The fall season is here, and there are a few things you may need to adjust to compensate for the colder weather.

• Clothing – Colder weather means proper clothing should be acquired for comfort and quality installations. A cold technician hurries through their installations and can cut corners. You should dress in layers, so when the day wears on and temperatures rise a layer of clothing can come off.
  

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• Scheduling – It’s great to do installations in the open air during the summer and spring. However, the cold winds of the fall and winter are not as pleasant. Make sure to schedule jobs with shelter available as often as possible because cold winds and wet weather are not conducive to proper installations.
• Tools – You might be able to get by with dull blades and cold knives in the summertime but fall brings stiffer and harder to cut urethane beads. Make sure your blades are sharpened in the morning and honed up during the day and that your power tools are in good working order.
• Parts – Cooler weather brings more brittle plastic parts. Make sure your parts box is stocked and inventoried. Also you should have your heat gun and hair dryer at the ready to warm up vinyl and dry out pinchwelds. The sun is not as warm in the fall so be prepared to smooth out that “washboard” moulding before you leave each job.
• Adhesives – Sealants and adhesives will be stiffer in colder temps. Keep them warm by taking them in the shop at night. During the day you can keep them warm by exposing them to warmer air blowing from the floor heaters. I do not recommend using your defrosters on the dashboard, as that can make those cartridges or packages flying projectiles in case of an accident. Check with your adhesive manufacturers’ instructions so you will know what you can and cannot do when storing your chemicals.
• Primers – Most primers have a longer drying time in colder weather. Make sure you check the proper timing and adjust your installation procedures to compensate.
• ADAS – Many Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) turn themselves off when the cameras and sensors cannot see the road markings due to rain or snow. You should be aware of this and make sure your customer knows recalibration is required even though the system has shut itself down.
• MDAT – The Minimum Drive Away Times (MDAT) may have to be adjusted to compensate for cooler and dryer temperature. Some adhesive systems do not need any adjustments except for some primer dry times, however others do need to be adjusted according to the heat and humidity of the day. Keep you MDAT charts available for reference.