OAKVILLE AIR QUALITY ...A MUST READ

POSSIBLE CREDIT CARD SCAM BY PERSON(S) ATTEMPTING TO GET A BODY SHOP TO ARRANGE FOR  A SMASHED 2007 CADILIAC TO BE TOWED  
FROM FLORIDA INTO ONTARIO.

This person(s) has contacted a local body shop via email and has asked for that body shop to run a credit card number through their business for an agreed amount.  This person has then requests that this body shop  forward a “ WESTERN UNION PAYMENT” to an unknown tow truck operator located in Florida, USA who does not accept credit cards.  

POLICE ADVICE . 

NEVER FORWARD MONEY TO ANY UNKNOWN PERSON(S) VIA “ WESTERN UNION PAYMENT”,  SINCE THAT PERSON CAN PICK  UP THIS PAYMENT AT  ANY WESTERN UNION LOCATION IN THE WORLD AND IDENTIFICATION NEEDED TO PICK UP THIS PAYMENT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE OF GOVERNMENT QUALITY.

ATTEMPTS TO LOCATE THESE SUSPECTS IN THE FUTURE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO IMPOSSIBLE.

This notice has been forwarded to your attention for information purposes. 

If you have any information leading to persons attempting to commits similar frauds, then you are encouraged to report such incidents to your local police agency.

* Anytime you accept a credit card number over the phone / internet and if it is found to be fraudulent , you as the business maybe out the money lost in that transaction since no credit card was presented at the time of that  purchase. *

Thank you
Dave Marynuik
(905)-688-4111 ex5595

Can the Tony Dean report help the collision repair industry in Ontario?

The Ontario Minster of Labour has just received a report from the Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, chaired by Mr. Tony Dean.

The Panel of nine experts was asked to conduct a comprehensive review of the occupational health and safety system in this province.

The Panel's 83-page report submitted to the Minister on December 15, 2010, contains a number of recommendations including the need to have every Ontario worker and supervisor receiving mandatory information about workplace rights and responsibilities before they start their job.

In their recommendations to combat the underground economy, the Report recommended “financial rewards for employers who qualify suppliers on the basis of their health and safety performance. If such rewards were also tied to doing business with suppliers who operate legitimate companies, it would be seen as an important contributor to reducing underground activity”, says the Report.

One area that the collision repair industry could champion is to work to obligate insurance companies in Ontario from paying for damage claims for vehicles to shops that do not meet minimum compliance standards.

For instance, a collision repair shop that does not a have a licensed technician, or a WSIB account, or no WHMIS training or no Certificate of Approval for the spray booth. These are not new requirements but rather a series of minimum compliance levels that need to be met prior to an insurance payment being made.

In a number of areas in Ontario, underground and illicit operations are sucking the life out of legitimate repair facilities, providing poor customer service with questionable environmental standards and with no licensed techs, safety of the work being done and the finished repair is unknown.

The Hamilton District Autobody Repair Association (HARA) and www.ciia.com have long recommended further action, in co-operation with other Ministries to battle illicit and underground industry activities.

For more information, please call 1-866-309-4272

(See Headlines)

WORKER FINED $10,000 FOR TRYING TO MISLEAD MINISTRY
THAT HE WAS TRADES CERTIFIED

When the Ministry of Labour inspector asked a Whitby-area worker for this trades license during a routine visit, the worker produced a Provisional Certificate of Qualification that was forged due to an altered expiry date.

That attempt to mislead the inspector into thinking the worker was, in fact, trades licensed drew a fine in the Ontario Court of Justice of $10,000 against the worker.

The man was found guilty of knowingly furnishing a Ministry of Labour inspector with false information.

Don't let this happen to you!!

If you are currently working in the autobody or collision repair industries in Ontario, you MUST be trades licensed or a registered apprentice.

Please call your association at 1-866-309-4272 or info@ciia.com for help in meeting these standards. The association features a number of processes that can assist a worker become trades licensed.

(See Headlines)

MOVE YOUR SHOP TO THE HIGHEST COLLISION AREA- BRAMPTON?

An insurance company survey suggests that you're more than twice as likely to be involved in an auto collision in Brampton compared to Belleville.

The Allstate Insurance Company's second annual Ontario Safe Driving Study ranks Brampton at the bottom of 50 communities surveyed with 6.1 collision claims per 100 cars.

Belleville topped the list as the safest community with 2.8 collisions claims per 100 cars.

In general, Allstate found the communities with the highest frequency of claimed collisions were all within 45-minute drive of Toronto.

With the exception of Belleville, the five communities with the lowest collision frequency in the 2010 survey were all in southwestern Ontario.

The three communities with the largest increases in the frequency of collisions between the 2009 and 2010 studies were St. Thomas, Bradford and North Bay.

(See Headlines)

DEALERSHIP FINED $21,000 OVER ISOCYANATE EXPOSURE

In an example of how health and safety in a bodyshop can be important, the Ontario Ministry of Labour has announced that a car dealer in Cornwall, Ontario was fined $18,000 for isocyanate regulation violation and a supervisor at the dealership was fined $3,000.

During a shop visit, Ontario Ministry of Labour inspectors, found that worker using spray paints had not been trained on how to prevent exposure to isocyanates, and was not using adequate protective equipment. The worker's isocyanate exposure was not monitored and the worker was not receiving medical surveillance.

The dealership pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that all practical and reasonable engineering controls, work practices and hygiene practices were adopted and implemented to limit a worker's exposure to isocyanates. The dealership also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a worker who handles isocyanates was provided with appropriate personal protective equipment. The dealership's supervisor also pleaded guilty to failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

Collision repair and auto refinish shops are urged to ensure that their health and safety precautions are up to date. More assistance is available from your collision repair industry trade association at
1-866-309-4272 or www.ciia.com or www.autobodyhelp.ca . Further help is also available from the auto body industry health and safety partner, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services at www.ossa.com

(See Headlines)

----------------------Autobody Profitability Workbook (82 pages)-------------------------

-------Issues Facing The Canadian Collision Repair Industry (39 pages)------------

NOTE: To view these files you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This Reader is free and you can download it from the Adobe Website