Bringing Integrity to Rentals… 🤷 and Maybe Politics?

A Bold Mission to Washington D.C 🏛️!

DAMAGE iD has brought integrity to vehicle inspection and rental… If only integrity in politics would be next!

This week, Paula Vercollone, president of DAMAGE iD, travelled to Washington D.C. for the American Car Rental Association (ACRA) DC Conference and Boot Camp Panel.

Paula Vercollone, president of DAMAGE iD, and colleagues from ACRA, in the congressional offices to lobby for the car rental industry.

During the instructional and educational training sessions on Monday, Paula sat the panel on “Damage Recovery”, and was asked a variety of questions on methods to capture. On the panel, Paula emphasized the importance of proof of damage – to make absolutely sure a digital capture of the vehicle condition is taken.

On Tuesday, she visited senators and representatives in DC to express the interests of the car rental industry to elected leaders.

Celebrating Massachusetts own Kennedy family!
At the ACRA panel speakers presented on a variety of topics.

There were dinners on both nights and plenty of time for networking and catching up with colleagues.

2024 ACRA Boot Camp was a big success. And … perhaps DAMAGE iD has brought some integrity and honesty back to Washington DC!

DAMAGE iD launches Compliance Report for Amazon DSPs

Are you confident that ALL of your fleet was inspected?


DAMAGE costs and cancelled routes are a DSP Owner’s biggest concern.

To improve accountability, enhance safety, improve maintenance tracking, and increase Driver confidence, DAMAGE iD has developed a Compliance Report that will show exactly who HAS NOT performed an inspection.

You need ALL your Drivers to comply for safety and maintenance issues. But each delivery company has a different timeline when inspections should be done. To ensure the expected cadence is being met, the Compliance Report allows you to break down time into days, weeks, bi-week, month and year.

For “power users” all the reports can be downloaded into Excel format where they can be filtered, sorted, etc.

The Excel download makes it easy to see who hasn’t done an inspection – and on what vehicle.

The report is REAL-TIME, meaning there is no need to wait for results to compile.

Features included:

  1. Filters : Template, Vehicle, Date range
  2. Group By: Time periods
  3. Live status on Inspected Vehicles, Vehicle status counts, Case status count, inspected Users count
  4. Download csv/excel: more detailed information on individual vehicles and over date ranges and time periods
  5. API to access all stats 

Due to the large amount of processing and data storage required, there is an additional fee for the compliance report (currently $10/month).

Check out DAMAGE iD’s Compliance Report today to ensure your renters/drivers/fleet managers/lessees are in compliance !!

Create a Culture of Caring for your Fleet 🚗🚐🚛

While studying for the MBA, we learned of the “Hawthorne Effect:

noun

  1. the alteration of behavior by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.

HOW would the Hawthorne Effect be reflected by your Drivers or Renters?

When they KNOW the vehicle is “Being observed”, they will want to be more responsible with their driving. You will “Create a Culture of Caring” for your FLeet.

Using DAMAGE iD as a digital inspection tool, especially witnessed by the Driver, can form the Culture of Caring.

Give us a try: https:www.damageid.com/free-trial/

Introducing Our New Customizable Checklist 📋☑ Feature for Vehicle Inspections 🔎🚗

We’re excited to announce the latest enhancement to DAMAGEiD:

A fully Customizable checklist per inspection template designed to streamline your vehicle inspection process, collect more data making it more efficient and tailored to your specific needs.

Benefits of the Customizable Checklist:

  • Enhanced Data Collection: Gather more precise and relevant information tailored to each vehicle inspection types and insurance guidelines.
  • Improved Efficiency: Streamline the inspection process with a logical and organized checklist for periodic detailed inspection checks
  • Increased Accuracy: Ensure no detail is overlooked with required fields and clear guidelines
  • Better Data Presentation: All collected data is available for review in the web portal, included in PDF exports, and shared via emails sent to customers.
  • Available on both Android and iOS.

Key Features of the Customizable Checklist:

  1. Tailored for Every Stage
  • Per Inspection Template: Customize templates for different types of inspections to meet specific requirements.
  • Per Check-Out and Check-In Inspection: Choose input fields per Going out and Return inspection or capture at both instances to compare data.
  • Multiple Languages: Add your own text per language for any text strings in the checklist
  • Customize Icon and label: Give us your icon and label to make it easy for your operators

2. Detailed separated Sections with descriptions:

  • Break down your checklists into manageable sections, each with a clear label and description.
  • Organize your inspection process logically to ensure thorough and systematic checks.

