The automotive landscape is rapidly evolving, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are at the forefront of this transformation. With ADAS features becoming standard in most new vehicles, body shops face challenges and opportunities. Properly addressing ADAS isn’t just beneficial for your shop's bottom line—it's crucial for ensuring customer safety and maintaining a good reputation.

The demand for ADAS calibrations is surging as more vehicles equipped with these technologies hit the roads. Collision repair facilities are increasingly having to embrace ADAS to provide safer, more complete repairs. In doing so, they also unlock a new revenue stream for their business. But where do you start? As with most new ventures, the first leap is the hardest. How do shops enter the market? Fortunately, there is a fit for every shop, so let’s explore the most common service models for providing ADAS calibration services. 

Choosing Your ADAS Service Model

There are several ways to implement ADAS services in your shop. The most common methods are to do the work in-house, sublet the work to dealers or specialty shops, or utilize a mobile calibration service. Determining the best fit for your shop can come down to a few primary factors. These factors are the level of process control, initial financial investment, and your facility capacity. Lets look briefly at some of the more common adoption methods. 

Performing calibrations in-house can offer the highest profit potential and the fastest turnaround times. However, it requires a significant upfront investment in specialized equipment, ongoing technician training, and dedicated space within your shop.  

Subletting to dealerships or specialty servicers eliminates the need for upfront investment and technical expertise. It allows you to ensure correct repairs while remaining free of the additional overhead. The trade-off is once the vehicle leaves your shop, your control of the process disappears. Depending on how busy the sublet vendor is, sending the vehicle out could impact your cycle time. Finally, the profit for this method is often limited to sublet markup. 

Mobile services typically offer more flexibility and convenience than sending the vehicle out. Having the work completed on-site allows you to remain involved in the process, and the cycle time impact is often zero with appropriate scheduling. Mobile services will require space to complete the calibrations, and these spaces frequently need level floors and proper lighting.

Those options may seem like a lot to consider, but you don’t have to pick only one. Taking a hybrid approach can be the perfect option. You might consider equipping your shop to handle the most common calibrations while subletting more complex operations to a mobile service or dealer. The critical factor is ensuring you provide proper ADAS service to your customer and return their vehicle to pre-loss condition.   

Training and Certification

Technician and estimator training is critical regardless of which service model you choose. ADAS technology is complex, and proper repair and calibration procedures are essential for safety. Invest in training programs that cover the intricacies of ADAS, ensuring your team can confidently identify these advanced systems. Identifying when these operations are required is the baseline for success. 

Remember, your training commitment increases proportionally with the amount of work that stays in-house. Many ADAS tooling providers offer a variety of training programs. I-CAR and ASE also offer ADAS certification programs. Remember that ADAS technology is ever-evolving, so the training to stay current will also be ongoing. 

Essential Equipment and Technology

To start, every shop should have a method for identifying the necessary calibrations, finding procedures, pre-calibration requirements, and safety inspections. A software solution like 1Source ADAS will allow you to simply upload your estimate and instantly receive a report that details the calibrations, requirements, and inspections needed for a proper repair based on your repair estimate. The 1Source ADAS platform will save you hours of research and help you capture any additional operations required for safe and proper repair. 

ADAS calibrations require specialized equipment, such as targets, scanning tools, and diagnostic software. Make sure to choose the right tools for your specific needs and budget. As ADAS systems constantly evolve, staying up-to-date with the latest technology is crucial.

The equipment selection you’ll need varies widely and depends on your intended services. For example, if you plan on subletting out 100% of the work, simply being able to perform pre- and post-scans may be sufficient. 

As you bring more operations in-house, your ADAS toolbox and workspace for ADAS operations will need to grow. Here are some considerations when thinking about completing calibrations. 

• If you are doing the work or utilizing a mobile service, you will need a space that is as dedicated as possible to completing calibration work. This area will need to be level, have excellent lighting, and not suffer from glare, smoke, clouds of filler dust, or any other conditions that can interfere with optical systems.
• Alignments are often a pre-calibration requirement, so having an in-house alignment machine will help move the process along. An alignment bottleneck can cause havoc with your cycle time. 
• ADAS Diagnostic tablets, fixtures, targets, and accessories. You’ll find that much of this equipment is not standardized or interchangeable between makes. It might make sense to start with just the equipment you need to service the most common makes and models that come through your shop. 

It can be a bit overwhelming when looking at all the options, but remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Simply being able to identify the required operations and partnering with a local mobile ADAS service is a great start.

Invest in You

Implementing ADAS services is an investment in your shop's future. By understanding the various service options, investing in training and technology, and educating your customers, you can position your shop as a leader in the evolving automotive repair industry. ADAS is here to stay, and shops that embrace it will thrive.

Identifying the needed calibrations is the first step to success. Contact 1Source ADAS today to learn how our AI-powered platform can simplify your ADAS workflow and boost your bottom line. The 1Source ADAS platform was designed and built by collision repair and ADAS professionals who are familiar with every aspect of the collision repair process. With scaled pricing, no minimums, and no contracts, the 1Source ADAS platform will boost your profits and start capturing necessary operations on day one. Sign up today and get seven days free at http://1sourceadas.com.