Are your painters truly protected? Are your waste streams compliant? Or are you relying on assumptions that could expose your business to fines, liability, and unnecessary costs?

In this episode of CollisionCast, Jay Sicht sits down with KPA compliance experts Stephany Birkholz and Zach Pucillo to discuss a new data-driven approach to collision repair safety and environmental compliance. They break down how wearable VOC monitoring badges, hazardous waste testing, and laboratory analysis are helping shops move beyond industry rules of thumb and make decisions based on real-world exposure data.

The conversation explores everything from respirator selection and cartridge change-out schedules to paint booth filter testing, sanding dust analysis, oil-water separator compliance, and the regulatory requirements many shops overlook. Stephany and Zach also share real-world examples of how testing has helped shops avoid OSHA headaches, uncover costly waste-handling mistakes, and better protect their employees.

If you're a shop owner, manager, painter, or safety professional, this episode offers practical insights into reducing risk, improving compliance, safeguarding technician health, and potentially saving thousands of dollars in disposal and enforcement costs.

Key topics include:

• Why respiratory protection remains OSHA's most-cited issue in collision repair
• How VOC air monitoring works and what it reveals
• Determining the right respirator for your operation
• Hazardous waste testing for paint booth filters, sanding dust, and oil-water separators
• Common compliance mistakes that can lead to costly fines
• How data can help defend against future liability claims
• Unexpected discoveries about respirator cartridge life and employee exposure

Tune in to learn how today's leading shops are replacing compliance guesswork with measurable data and creating safer workplaces for the technicians they depend on every day.
For more information on KPA, go to kpa.io. 

ADAS, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, calibrations have become a routine part of collision repair, but misconceptions about when they’re required can lead to missed procedures, unnecessary work and added risk. In this episode, Isaac Aronson, Product Manager at OEC and a former automotive technician with nearly two decades of hands-on experience, shares why repairers shouldn’t rely on a clean scan or past experience alone. He explains how current OEM repair procedures can help shops identify calibration requirements, improve repair planning and documentation and avoid costly surprises.

While Josh Sorel started posting to social media to share his achievements with his wife, he now reaches tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook with his channel, Josh Refinish. He sits down with Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht to talk about his refinishing career — now beginning his 23rd year — in which he shows his techniques and test-drives new spray guns, and various prepping devices, including the Stat-Gun. And tune in to hear tips on enhancing your social media presence.
Check him out on Instagram or Facebook.

Claims are down across the country, but Shey Knight, CFO of Autosport Bodyworks in Opelika, Alabama and FenderBender columnist, has some strategies to share on how he approaches the collision repair business. He is not only a 40-year veteran of the industry; as an insurance producer, he has a different perspective than most.
Check out his recent column on the subject here.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, have aided driver safety and prevented or lessened the severity of collisions. At the same time, they require specific procedures to ensure they’re working as designed post-collision. What is the shop’s liability, and how can an operator lessen that risk?

In this episode, we're joined by Rebekah Cooper of The Cooper Firm, a nationwide catastrophic injury and wrongful death law firm, based in Marietta, Georgia; and Sean Preston, founder and managing attorney of Coverall Law, specializing in legal services for the collision repair industry and headquartered in Wareham, Massachusetts.

This podcast does not constitute legal advice and is provided only for informational purposes.

Find contact information for Rebekah here and for Sean here.

And look for the article on this same subject with Rebekah and Sean in the August issue of FenderBender magazine.

As more customers turn to AI chatbots and search engine reviews to decide where to bring their car after an accident, if your shop doesn’t have a strong digital brand, you’ve lost a customer before they’ve even had a chance to walk through your door. 

In our July case study in the magazine, Noah Brown interviewed Megan Fulkerson, founder of 3P Marketing, on how to build a strong online presence and attract more customers.

In today’s episode, Megan and host and FenderBender Editor-in-Chief Jay Sicht expand on why marketing needs to be a priority for your business. For more information on 3P Marketing's services, visit 3Pmarketing.com. 

Whether you’re wanting to order a sandwich delivery or look up specs on the newest power tool at the big box store, there’s an app for that.

General Motors’ Brian Wakefield, director of Global Digital Service Solutions, joins the CollisionCast to talk about the enhancements to its Collision Assistance tool, and how it can help motorists needing a collision repair find your GM-certified shop.
For more information, go to GM Collision Repair Network Info Page.

As the National Auto Body Council celebrates its 30th anniversary and looks to the next 30 years, we talk with Executive Director Debby Robinson about NABC's various programs and how your shop can get involved. Learn more about the Recycled Rides program, the First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.), and the Changing and Saving Lives Foundation Keys for Change program, which can help you dispose of abandoned vehicles on your lot. 

There are a number of reasons why you might consider repairing certain plastic parts, including lack of availability of replacement parts, their prohibitive replacement cost, and the rise in customer pay work.

How plastic automotive parts are repaired has evolved, but with concern over affecting ADAS functionality, it’s also important to view each repair on a case-by-case basis.

To learn more about the state of today’s plastic repairs, in today’s episode I talk with Frank Phillips Jr., CEO of 4Plastic.

Built around proactive microlearning, Collision ProAssist's BackBay Discord community replaces one-size-fits-all training and opinion-driven social media advice with documented, expert-backed answers that improve estimate accuracy, capture overlooked operations, and strengthen communication between the front office and the shop floor. 

In this episode, Collision ProAssist's Jason Bartanen explains how BackBay and its newest extension, BackBay Estimator — addresses a critical gap in the collision repair industry by connecting technicians and estimators directly with OEMs, equipment manufacturers, and product experts for tailored, real-time guidance. 

By helping repair planners or estimators understand the technical “why” behind required procedures, Back Bay Estimator supports better customer and insurer conversations, increased shop profitability, and technicians being paid for all work performed, and that ultimately creates safer repairs and a more aligned, knowledgeable repair team.