3. Versatile Input Items:

  • Textbox: For entering free-form text.
  • Dropdown: Select from predefined options.
  • Textarea: For longer text entries.
  • Radio Button Options: Choose one option from a set.
  • Pass-Fail: Quick thumbs up/thumbs down for immediate assessment.

4. Advanced Input Item Options:

  • Data Type: Specify the type of data expected (e.g., number, text).
  • Hint and Placeholder: Provide guidance on what information to enter.
  • Default Value: Pre-fill fields with common values.
  • Min/Max Value or Text Length: Set boundaries to ensure data accuracy.
  • Required Fields: Mark essential fields that must be completed.

This customizable checklist feature is an add-on that significantly expands the capabilities of DAMAGEiD, enabling you to conduct more thorough and accurate inspections. We’re confident that this new feature will help you maintain high standards and provide excellent service to your customers.

Contact us to get started with your own customizable Check list. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team support@damageid.com

Happy inspecting!

Auto-Stickers – Everything You Want to Know

Why Auto-Stickers?

Auto-Stickers are a way to map old damage onto new vehicle inspections.

The method helps differentiate existing damage from pre-existing damage.

Auto-Stickers means not having to label known damage over and over!

In a digital inspection, photos and video are typically taken to capture vehicle condition. The problem is, photo and video don’t always show damage every time a new inspection is taken. The employee doing the inspection might take a bad shot – cut-off, bad angle, blurry… or something temporary might “hide” the damage. For example a reflection from a strong sun, mud or snow.

This makes it difficult to know whether a damage is new – or has changed – from photo to photo.

Auto-Stickers solves this problem.

Auto-Stickers act like a real, physical “sticker” – but in the digital world. This gives the best of both the physical and digital tracking methods.

In combination with other features, Auto-Stickers can be used to let you know when damage is “introduced” to a vehicle. For example, in DAMAGE iD, Auto-Stickers can trigger an email alert to be sent when new damage is found.

Where did Auto-Stickers come from?

Auto-Stickers are part of DAMAGE iD inspection software platform from DAMAGE iD, LLC. DAMAGE iD, LLC is a software company with headquarters in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.

Physical stickers in use: This vehicle has been marked with small, round stickers on all spots where damage has been found.

Auto-Stickers were originally called “Carry-Forward”. Conceived in 2018 as a feature of the AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning for DAMAGE iD. The feature was developed between October 2023 and April 2024 by Charlie Dalsass and Chandrahas Boorela, engineers from DAMAGE iD.

The idea for the name , “Auto-Stickers”, came from a long-time client, Carl’s Van Rental. Carl’s use a physical process of marking damage with stickers marked with an “X”. Because Carl’s process was very similar to the digital process DAMAGE iD had in the works by 2023, and the name “stuck”.

Physical stickers in use: The stickers can be removed without doing damage to the paint or trim. Customers can see the stickers and be assured the damage is already known prior to rental.

Trademarked and branded, the first version of Auto-Stickers was introduced in 2024 International Car Rental show, Las Vegas.

How Auto-Stickers improve fleet maintenance.

Auto-Stickers can be used to:

  • Identify only new damage, so that customers can be assured they will not be blamed.
  • Tell whether damage has gotten worse.
  • Identify fixed damage and allow it to be confirmed as fixed.
  • Help “catch” any new damages your employees may have missed.

This can lead to improved quality of fleet, more satisfied customers, and accurate understanding of cosmetic damage across and entire fleet.

This also works for delivery and DSP customers who want to identify which driver damage came from.

How do Auto-Stickers work?

The following example describes how Auto-Stickers are used to track and find new damage.

October 1 – first photo is taken, no damage deteted.
October 3 – second photo taken. New damage found. An Auto-Sticker is created.
October 5 – third photo taken. Auto-Sticker is passed to this photo – no need to mark it manually a second time.
October 7 – damage is marked fixed. Auto-Sticker is removed.

The sequence can be seen in the illustration below.

Note that:

  • Photos are taken from slightly different different angles, lighting – but from same general viewpoint.
  • Damage may not be seen in all photos.
  • Red circle indicates new damage. Yellow indicates pre-existing damage.

Summary

We are excited about the AutoStickers launch. We believe this will add benefits to your inspection process and improve the quality of your fleet. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!


