“In every instance those reaching out to the AGSC have told us that AGRSS® stood out as the single best mechanism to introduce validations to their nations to greatly improve installation safety,” says David Rohlfing, AGSC vice president. “One representative said that, ‘Basically no one understands how important a windscreen is to the structural integrity of the vehicle and therefore how important correct installation is.W e want to highlight this and hopefully they will have no option but to pay attention.’”

The AGSC is working closely with those who’ve reached out to the organization looking for help in implementing the standard in their respective countries, according to Rohlfing. “We look forward to the prospect of the Standard being utilized by those auto glass repair and replacement companies and/or associations who have a keen interest in elevating safe installations for consumers by utilizing AGRSS®,” he says. “The AGSC would be happy to work with any company or organization from any country that has an interest in utilizing AGRSS® to promote safe installations.”

The policy, available online here, specifies that only Registered Companies in good standing may use the Registered Company Mark, and, immediately upon termination of Registration, this right ceases.

In addition, the Council specifies that the logo and any references to it or a company’s registered status “shall not be used in any manner or in any media in such a way that the integrity of the ANSI/AGRSS® Standard could be compromised.”

The logo also cannot be used in a misleading way, and, on occasion, the Council will review Registered Companies’ marketing materials for proper usage of the mark and references to Registration.

The logo can be used on apparel worn by Registered Companies’ employees, but, if an employee leaves the Registered Company and goes to work for a non-Registered Company, he will cease using the mark, according to the new policy.

Captain Richard Phillips, “Hero of the High Seas,” will deliver the keynote address at Auto Glass Week™ 2012 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, Friday, September 21, 2012.

Captain Phillips is scheduled to speak Friday morning about the vital importance of leadership and teamwork.

Captain Phillips was captured by Somali pirates in 2009 when they attacked and boarded the ship he was commanding, the Maersk Alabama. The ship was a container ship ferrying food aid to East Africa when it was attacked by a small band of pirates on April 8. To protect his crew, Captain Phillips offered himself as a hostage and spent five days on a lifeboat with the pirates before being rescued by Navy SEAL snipers.

“Captain Phillips was recommended to us by Donna Braden of Jack’s Glass, who heard him speak. I’m sure attendees will be inspired by his heroic story,” says event coordinator Ally Curran.

Captain Phillips also is the author of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, the story of his experience and his remarkable rescue. This dramatic story is also being made into a motion picture by Columbia Pictures.

A “floating CEO” in charge of the day-to-day operations of a multimillion dollar ship, Captain Phillips has a compelling story and valuable lessons for anyone involved in running a business today. In addition to Captain Phillips’ keynote address, Auto Glass Week will feature educational seminars, an exhibition area with suppliers, the seventh annual Walt Gorman Memorial Windshield Repair Olympics and the seventh annual Pilkington Clear Advantage Auto Glass Technician Olympics.

Auto Glass Week is the largest international event dedicated solely to the auto glass industry. Registration and competition details are available online at www.autoglassweek.com. Contact event coordinator Ally Curran at 540/720-5584 or acurran@glass.com for more information.

The meeting, held to gather ski area mechanics and operations personnel, runs May 14-17 at the Two Rivers Convention Center in downtown Grand Junction, Colo.

Other vehicles to receive high ratings for overall crash protection front/side were the Chevrolet Cruze (in the small car category); the Honda Accord and Kia Optima (in the family car category); the BMW 3 Series and Volvo S60 (in the upscale car category); the Chrysler 300 (in the luxury large car category); the Chevrolet Camaro (in the sporty/convertible car category); the Honda Odyssey (in the minivan grouping); the Kia Sportage (among small SUVs); the Cadillac SRX (in the mid-sized luxury vehicle category); and the Volvo XC60 (in the mid-sized luxury SUV category). Several large SUVs ranked top for overall crash protection front/side, including the Cadillac Escalade, the Chevrolet Suburban, the Chevrolet Tahoe, the GM Yukon and the GMC Yukon XL.

