The Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) has had a very busy year—from its harmonization initiative, new members, a new committee, new Standard and much more.
Late in 2017 and early in 2018 the AGSC launched its legislative alert program. As the AGSC learns of industry-related legislation across the United States, alerts are sent to Registered Member Companies so that they are aware of the legislation that could affect them—and can let us know how much of an impact they expect, so that we can assess whether any further action needs to be taken. The AGSC has sent out more than 60 alerts so far, and expect many more to come as many state legislatures begin their sessions at this time of year.
Throughout the year, the AGSC has been working with its Registered Member Companies to ensure that all of their technicians are certified by the AGSC by the end of the year. With just a few days left until the harmonization of the two programs is complete, this has been quite an undertaking.
“We are so appreciative of our members’ hard work in ensuring the success of this initiative,” says Kathy Bimber, director of operations for the AGSC. “It has been a busy year but we expect the combination of the programs to help all of our members and the industry at large.”
This summer, the AGSC formed a new committee—the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Committee. Chaired by Jeff Olive, the goal of the committee is to collect and disseminate information about ADAS technology, best practices, legal, quality and other issues involving ADAS; provide educational training, testing and to develop a certification program for calibration technicians; develop education for other stakeholders such as insurers and fleet owners; and continually evaluate potential new member services and programs involving ADAS.
Additionally, the AGSC AGRSS™ Standards Committee approved a revision, and those changes were also approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which oversees the process by which the Standard has been developed and is continuously maintained. The changes were the result of several years of work by the AGSC AGRSS™ Standards Committee to develop language related to ADAS for the Standard. The revised Standard now includes definitions for terms related to ADAS and information about re-calibration. The revised standard is known as ANSI/AGSC/AGRSS 004-2018.
In September, the AGSC and National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) decided to consolidate into one organization, effective January 1, 2019. Though technically not a merger, NWRA will dissolve and its membership, standards and work products will be welcomed into the newly formed Windshield Repair Division of the AGSC.
“It has been an exciting year for AGSC and we look forward to serving the industry in 2019,” adds Bimber.