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Our Original Sin?
One of the easiest ways to start an argument within the auto glass fraternity is to bring up the term ‘pre-loss condition’ and the legal and ethical effect of the concept upon our industry. From my viewpoint, it has become a common practice of many that fraud is being committed when the installing shop does not explain to the customer that what is being installed as a replace-ment glass part may well not be any where up to the standard of its original predecessor.
This involves a central debate that swirls around the flood of generic glass, mouldings and ad-hesives that surrounds our in-dustry. Are these components equal in quality? While there are minimum DOT technical require-ments, can it be said that all auto glass from any manufacturer has the same fit, finish and rock re-sistance? Many of us who are still in the field will argue that there is, indeed, a difference in brands. Many of us who take pride in our work and hate re-dos are fairly picky about what we install in our customers’ cars. The sad truth is that attitude is hardly a universal one with wholesale pricing and availability of parts playing a larger part in the decision-making process of retailers.
Here is a parallel example in the collision industry. The late-model Toyota Prius has a carbon fiber hood that weighs less and costs far more than a high-strength steel one. Once the part is painted, it “looks” the same. Substituting the cheaper steel part obviously has an immediate financial impact but the in-creased weight ultimately affects fuel consumption and adds to the operating costs nullifying sav-ings to the owner over time. Who should make that choice of which part to use: an insurer or body shop that is trying to save money or the vehicle’s owner who simply wants his car back to “pre-loss” condition?
The above example is somewhat skewed because obviously there is a material difference between carbon fiber and steel. Glass is basically glass. Or is it? This is an area that invites a heated con-troversy from every direction.
One main reason is that what-ever number of standards that exist for the manufacture of auto glass, they are esoteric enough that few in the industry know them or care to which means that the general public has assumed with the industry’s complicity and ignorance that all glass is alike.
Many installers simply have their opinions, formed over time in the field, that glass brands are not alike. Bad bends, visual distor-tions, over-all fit, lighter weight of replacement parts are issues to name just a few that either make us appreciate certain brands of glass or simply avoid others.
Glass manufacture is not the only issue concerning “pre-loss” condition. What about mouldings?
There seems to be almost a holy quest by many to find and sub-vert an auto manufacturer’s de-sign by substituting a form of generic moulding for whatever type or style of glass moulding that the car was built with. No matter if the newly installed moulding had a less dense form of plastic or perhaps did not have a wire thread embedded inside the part, there seems to be a concerted effort to find a cheaper alternative to the prop-erly designed part with which the car was built.
Last, but certainly not least in importance, is the adhesive system used and the installation techniques employed by the replacement firm. Did the car have a high-modulus urethane? How were pinchweld scratches addressed? If primers were ap-plied, was adequate time given them to dry? Was urethane ap-plication uniform? What kinds of setting operations were employ-ed? Was the customer advised of proper SDAT, curing and any post-install recovery instructions?
The point being made by the most conscientious repair com-panies and techs is that any real diversion of using cheaper al-ternative parts or time saving in-stallation techniques without advising the customer before-hand constitutes fraud on the part of the shop and installer. One of the great misnomers in the auto repair business is the term: “like quality.” Simply put, few aftermarket parts meet or exceed the original manu-facturer’s specifications and are certified to be so. In many ways it has become an oxymoron and is a term only used by insurers and others to justify in their minds not having to pay for OE parts.
To use an overworked buzzword, what would be the effect upon our industry if the glass retailer had to be more transparent about the replacement parts used in a customer’s vehicle? What if we had to legally certify that all of the newly installed components were of equal or higher quality than those used by the vehicle’s manufacturer? Since efforts to make parts and installs more traceable have failed or been stymied, I wonder if this sort of “consumer pro-tection” would meet the same fate by similar parties.
The entire point of this discourse is to make us reconsider what direction we appear to be taking for this industry. Whether it comes from a cell phone or a corporate phone bank, we are selling almost always price and not any sort of quality. I under-stand completely that this is a profit-driven industry; however, whatever vehicle is being driven in that undertaking is certainly not to OE standards. --------------------- ________________ 1.Extreme heat is combined with sand, dolomite, soda ash and limestone to create glass. 2.The glass is fabricated for manufacturing. It is cut into specific sizes and shipped to auto glass manufacturers. 3.The glass is heated and cooled to create a strong material for automobiles. As glass is cooled, it creates a tough outer layer. 5.The manufacturer will cut the glass to a specified size for a particular brand or style of vehicle. 6.Glass for the front window of a car is actually three layers. A thin layer of sheet vinyl is the center layer of two conventional pieces of glass. 7.When the glass gets broken, it will stick to the inner layer of vinyl. This added protection makes a safer vehicle. 8.Car glass manufacturers work diligently to create glass that not only allows the driver and passengers to see, but also protects them from the sun’s UV rays and the hazards of an auto accident. Comments: Article Written by ALL SAFE AUTO GLASS in Mastic Beach, NY | 05:08 PM 01-10-2011
Neil Duffy
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How are windshields made?