For companies with multiple locations, one of their locations will be randomly chosen, and this location will be validated during the validation period. All single-location companies will be validated during the validation period.

In addition, one multi-site company will be selected randomly during each validation period to have more than one location validated. For this company, a sample size equal to the square root of its total number of locations will be validated. The additional locations for this company will be validated near the end of the validation period.

In addition, locations will now be grouped by geographic areas. Except in rare cases of extreme geographical distance, all locations will grouped into clusters of about ten locations. The locations will be validated in random order throughout the validation period. As in previous years, companies will receive approximately 70 days notice prior to their validations.

Companies that wish to become registered after the sample population is selected will be identified as provisional members until they have been successfully validated.

“The board voted to make this change because the companies that have been through audits have found it so helpful and thought all would benefit from going through the process,” says Jean Pero, chair of the Auto Glass Safety Council™’s credentialing committee. “Consumers now can choose to use an AGRSS®-Registered Company with full confidence that the company has been or will be audited.”

She adds, “In addition, it sets aside the concern associated with random audits—that some companies will never be chosen—because every company is validated. Further, it sets the stage for the coming integration of technician certification into the Registration Program, which, when completed, will provide even more value to Registered Companies.”

Phyllis Grodzitsky of California, owner of a Honda Odyssey, and Jeremy Bordelon of Tennessee, owner of a Honda Element, allege that they reported repeated failures of window regulators in their vehicles. Grodzitsky further claims that she contacted her local Honda service manager and claims she was told, “all [Honda Odysseys] have that problem.”

“Honda knew of the window regulator defect, yet failed to disclose and concealed the defect from class members and the public and Honda continued to market and misrepresent the class vehicles as ‘reliable’ and ‘durable’ vehicles, which they are not,” reads the complaint.

The vehicle models in question include the Honda Odyssey, Pilot, Element, Accord, CR-V, Civic and Acura MDX between the years of 1994-2007. The plaintiffs are requesting the court grant a trial by jury.

Honda officials had not yet responded to the complaint at press time.

In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had proposed mandating rearview cameras for all vehicles with a generous phase-in period through 2014. A final version of the rule was expected to be issued in late February, according to the group.

“This is devastating news,” says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org. “This additional long delay is totally unacceptable when it’s already been four years since the bill was signed into law. What more do we need to learn? We already know you can’t see behind vehicles and we have affordable and available technology to fix the problem.”

The group says in just the first seven weeks of the year, it documented 11 backover deaths.

The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act had required a rear visibility rule to be set by February 28, 2011, to improve visibility to enable drivers to see pedestrians—especially small children—immediately behind their vehicles.

The Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) called for rearview cameras to be mandatory on all passenger vehicles by 2014, according to KidsandCars.org. In his February 28 letter, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood notified Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), one of the House sponsors of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, that while “significant progress” has been made, “further research and data analysis is important to ensure the most effective and protective rule possible.” He said he anticipated that the department could issue the final standards by December 31, 2012.

“Every day this rule is delayed puts children at risk,” adds Fennell. “Today just about every cell phone you purchase today comes with a camera. Is it too much to ask to have a camera on our vehicles to save a life?”

Troy Mason

The Board of Directors of the Auto Glass Safety Council™ (formerly the AGRSS® Council Inc.) has a new member. Troy Mason, owner of Techna Glass Inc., an AGRSS®-Registered company based in Sandy Utah, with multiple locations across the Southwest, was elected last month to a three-year term.

“I’m really excited to be a part of the board and to contribute to its mission,” says Mason. “I look forward to serving the industry and helping to grow the awareness of the importance of proper windshield installations throughout the world.”

Mason founded Techna Glass in 1991, just a year after he entered the industry as an installer for another company. Today, the company has 48 locations in Utah, Nevada and New Mexico.