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Date

28 Feb 2024

Chair: Don Porter

Agenda

Antitrust Statement

• This meeting is subject to the terms of our anti-trust statement shown above. In addition, this meeting will be recorded. 

• Review and approval of minutes

• SCRS Ad

• CIECA Webinars

• CONNEX: Overview, Theme and Presenters

Meeting Minutes

• The antitrust was read and the minutes were approved.

• CONNEX: SCRS Ad

  Next year’s conference

  • We are planning CONNEX for September 24 & 25 in Detroit, MI, and holding the tour at the American Center for Mobility (ACM).

  • Paul is working with the hotel planner, John, to find a hotel to host the event. He shared a spreadsheet outlining the hotels that have been evaluated. The two key factors are locale--being close to restaurants and other places rather than being isolated--and the size of venue so we don’t have to turn people away due to lack of space. Room rates are also important because we want to keep rooms affordable. Paul asked the committee for feedback.

    • The DoubleTree by Hilton in Dearborn seems to be a good fit. It’s not in the best location but there are 12 restaurants within a mile of the hotel. Many are chain restaurants like Chilis. The rate is $169 and there are sufficient rooms and meeting space.

    • The Sheraton Detroit Metro Airport near the Detroit Metro Airport is a pretty good fit. However, there aren’t restaurants nearby. The room rate is $220.

    • The Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest near the golf course and ACM is more expensive at $279/night. ACM is looking into a discounted rate for us.

    • The Cambria Hotel downtown is nice but small and expensive. They only have 150 rooms and the price is $279/night.

    • The Doubletree by Hilton downtown ($259) and the Westin by the airport ($269) are other options but expensive.

  • Don said the price are not prohibitive because we might get a lower rate with enough rooms booked. Paul noted the prices quoted are the group rate. The Ann Arbor Marriott is surrounded by a golf course in a resort setting but is a standalone hotel.

  • Greg was asked if the cost was prohibitive in his opinion working at an insurance company. He felt it was a point of concern for carriers.

  • Paul said we could host the event at one facility and identify other hotels in the area that might be less expensive and share them on the conference website but that goes against the goal of having everyone together.

  • Petra said the Marriott downtown is probably the best as far as not feeling imprisoned in a hotel due to the waterfront nearby. There are many restaurants nearby. Paul noted that the Marriott Renaissance is even more expensive than the ones we are looking at.

  • Sandy asked about the square footage at the DoubleTree and asked if there was enough space. Paul said John was aware of the square footage we would need for 150-175 people to attend. He said even the Cambria would be able to accommodate our group, although it’s a smaller hotel. Sandy also said that the DoubleTree is an older hotel.

  • Petra felt the DoubleTree was a good fit, even when you add taxes to the rate.

  • Petra said Ann Arbor is a nice walkable city, almost European where there are a lot of restaurants and shops. However, there is likely not a big enough hotel to accommodate 150 people. We looked it up on on Google during the meeting and found a Sheraton there.

  • Petra recommended keeping in mind the cost of an Uber for attendees if they have to travel from the airport to a hotel. Don said that attendees will likely want to go to restaurants nearby. Paul said that John looked at about 60 hotels and narrowed it down to about six choices.

  • Petra recommended looking into downtown hotels to see if there are some lower cost options. She also recommended looking into the casinos, such as the Greektown Casino and MGM Grand.

  • Don asked about the food and beverage budget and Paul said it was in the $20,000-$30,000 range.

  • Paul typically plans the hotel and this is the first year using a hotel planner. Don said the hotel typically pays the planner 10% of each room booked. He is able to negotiate and get 5% cash back at the end. Sandy said their event planner never took a percentage at their events.

• CIECA’s 30th anniversary & Theme

  • CIECA is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Petra was instrumental in CIC’s recent celebration. We talked about whether to tie in the them to the anniversary. Some of the ideas for a theme include: Driving on Autopilot, Cruising on Autopilot and Cruising on Autonomous Wheels. Don recommended giving out a CIECA pin to commemorate the anniversary. Sandy recommended tying in the anniversary to the theme in some way.

  • Kelly said she doesn’t like using the word “autopilot” because it sounds like someone isn’t working on anything innovative or new. Don and Petra agreed.