You rely on your
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safe everyday as you
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Have you ever thought
about the windows and the
glass in your car? It is made
differently than glass in your
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and the glasses you use for
drinks. Here is how car glass
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4.To create the tempered glass used in vehicles, the glass is cooled quickly. This creates a stronger material that will provide more protection in a vehicle.
AUTO GLASS IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY DEVICE JUST LIKE YOUR AIR BAGS AND SEAT BELTS.
DEFECTS (CRACKS OR CHIPS) IN YOUR GLASS CAN MAKE THEM LESS SAFE.
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Absolute Auto Glass, LLC (AAG), and other businesses alike, can help keep the environment clean by boosting recycling efforts this year.
For it's contribution to this effort, AAG is gearing up to start the first windshield recycling program in Arizona and the Southwestern U.S., with the ultimate goal of making windshield recycling a reality on a national scale.
AAG believes recycled glass is a unique and valuable material that provides a great opportunity for environmentally sensible, sustainable businesses. They are planning to start recycling over 40,000 lbs of windshield glass per month in Tucson alone that would otherwise be dumped in Tucson's landfills.
The main product generated by the process of recycling windshields is called cullet (crushed glass), which is used widely in construction industries, roadways, waste filtering, sandblasting, counter tops, fiberglass products and much more. The production of cullet from recycled windshields is currently limited to the Eastern U.S.
According to J.D. Snyder, CEPES's Director of the Recycling Materials Center, over 70 tons of windshield material per month is currently land-filled by Henderson Glass, a Michigan chain of 33 glass replacement stores. They are just one example and an indication of the enormous volume of windshields that would potentially be diverted from U.S. Landfills. Recycling windshields could reduce the amount of the overall automotive "fluff" that currently goes to landfills by about three percent, according to USCAR's recycling partnership.
Another compelling incentive for nationwide windshield recycling is the tremendous savings to be realized from avoided costs of collection, disposal and processing operations, and marketed material prices. Consequently, this could generate a significant boost to our economy.
Additionally, the recycling of these materials has the following impact on our lives:
>Reduces our dependence on landfills, allowing more productive use of our land.
>Protects our environment: with less waste materials going into landfills, less harmful emissions like methane gases are released into the Earth's atmosphere.
>Results in less mining and extraction, which is beneficial to the natural habitats of wild animals.
>Reduces the amount of natural resources needed to make products and packaging.
>Saves energy: recycling just one plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 3 hours (and emits less greenhouse gases), so imagine the effect of recycling just one windshield!
>Saves us money. It is usually cheaper to purchase a recycled material versus the original. This helps stimulate the economy by freeing up our resources to purchase other products.
We are excited about proceeding in our first phase toward being fully equipped to process thousands of tons of recycled glass per year! We hope to help make protecting the environment a more hassle-free process, and aspire to set an example in our community and our state to encourage other businesses to avoid unnecessary waste.
Our initiative, desire and ultimate goal is to forge ahead in the development of innovative, value-added and environmentally responsible uses for recycled windshield glass in partnership with our potential customers, suppliers and employees. We aspire to become well regarded as a manufacturer of clean, consistent-sized glass aggregates* for a wide variety of markets. As each of these markets grow, we will strive to add the capacity to meet the growing demand. Our energies and resources will be directed toward the development of many diverse applications for the final product.
We welcome parties who are seriously interested in investing in our fledgling business of recycling automotive windshields, and are continually seeking potential buyers of our final recycled products.
*Waste glass will be converted into Glas-sand and various sized aggregate for the following uses (not all inclusive):
Glas-sand
Sandblasting
Landfill cover
Sand traps
Sand bags for vehicle traction
Beach sand
Hydroponics ice control (salt replacement)
Aggregate
Aggregate base for roads
Glasphalt
Landscaping
Drainage
Retaining wall backfill
French drains
Septic tank drain fields
Drainpipe bedding & backfill
Glass Products
Terrazzo
Pressed glass
Fiberglass
Marbles
Eco-glass
Glass beads
Jewelry
Marblite
Opacified flat glass
Roof tile
Sintered Mosaic tile
Industrial flooring
Concrete Items
Lawn ornaments
Pottery
Retaining wall blocks
Stepping stones
To contact Absolute Auto Glass, LLC for more information, visit absoluteautoglasstucson.info
There is a deep satisfaction that comes with knowing our organization will keep tons of windshields out of Arizona’s and other State landfills, just by taking responsibility for our actions.
Tucson, has demonstrated a consistent commitment to the environment, year after year. By participating in this initiative, Tucsonans are helping to ‘green’ their city by keeping tons of windshield waste out of landfills. This city is poised to set the precedent for windshield recycling across the nation as more businesses become aware and decide to participate.
It will be exciting to watch businesses see tangible results of their diligent recycling efforts. Businesses that have made a commitment to environmental sustainability should be commended for developing green business practices that make our communities a safer, more enjoyable place to live and work.
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