✌🏻Two New Features on the App Store‼️- “Your Way” Vehicle Identifier 🔎🚘 and Multiple RA Numbers 🗓️

DAMAGE iD IOS 4.8, Android 4.4 r95 adds richer customization to make your vehicle inspection process easier.

Introducing “Your Way” Vehicle Identifier and Multiple RA Numbers

Feature #1 “Your Way” Vehicle Identifier

This feature allows you to choose between the following options in both the app and Review Portal:

1. Unit Number  
2. License Plate or
3. VIN
4. Rental Agreement (RA) Number

You can start your vehicle inspection in the way that you prefer.

You can also make a Company-wide settings for your employees.

And you can remove the fields you don’t use for a more streamlined experience.

In the Review Portal, “Your Way” Vehicle Identifier settings can be configured in your account App/Photo Settings. 

On the app, you can customize your vehicle identifier using Settings (see video below).

App Vehicle Identifier settings on DAMAGEiD App

Note: Users can change “Your Way” Vehicle Identifier locally on the app too, overriding the company-wide settings.


This is a much anticipated feature for customers with an integration with Rental Management Systems such as CarsPlus, BlueBird, Sofiac, FareHarbor. Integrated customers can now use commonly used vehicle identifiers (Unit Number, License Plate, VIN) to inspect vehicles on DAMAGEiD app. (Formerly these customers could only use Rental Agreement number).


Feature#2: Multiple Rental Agreements on single inspection

Now  DAMAGEiD allows two Rental Agreement numbers in a single Case Inspection (set of before/after photos).

Inspections can store #RA_OUT as Going Out Rental Agreement and #RA_IN as Return Rental Agreement.



You can start a Return inspection with an additional updated Rental Agreement Number on the same vehicle. (In the case a new Rental Agreement number is not chosen, if the customer has an integration, DAMAGEiD automatically selects a new active Rental Agreement Number).


Visit the Google Play and Apple Appstore, for versions DAMAGE iD IOS 4.8, Android 4.4 r95.

We look forward to your feedback on these 2 great features! Email the A-TEAM to let us know how you are doing.

🚚 ⚙ ⚙ DAMAGE iD adds NEW Box-Truck and Tire Silhouettes

DSPs and delivery, lease, truck rentals, are you Excited??? You will be … when you notice the Newest silhouette shapes in the repertoire!

DAMAGE iD is very customizable. Our Templates Feature allows many different, custom configurations. For example, you can set up a template to sell your vehicle or do an inspection mid-way through a lease.

You asked for different vehicle types, and you GOT IT!

From the Review Portal go to Settings → Photo / Templates → Edit (Click Pencil). Fill in a custom position and click “S” (for “silhouettes”). See the “How-to” video.

In the app, they will appear as icons (below).

This gives our customers following silhouette options:

  1. Car 5 (Taken from corners)
  2. Car 7 (Taken from sides)
  3. Van 5 (Taken from corners)
  4. Van 7 (Taken from sides)
  5. SUV
  6. Jet ski
  7. Pontoon
  8. Box Truck
  9. Parts (wheels and dashboard)

But remember, you can still add custom photos to the template without silhouettes!

What will you want next?

DAMAGE iD listens to our Customers. Bristol Car and Truck Rental from Ontario Canada, a Legacy User of DAMAGE iD has been using the original Sedan for nearly 10 years and requested these truck silhouettes … Voila!

Email or Call if you’d like More help in changing the Shape choices of your Inspection…OR, view the “How to” video (below) for details:

DAMAGE iD has a jump-start on A.I…meet Goutham

Greetings!

I’m Goutham, a dedicated master’s student studying A.I. at Northeastern University. I am currently serving as an A.I. intern at DAMAGEiD, and am passionate about creating new cutting-edge technology to solve real-world challenges.

My journey in the field of artificial intelligence has led me to contribute to the innovative work at DAMAGEiD, where I focus on developing advanced models for damage detection and “carry forward” solutions in the realm of vehicle assessment.

Read more below about these specific models.

Damage Detection Model:

One of our primary accomplishments is the creation of a robust damage detection model. This model is finely tuned to identify various types of damages, from clear-cut scratches and paint scratches to dents, dings, and even more severe issues like breakages. By employing state-of-the-art AI techniques, we’ve empowered our system to provide a comprehensive analysis of vehicle conditions, ensuring a meticulous and accurate assessment of damages.

