Following up on its Feb. 1 announcement that the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) is developing a new bumper certification standard, CAPA is in the dynamic testing phase of the new CAPA standard, according to Jack Gillis, CAPA executive director.

The CAPA Bumper Systems Standard will cover steel bumpers (front and rear), steel reinforcements (rebars), bumper brackets and absorbers. The CAPA program is a response to the critical importance of truly independent certification and testing as a mechanism for fostering market competition.

“We are pleased to respond to the cross-industry demand for CAPA certification. The bottom line is that insurers, repairers, and part distributors cannot simply look at competitive parts and make an informed decision on the true comparability of that part to a car company brand part,” says Gillis.

To ensure comparability, the car company service part undergoes a comprehensive testing regimen with the results becoming the “standard” to which the aftermarket part is compared. The aftermarket part undergoes the same comprehensive testing regimen. If the test results show the aftermarket part is comparable to the car company brand part, then, and only then, it can bear the CAPA Quality Seal.

“The CAPA Quality Seal is crucial because as the various “tests results” being released demonstrate, it is impossible to determine if an aftermarket part will perform comparably to a car company brand part, unless all critical aspects of the part have been tested and reviewed,” says Gillis. The CAPA program also requires comprehensive continuous post approval inspection and marketplace monitoring.

After the dynamic bumper testing process has been completed, the proposed standard will be presented to CAPA’s Technical Committee for review and approval. The CAPA Technical Committee includes representatives of key collision industry segments including repairers, distributors, manufacturers and insurers.

CAPA has been certifying automotive lighting for more than six years. CAPA discovered and reported FMVSS 108 compliance issues to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2004. CAPA said it learned that marketplace and package claims about safety compliance may be suspect when it discovered that 80 percent of the aftermarket lights tested did not meet all the requirements of FMVSS 108 even though FMVSS 108 was printed on the boxes delivered to shops by part distributors.

Today, the best way insurers, shops, and distributors can ensure that aftermarket lights are truly comparable to car company brand lights and fully comply with
FMVSS 108 is to look for the CAPA seal.

“We look forward to offering that same benefit to the market with CAPA 501, our new bumper systems standard certification for true comparability,” says Gillis.

An important component of CAPA’s new bumper systems standard 501 is that the seal on each bumper will enable part tracking. Because each part has a number unique to that individual part, the CAPA TRACKER enables collision repair shops to register the part and receive notification if CAPA uncovers any potential safety-related problems with the part. For information on using the CAPA TRACKER go to
www.CAPAcertified.org.