  • Petra suggested incorporating the word “connect” because that is what CIECA does, connecting people, connecting solutions to problems, connecting systems. Greg asked if there was a list of the themes from past conferences. Maybe they can be tied in to the 30th anniversary or get the creative juices flowing. Paul said the first few conferences were implementation seminars/workshops. A theme was introduced about a decade ago.

  • Kelly suggested: Revolutionizing Connectivity, Electrify & Connect, and Connecting to the Future

  • Don talked about connecting the past and future

• CONNEX Presenters

  • Paul suggested Autonomy of an API

  • Speaker from American Center for Mobility and possibly MCity

  • OEMs sharing information about autonomous features

  • Transportation Research Center in Ohio representative

  • Sandy said the theme might come out of the presenters/agenda. Maybe when we choose the keynote speaker it will help drive theme.

  • Petra recommended AI

  • Don recommended EVs and Sandy brought up hybrids

  • Greg asked if surveys have been conducted and if people shared topics they would like to hear about.

  • Don suggested sending out correspondence asking if people would like to present or be part of planning the conference. Kelly suggested this be part of the Save the Date announcement and people could reply if they have ideas for a specific topic they would like to learn about. Sandy said ARA send out a call for presentations.

  • Bill Garoutte offered to be emcee for event.

• CONNEX Sponsorships

  • Paul discussed the change this year with sponsorship opportunities and the opportunity to sponsor specific meals.

• • We talked about booking the 2025 conference a year in advanceshowed the SCRS ad used last time for the quarterly e-catalog and suggested incorporating a graphic with CIECA’s 30th anniversary. Sandy suggested adding a pop of color to the graphic and will send the graphic ARA used for its 80th anniversary. She suggested incorporating it in all marketing materials used throughout the year.

  • Rav asked about CIECA’s message to collision repair shops looking at the ad. Paul said the majority of people who use CIECA standards are software companies and other companies that want data analytics. Large MSOs are members because they have IT departments. The ad is more of an awareness of what CIECA does. CIECA was formed ut of CIC and we’ve stayed close to shops and hear their input.

  • Rav asked if the vision was to be the Intel inside shop computers so if a shop is licensing software and are members, they understand CIECA has been vetted for the industry.

  • Over the years, we’ve talked about having CIECA stickers for shops saying something like “powered by CIECA.”

  • Paul said that from his perspective, it’s important that the shops understand their data is moving around the industry and if it’s through CIECA BMS or CAPIS, it is been done properly and there are controls in place. EMS is a conflict because it is old and there aren’t the controls in place that we would like but it is CIECA’s legacy standard. AS we move forward, we want to create even better products with CAPIS. We want the shops to be aware there are better tools available than EMS that we want their software providers using.

  • Rav asked if it made sense for the ad to talk about software shops use.

  • Paul suggested we might want to rethink the message we’re sending. In the meantime, Stacey will send Rav a copy of the ad to look over.

  • We decided to move to the next agenda item to make sure we cover CONNEX and then discuss the ad at the end of the meeting.

  • Later in the meeting, we discussed the ad again. Rav asked what a collision repair would take away from the ad. The ad was to educate shops about what CIECA does. Although shops are likely not going to become members, they may want to get involved and connect with business leaders and join a committee. Rav suggested adding a tagline to draw in the audience. eg empowering software and communication for collision repair shops or setting the standards for software and communication for collision repair shops. Rav also suggested adding a reference to being the voice of repair shops – join a committee, so it sounds more inclusive.

  • Paulette suggested adding a reference to 30 years to recognize CIECA’s anniversary.

  • We will take the comments into consideration and reference them for a future ad.

• CIECA Webinars

  • In March/April, Greg Peeters from Car ADAS Solutions, and Nick Dominato from I-CAR will present about calibration standards. Greg was originally scheduled for March 28 but had a conflict so we will likely plan for April 4.

  • In April, we will also plan a technical webinar following the 2024R1. Paulette said the webinar will include information about the release and a CAPIS update. The release will likely take place on the 17th and then we will have the webinar the following week. In the next couple of weeks, we will discuss whether we want to have an outside speaker.

  • Other speaker options include:

    • Doug Hamilton, American Battery Technology Company who spoke during CONNEX 2023

    • The representatives from Peachtree Corners who spoke during CONNEX 2023

    • Bill Brower from Solera was asked if there is a topic the company would like to present on, possibly about AI

    • Transportation Research Center of Ohio is considering presenting

    • Greg Horn may want to share information during a webinar or conference

    • IBIS was working with a company regarding 3D printing and Stacey will follow up

    • OEM(s) talking about telematics. Will follow up with contact.