Carry Forward” Model:

Another achievement is our carry forward model. This intelligent system possesses the remarkable ability to remember existing damages in vehicles. For instance, if a customer rents a car with pre-existing damages and returns it with additional issues, our carry forward model excels at distinguishing between the old and new damages.

This capability enables us to charge customers only transparently and fairly for the damages they’ve incurred during their usage, streamlining the billing process, and enhancing customer satisfaction.

As evident in the provided images, our model adeptly retains the information of previous markings and accurately predicts their positions, even when the perspective of the image is modified. This unique feature ensures that our model preserves details of old damages when the damage detection model is applied to a returning vehicle.

Key points are connected between each set of photos taken. This allows our algorithm to link together different areas of the vehicle – even if the pictures are misaligned.
To verify accuracy, we compared corresponding points marked by a human with that estimated by the algorithm (as seen in red vs. blue “X” above). The above photo shows error rates under 2%.

We hope you’re as proud of this progress as we are at DAMAGE iD…We anticipate its completion and launch this April at the ICRS in Vegas where we will be celebrating our 10th year Anniversary…we’ve come a Looong way, Baby!!

🏛️ 2023 American Car Rental Association (ACRA), Washington DC

Arlington, Virginia, October 23, 2023

DAMAGE ID attended the ACRA trade association “bootcamp” on October 23-25, 2023. It was an exciting and intense 3 days, filled with networking and advocacy for interests of the car rental industry via ACRAPAC, the political action committee, associated with ACRA.

ACRA represents 98% of America’s car rental industry, and is comprised of 300+ car rental companies including larger brands such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar and Enterprise. In addition, there were many smaller companies in attendance such as Edge Rental from New York and AMPM Rental from Los Angelos.

Charlie partner and software engineer from DAMAGE iD in front front of the US Capitol building, before meeting with senators.

The first day included “inside” industry learning, via panel discussions, held at the Westin in Arlington. Panel presentations included:

  • Fleet management
  • Legal Issues for Car Rental Industry
  • Third Party Fleet Services
  • Insurance Procurement
  • Damage Recovery and Fleet Financing
  • Electric Vehicle Transition

Charlie Dalsass, partner and software engineer from DAMAGE iD, presented on the panel on damage recovery. Mr. Dalsass emphasized the importance of digital “baseline” photo and video capture as a way to improve profitability when collecting for damage. Mr. Dalsass also discussed the state of DAMAGE iD’s AI-based damage detection as well as the advances and challenges in that area.

Day 2 and 3, were held at capitol hill in DC, meeting with senators and congress members to advocate for issues relevant to the car rental industry. Topics included:

  • Politics and Policy “Full Expensing” (Tax)
  • 2023 FAA Bill and Airport Electrification
  • Vehicle Data access
  • Federal Cyber Security and Law enforcement issues
  • EV Perspectives

At the reception on Tuesday, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) gave speeches supporting the car rental industry.

Charlie with Ian from Empire Rent-a-Car (New York, New York)

Carlos, Gregg, Charlie and Al in front of capitol building offices.

Mike DeLorenzo, NP Franchise Group, in front of Sen Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) office
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) speaking about the importance of the car rental service industry and tourism.
Congressional reception at Sonoma Restaurant

The event was a great way to meet and work closely with customers, as well as learn about the political process. DAMAGE iD hopes to attend again in 2024… until then!

DAMAGE iD Welcomes Bevy Express from Milano, Italy! 🇮🇹 : Introducing DAMAGE iD in Italian, Spanish, and More!

To welcome Bevy-Express, a beverage delivery service based in Milano, Italy, DAMAGE iD launched its Italian version! It is important to us that we create a product that is accessible to business’s all over the world. So, for a small fee, DAMAGE iD can ADD your Country’s language: Slovakia, Bulgaria, Bosnia… you choose, just contact us!

Home Screen of the DAMAGE iD App

To switch the language on your Android:

Step One: Go into Settings Android App

Step Two: Select Language

Step Three: Login to the DAMAGE iD App in Your Language.

Step 4: Identify DAMAGE types in your preferred language!

DAMAGE iD’s Mobile App Setting ↗️

To apply for a FREE TRIAL account with DAMAGE iD, open the following link:

https://www.damageid.com/free-trial/

The Dynamic Duo: DAMAGE iD integrated with BlueBird!!!

The integration with BlueBird allows users to be able to operate a seamless process between the DAMAGE iD mobile inspection process and your Rental Agreement.

