarities. They were developed under the ANSI process by individuals from every possible segment of the industry involved in repair, in the case of ROLAGS, and replacement, in the case of AGRSS.
Both were developed under standards development protocols approved by ANSI. ANSI (another acronym!) stands for the American National Standards Institute. It is a standards-developing organization, yet it doesn’t typically develop standards independently. Instead, it reviews the standards developers’ procedures to ensure they follow a fair, open and inclusive process. ANSI doesn’t care about the content of your standard; it is concerned that consensus, openness and transparency were used to develop it.
The ANSI process requires that everyone knows the agenda for a meeting at least one month before the meeting. It requires that points of conflict over standards’ language be resolved. The ANSI process is genuinely a consensus one. Your standard could be about car tires or goat farming; ANSI does not care. But it does care that the method you use meets its guidelines.
Such an emphasis on consensus can lead to a long exercise that might seem drawn out and arbitrary. To me, it’s all just part of the process. Consensus requires discussion, review, and compromise. You will see all these things happening at a ROLAGS or AGRSS meeting.
The AGRSS Standard has seven purposes. They are to:
• Improve the performance and practices of industry technicians and raise their level of professionalism.
• Guide the industry in auto glass replacement procedures that meet the pertinent Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard requirements.
• Provide guidelines and objectives for groups that supply products, education and training for the industry.
• Promote public awareness of the need for safe installation procedures, which will reduce the risk of personal injury and/or death from traffic accidents.
• Provide a comprehensive automotive glass replacement standard.
• Achieve consistency among automotive glass installation practices.
• Create an automotive glass installation benchmark for anyone engaged in the replacement of automotive glass.
The purpose of the ROLAGS Standard is to:
• Be used to consistently evaluate damages on laminated auto glass in order to aid in the decision to repair or replace the glass
• Assist the public in understanding what is achieved through windshield repair (repair of laminated auto glass);
• Encourage technicians to strive for the highest quality repair;
• Codify the current best practices of laminated auto glass repair.
Both together form a powerful recipe for conducting safe and proper repairs and replacements. Neither of these standards was developed in a closed room, or is influenced by any one entity more than another. Both take every comment into account before making any changes. Which is another thing I like about this ANSI process. It allows for changes whenever either committee votes one. These standards live and can adapt at any time.
This brings me to a final strength of the alphabet soup that is our standards development: Everyone can be part of it. New members are welcome at any time, and you are invited to join. It’s a great way to help shape the standards under which we all operate. I hope you will participate in this vital role in the future.
*In case you don’t know, that’s Minimum Drive-Away Time (MDAT) and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). The organizations are, of course, the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) and the National Windshield Repair Division (NWRD).
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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