    • Michael Lasuka from State Farm offered to present. Will follow up to ask about presenting during webinar or CONNEX.

    • Tim Ronak suggested a session on the unauthorized use of auto claims data insurance.

    • Shoploaner asked about presenting about collision shops' use of loaner vehicles. Paul wants to ensure there is a tie to CIECA data integrations. Sandy explained it was a software package. Maybe we can reach out to Enterprise and Hertz to discuss the state of rental. Rav mentioned there may be an integration with CCC or another provider that uses CIECA Standards. Stacey will reach out to learn more how they use CIECA Standards. Greg mentioned there might be a concern if there is not enough content from Shoploaner for a webinar but likes the idea of asking Enterprise and Hertz to share a perspective as well.

• CONNEX Overview

  • This year, the conference is going to be held at the MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit, MI, September 24&25. Paul signed the contract with the hotel this morning.

  • The tour will be held at the American Center for Mobility about 30 minutes away. It’s a 500-acre proving advanced mobility proving ground that conducts testing. We’ll talk about about the tour at a later date.

  • A “Save the Date” announcement was sent out, which included a call for speakers and sponsors.

  • Paul explained this year’s three-tier sponsorship program (Silver, Gold and Platinum), which include the opportunity to sponsor one of the receptions, breakfast or lunch. Those interested can contact Paul directly for more information.

  • Bill Garoutte will emcee the event again this year.

• CONNEX Theme

  • Paul compiled a spreadsheet of prior themes which was already shared with the committee.

  • Paul created graphics with the theme of “The Intersection of Data & Mobility.” Greg liked the first one and the second to last one. Sandy agreed and said it really pops. Paulette said it was her favorite too. Rav asked about the image that comes to mind when you think of the collision industry and if the backgrounds depict data and mobility, which is the theme. Paul said the ad was playing off the tour taking place at the American Center for Mobility. Stacey suggested adding a logo. Rav suggested checking the font to ensure it is the same throughout and Paul said it is. Stacey asked if the circles in the one ad can be toned down and said the ad with the green popped. Paul said he can dim any of the backgrounds. We decided to send out the graphics for the committee to look over and vote on so a decision can be made by the following Monday. Paulette suggested sending out the two favorites instead of all of them. Rav asked if Detroit’s skyline was used as a background. Paul said it was one of the Adobe stock photos and it was chosen so we ensure we have legal permission to use it.

• CONNEX Presenters Possibilities

  • Ginny suggested Emil Nussbaum, Vice President of Strategy, Government and Regulatory Affairs at ARA. Sandy said he is a subject matter expert on EVs and a deep understanding of the industry.

  • American Center for Mobility will provide one or two speakers.

  • Tara at the Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE)

  • OEM panel discussing autonomous vehicles

  • Transportation Research Center representative

  • Linda at Argonne National Labs; Sandy said Linda is highly engaged on EVs

  • Incorporate the recycling side of the industry. Sandy said the industry successfully processes vehicles and have never taken federal funding to do it. She said they are all independent businesses that operate on the free market and probably one of the only carbon negative industries.

  • Include a presentation/panel on AI. Two years ago, we had six speakers talk about AI so last year we weaved it into other presentations. With AI’s current developments, we will likely cover it this year.

  • EVs and hybrids

  • Jeff Wildman suggested having Michigan Department of Transportation representative talk about the grid, energy and charging stations.

  • Jay Perry from Allied Coaching could personalize a presentation on leadership in the industry in light of the technological changes taking place.

  • Carl Dumele from Aeromotive Services submitted an idea to speak on evaluating wire damage: repair vs replace. Initially, it was felt that was more of a CIC presentation.

  • Kimberly Eubank submitted topic: Ready For Change™ - How to get your organization clear, ready, and aligned around transformational change. She typically charges a fee but would speak in lieu of video footage.

  • Scott Lesnick, a global leadership speaker, reached out but is a paid speaker.

?? Great meeting everyone. Thank you for your participation. Have a great week!

Up Next

• Antitrust Agreement and Meeting minutes acceptance

Action items

Decisions