It will allow DAMAGE iD users to use the mobile app to inspect vehicles before and after check-out and check-in, using the same Booking ID or Rental Agreement Number from your RMS.

A BlueBird user will be automatically be logged into DAMAGE iD and redirected to the case page for quick access to our online portal.

The Renter will automatically receive an email with all the photos and the inspection report, which can be customized with your company logo.

DAMAGE iD’s customizable PDF

All vehicle inspections, damages, reports will be organized in the DAMAGE iD Web Portal.

Damage iD online portal

Your rental vehicles will be synced between RMS and DAMAGE iD automatically making for a fluid and user-friendly experience!

To apply for a FREE TRIAL account with DAMAGE iD, open the following link:

https://www.damageid.com/free-trial/

Unleashing the Power of DAMAGE iD with FareHarbor

The integration of these two platforms has opened up a whole new realm of benefits, streamlining operations, enhancing customer experiences, and ensuring business growth. In this blog, we explore the numerous advantages that come with harnessing the synergy of DAMAGE iD and FareHarbor.

1. Simplified Damage Documentation: Gone are the days of tedious paperwork and manual damage documentation processes. With the integration of DAMAGE iD and FareHarbor, businesses can now digitize their damage assessment procedures. Through the use of mobile devices, staff can effortlessly capture, record, and report any damages or incidents that occur during rentals and store them neatly in the damage report. This not only saves time but also ensures that accurate information is preserved for any potential claims or disputes.

2. Real-Time Communication: The seamless integration between DAMAGE iD and FareHarbor facilitates real-time communication between team members, management, and customers. If any damages are reported during a tour or rental, this information is instantly shared with the relevant personnel. Quick communication enables immediate action, such as assigning repair tasks, ensuring customer satisfaction, and preventing potential safety hazards.

3. Enhanced Customer Trust: By utilizing the combined power of DAMAGE iD and FareHarbor, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to transparency and accountability. Customers appreciate the efficiency and reliability of damage reporting, fostering trust and loyalty towards the brand.

To apply for a FREE TRIAL account with DAMAGE iD, open the following link:

https://www.damageid.com/free-trial/

DAMAGE iD integrated with Cars Plus+

WHY is it so exciting and beneficial that DAMAGE iD has integrated with Thermeon’s Cars Plus+?

This integration will allow users to use the DAMAGE iD App to inspect rental vehicles before and after check-out and check-in using the same Booking ID or Rental Agreement Number from your RMS.

The Renter will automatically receive an email with all the photos and the inspection report, which can be customized with your company logo.

All vehicle inspections, damages, reports will be organized in DAMAGE iD Web Portal.

Your rental vehicles will be synced between RMS and DAMAGE iD automatically making for a fluid and user-friendly experience. Thank you Cars+🙌

P.S. we’ve already started rolling out the integration to our customers!

DAMAGE iD takes on Las Vegas 2023!

DAMAGE iD takes on Vegas for the 2023 International Car Rental Show! Our team met with some remarkable people this year. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth and learned how they can save their company money with DAMAGE iD. See you next year!

Our Booth

We had some Great Conversations.
And gave some Awesome Demos!
We Lost.

Want to Use Rental Agreement to search for vehicle?

DAMAGE iD recently lauched the ability to Add the RA, Rental Agreement,  as a reference when looking up your Vehicle Inspections for iOS Users!! 😜🤗

Simply go to SETTINGS in the Portal and select RA Number vs. Case Number.

Once you Update, the RA Number will appear in the “Case List”/default Page.

Once you choose to search by RA Number, your App will appear as follows:

Using the RA Number as a Case Identifier will be MOST helpful when your Company’s RMS is integrated with DAMAGE iD.  We are currently serving Thermeon Users and soon-to-be BlueBird and RentAll RMSs.

We’ve Just Launched New Options to Customize Your Share Emails 🎆🧨

You can already add a custom subject, message and logo to your emails 😉.

However, we’ve added some new capabilities to make your emails more unique.

We have separated your email settings into 3 separate groups. This allows you to send a different message for different events.

The 3 categories are:

Inspection Report
CCI OUT
CCI IN

To customize your email message just add the following fields.

For example, adding {{case_number}} will be replaced with the actual case number of case associated with the email.

This works similar to mail-merge.

The available fields are as follows. And they can appear in Subject or Body of the email

The feature can be found in Settings – Sharing.

We always enjoy hearing from you….http://www.damageid.com