Validation Preparation

What to Expect During an Audit
The auditors come to your shop. They will utilize an interview process that provides highly accurate statistical evidence of a registered member company’s compliance. Almost every shop owner who has gone through the audit has reported it a valuable experience and one that verified their processes and/or located some deficiencies they were able to correct.

How to Achieve Compliance
Each store audited must be visited and each technician selected for audit must be interviewed. All auto glass replacement technicians that are selected for the audit, whether in-shop or mobile, must be present with an AGSC-applicable windshield replacement job to complete during their assigned date and time of interview.

AGSC-applicable windshield installations are those which fall within the description of vehicles regulated by FMVSS 212/208, i.e. a passenger automobile weighing 10,000 pounds or less. In addition, the vehicle must be licensed for highway use and not be a restoration, classic or antique mode. In order to maximize interview efficiency, it is best for each technician to work either in-shop or nearby on the given date.

Notification of Audit
The process allows for a 60-day notice prior to having the third-party audit conducted. A notification letter, as well as a notification email, will be sent by AGSC to the parent company location (name and address of company submitted on the application) and the additional location selected for the audit, if applicable. The letter will notify you which store(s) have been selected for audit. The letter provides a listing of documents and topics that need to be reviewed and for which responses are required. Most responses can be sent to AGSC or the third-party auditor in advance of the store visit. A copy of the current AGRSS Standard and a copy of the third-party audit document, which will be used to record the outcome of the audit, will be provided for reference.

Communication will be made by the third-party auditor following receipt of the mailed responses in order to confirm all final details, including which technician(s) have been selected for the audit, and to lock in a time and date.

Store Preparation
The AGSC Registered Member Company’s management must have all technicians selected for audit at the shop location ready for the audit. Management should work with the auditors by following the agreed dates and time. The auditors will be on a tight schedule each week to oversee multiple audit locations and there will be very little flexibility on their part to adjust dates and times. Your highest attention to this and your cooperation is important and most appreciated.

The records and documents identified by the auditors during your notification phone call, as well as all technicians selected for audit must be on site and ready for audit review or interview at the time and date scheduled by the auditor. The only excusable absence for any technician will be for medical reasons and will require written proof by a physician. Again, this rule must be followed to protect the integrity of our audit model.

CLICK HERE to view the AGRSS Compliance Checklist.

The Interview Process
Our third-party auditors are well trained in the process of a glass shop audit. Their intention is to rate each company on an objective and credible basis with an accurate and detailed reporting system of what is observed. The audit process will include the review of the location’s administrative process (that it supports compliance with the AGRSS Standard) and one-on-one interviews with the technicians.

The auditor will conduct discussions with each technician selected for audit while observing an installation of a windshield. The technician is expected to follow the guidelines of the current AGRSS Standard and the comprehensive written instructions of the manufacturer of the adhesive he/she is using. What is observed will take precedence over what is said during the course of the audit.

The Management Conference
At the conclusion of the audit, the completed report will be reviewed with the senior manager at the store location. At that time, the auditor’s findings will be classified as one of the following:

• Compliant: The store administration and technicians selected for audit were found to be in compliance with the AGRSS Standard in all respects. The company will be entitled to all the rights and privileges afforded to validated companies (see below).
• Compliant Pending Correction of Deficiencies: This designation is provided to companies that will be deemed compliant if they correct one or more instances of non-compliance as found by the auditor and show convincing evidence of such correction during the re-audit (see re-audit below). An immediate verbal notification of each instance of non-compliance will be provided to each technician who is being audited. It will then be the responsibility of the technician to decide how to proceed with the remainder of the installation.
• Non-Compliant: Companies that do not permit an audit to be conducted properly or completed in a reasonable time frame will be determined non-compliant. Their AGSC registration and membership will be immediately cancelled and a notice thereof will be placed on the AGSC and www.safewindshields.org websites and provided to their adhesive supplier as well. Should this company re-apply to become an AGSC Registered Member Company, it will only be permitted to join under the Fast Track Option (see below).

The Re-Audit
If the company was deemed “compliant pending correction of deficiencies,” the company will have a specified length of time, not less than six (6) weeks, to correct the non-compliances. The auditor will then return to the shop to verify that all non-compliances have been corrected. If so, the company’s status will change to “audited as compliant,” and the company will be entitled to all the rights and privileges afforded to validated companies (see below). If the company has not corrected the deficiencies then its status changes to “determined non-compliant.” Its AGSC registration and membership will be immediately cancelled and a notice thereof will be placed on the AGSC and www.safewindshields.org websites and provided to their adhesive supplier as well. Should this company re-apply to become an AGSC Registered Member Company, it will only be permitted to join under the Fast Track Option (see below).

The Fast Track Option
This option allows an applicant for AGSC membership to seek registration and undergo the audit almost immediately. The Fast Track Option requires the applicant to apply for and pay all related expenses of an immediate audit conducted by our third-party audit firm. This option requires all store locations and technicians to be validated. The auditors will consult with the applicant company to determine the timing and cost of completing this validation audit, but a general ballpark would be $1500-$2000 per location. The standard fees associated with AGSC registration will still apply. Fast-track fees are one time only. Upon successful completion of such audit and a rating of full compliance, the applicant will be a fully validated AGSC Registered Member Company. If you are interested in the Fast Track option, please contact the AGSC.

The Appeals Process
Any company that receives a non-compliance, at the conclusion of the initial audit or at the conclusion of the re-audit and that believes that the non-compliance is not warranted, may appeal the non-compliance according to the guidelines below.

Appeal after initial audit: Any company deemed “non-compliant” after the initial audit may, within 14 days of the date of its audit, file a written appeal with the Audit Review Board. AGSC has established a Audit Review Board (ARB) to review all written corrective action submittals. The following information should be provided to the ARB:

1. Name of the shop and the date of audit;
2. Items requiring corrective action (i.e. instances of non-compliance); and
3. Reasons for the appeal.

Notice of such appeal must arrive at the AGSC office above no later than 14 days after the date the audit was completed. The ARB will respond in writing within 30 days after the date of notification of the company’s audit non-compliance status.

Appeal after re-audit: Any company deemed “non-compliant” after the re-audit may, within 30 days of the date of its audit, file a written appeal with the Audit Review Board. AGSC has established a Audit Review Board (ARB) to review all written corrective action submittals. The following information should be provided to the ARB:

1. Name of the shop and the date of audit;
2. Items requiring corrective action (i.e. instances of non-compliance); and
3. Reasons for the appeal.

Notice of such appeal must arrive at the AGSC office above no later than 30 days after the date the audit was completed. The ARB will respond in writing within 90 days after the date of notification of the company’s audit non-compliance status.

Optional Marketing Review
AGSC also provides a checklist designed to help senior management review how the company’s status as an AGSC Registered Member Company can help them positively market their company. This review is optional and no information about it is retained by the auditors nor is it a factor in the audit itself. It is designed to provide some helpful hints that other AGSC Registered Member Companies have found beneficial. This “review” is solely at management’s option.

Rights and Privileges of a “Audited” Member
Congratulations. A company that has been audited and determined to be “compliant” has achieved significant and valuable status. AGSC will send press releases and notifications to any media you request including local newspapers, radio stations, etc. It will also provide a special designation for your shop and will include your company in the AGSC Membership Directory used by insurers and consumers alike.