Brook Bradley - Sales and Admin Director, and Matt Bole-Human Resources Director with B&B Body and Paint, Austin and Craig’s Collision Centers, DFW facilitated an I-CAR certification of the safe repair and handling of Hybrid vehicles to the staff and craftsmen in the Austin area auto collision industry, Saturday, March 1st.

Hybrid vehicle manufacturers have been seeing the popularity and demand for such vehicles increase mostly because consumers are in hope for a greener environment. Hybrid vehicles form a class of 'green vehicles' that offer very low to zero emissions and take a step towards making this hope come true. But, there is a potential risk to repair with this type of vehicle. Due to the different high voltage electrical components Hybrid vehicles pose some challenges for those in the vehicle repair business, collision repair and mechanical repair, as well as EMTs, Fire Departments, and the Police, who handle affairs at the scene of accidents.

The employees at the four B&B Body and Paint facilities in the Austin area took their Saturday mornings completing a technical course on Hybrid vehicles. The 'basic' course outline included:
• Understanding part terminology.
• System designs and operation.
• Analyzing collision damage to electric & hybrid vehicles.
• Collision repair considerations for electric and hybrid vehicles.
• SAFETY when working on these vehicles.

The course was taught by I-CAR. I-CAR is an international, not-for-profit training organization specific to the automotive repair industry. All I-CAR activities and resources focus on helping the industry achieve a high level of technical training. I-CAR’s mission is to research, develop, and deliver quality technical educational programs related to collision repair; to raise the level of available knowledge and recognize professional achievement; and to thereby improve communication throughout the collision repair, insurance, and related industries for the ultimate benefit of the consumer.

The B&B Body and Paint organization is proud to be an I-CAR Gold Member and will continually strive to maintain the highest level of training for its personnel due to the ever changing demands in vehicle designs.