As summer recently drew to a close, it is time to look back and examine the results of the first half of the 2011 Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards (AGRSS®) Council Inc. validations, and to share areas where some companies may have opportunities for improvement.
The 2011 AGRSS® validations are being conducted to the ANSI/AGRSS® 002-2002 Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard using the validation checklist available on www.agrss.org. One of the requirements of the Standard is that “those engaged in automotive glass replacement shall obtain and follow written comprehensive and current application instructions from the retention systems manufacturer or private labeler.” In order to validate these instructions effectively and consistently, adhesive system manufacturers (ASMs) have summarized their requirements for validation on a “Retention System Provider Training Instructions and Documentation Worksheet” (also known as “the worksheet” or ASM Matrix). Each ASM has completed its own version of this worksheet, and this worksheet is used in conjunction with the validation checklist (which includes requirements of the Standard) to complete the validations.
A review of the validation checklist and the worksheet for a company’s specific ASM would be an excellent start for a location wishing to review its own system against the validation requirements.
The validation checklist, the worksheets and the AGRSS Standard all are available on the AGRSS® website at http://www.agrss.org/agrss-reference-library/.
Locations also may wish to review the following six categories of non-compliances that have been identified during the validations in the first half of 2011. It would be a good idea to ensure that these types of errors are not occurring in your own operation.
These are as follows:
- Location does not use the current version of its adhesive system manufacturer’s instructions;
- Technician doesn’t follow his ASM’s instructions regarding shake time for glass cleaner;
- Technician doesn’t follow ASM’s instructions regarding shake time for primer;
- Technician doesn’t follow ASM’s instructions regarding identification of open shelf life;
- Technician uses a product that is past its “use by” date; and/or
- Location doesn’t have the required historical records of DOT and windshield part numbers.
During a validation, any location that is found to be noncompliant in one or more areas is allowed time to make corrections and to demonstrate that the problem has been corrected. After corrections have been verified, these locations are issued “Compliance After Corrective” action reports to demonstrate their accomplishment. The goal of AGRSS® is to help all locations become compliant with the Standard. AGRSS® is sharing these opportunities for improvement with all AGRSS®-Registered Companies as part of its overall strategy for improvement of all locations. The plan is for all locations to review this information and consider whether improvement can be made within their own organizations. Orion isproud to be part of this effort to improve the safety of America’s driving public.