Careers

Careers at Tsawwassen Collision

The BC collision industry is suffering from the same shortage of staff as are most other trades. The response from most repairers has resulted in unsustainable more hours/more money frenzy.  In this frenzy the industry has relinquished control of most processes, including quality control and safety decisions, to the techs on the floor. More hours equal more success and nothing else really matters.

At Tsawwassen Collision, if we were like so many of the other collision repair facilities we would have no choice but to participate in the more money more hours scramble. However, we are not at all like the majority of the facilities.

Tsawwassen Collision’s approach to workflow

Correct, safe and productive repair is simply too much to ask of one person. It may have worked 20 years ago but it does not work with the complexity of modern vehicles The workflow at Tsawwassen Collision recognizes this complexity and have been operating with a three team system for over 10 years. All pre-repair disassembly is done by a mechanical /electronics team before the vehicle is transferred to the repair team for structural and surface repair work. From repair the vehicle is sent to paint and from there back to the mechanical/electronics team for assembly.

Disassembly/Assembly

Damaged bolt-on parts, trim, lights, interior parts and glass as needed are removed as the first stage by the disassembly/assembly team. This is not simple work and requires well trained and experienced techs. The days of getting this work right with untrained apprentices are long gone.

This disassembly/assembly/ mechanical/electronics team works in a building shared with the glass shop and separated from paint and repair. The equipment in that building is based on their assembly and mechanical needs and includes everything needed to complete the work without sublet, including all air conditioning, wheel alignment, tire change and wheel balancing, all suspension work as well as all electronics and most calibrations which are mandatory part of correct final completion.

Repair

For the repair team there is the ever growing challenge of working with different materials, including many types of steel and aluminum, composites and plastics and different bonding methods, including welding, riveting and bonding adhesives, with many of these used in combination. Keeping current with all this, along with the ever increasing precision in measuring and fitting is more than enough for one technician.  It is as complex as the work done by the disassembly/assembly/electronics team and to expect one person to know it all is not realistic.

The repair area is in a separate building from the paint and disassembly/assembly departments and there is no cross contamination of dust, fumes or noise.

To do the right work the right equipment is needed and we have that.

There are three Car-O-Liner Bench Racks with standard pinch weld clamp set ups, truck clamps, EVO 1,2 and 3 anchoring and fixturing, and mounting systems for VW, Audi, BMW, MB and Tesla.

In addition to the Car-O-liner benches, there is a Car-O-Liner Speed hoist, with basic pinch weld anchoring capabilities, and also a mid-height scissor hoist. With this equipment, all work is done off the floor, at a safe working height. There are no floor tiedowns or chains used anywhere. Both the repair area and the paint shop have Eurovac central dust extraction systems, with Mirka electric sanders adapted to the extraction system.

There is full aluminum equipment, including a Pro- Spot SP2 wire feed welder (which also has a silicon bronze head), a ProSpot Dent Repair Station and a Ford Rotunda aluminum specific hand tool set. This equipment is in a work area that allows full separation from steel repairs. Pro Spot aluminum dedicated vacuum sanders are used.

The Betag steel repair system is used for many steel panel repairs and a Pro Spot PR5 self-piercing rivet gun (with a blind rivet adaptor and the dies needed for most cars including Tesla) is used mostly for aluminum repairs.

As a certified Tesla Repair Centre we have all the specialty equipment needed to do complete repairs on Tesla vehicles.

Paint

At first glance, paint may seem like it has changed the least over the years, but the range of colours that manufacturers have put on the repair industry along with changes in paint technology make this work as complex as the repair and final assembly. Excellent equipment and support are needed to get this right.

And our 4^th Team, Glass

Tsawwassen Collision is a fully equipped accredited ICBC Autoglass facility. Some days we do as many as 6 or 7 windshields, other days there may be only one or two. We see this range of volume not as a challenge but as an opportunity.

Cars have reached the development and equipment stage where installing the glass is the most straightforward part of many replacement.  Correct disassembly/assembly, with everything clean, undamaged and working as it should is often the bigger part of the work. With this as a core proficiency the glass tech working in our environment naturally evolves in another member of the disassembly/assembly/electronics team. We will not expect that tech to change tires and balance wheels (although we will teach you if you are interested), but disassembly and electronics calibration and verification are a natural and rewarding extension of the traditional glass role.

Our technicians are supported by a strong estimating and production management team, with all information needed for the correct repair researched ahead of time.

The Objective at Tsawwassen Collision

At Tsawwassen Collison, the first objective is to repair cars properly. The equipment that we have along with the division of labour allows us to do that in an excellent work environment and compensation that is in line with industry. We ask that the technician do a steady and efficient day’s work, then come back the next and do it again. There is no need to rush, no need to worry about who gets the next ‘good repair’ and no need to do work outside of the main area of expertise. With team members all able to concentrate on what they do best, the productivity is there along with quality and without the competitive stress of the flat rate world.

The future is important to us, both the future of the company and the future of our staff.

Opportunities at Tsawwassen Collision

At Tsawwassen Collision we offer the opportunity to earn a very good salary based on competent, honest work, with support provided when the work is new or unusual. It is the work of the future in the work environment of the future.

We have an immediate need for glass tech who has the vision and interest to work in our hybrid glass/assembly/ electronics role.

We are ready to add an apprentice as the third member of our paint team.

We are always ready to talk to a repair tech who is interested in our modern and progressive approach to vehicle repair.

Get in Touch

We are not going to ask you to submit a resume to our website.  Get in touch however you like and we will be ready to have a conservation. We will both learn from that conversation and resumes, if needed, can wait until we see the potential fit.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Sziklai

Owner