We’ve added a little “Latin Flavor” to DAMAGE iD with our new Spanish version. Now fleets, DSPs and rental agencies looking for the best DAMAGE Control solutioncan use their native language.
DAMAGE iD adds some spicy Latin flavor!!
We have so many great customers from the Latin American countries. We knew we had to celebrate with a new update.
In this release, we’ve added the VIN scanner which has been available on Android for a few months now.
Now you can identify vehicles in 3 different ways:
Unit Number
License Plate
VIN
This gives rental agencies, DSPs and transporters even more flexibility when using DAMAGE iD to identify and track vehicle damage.
You can see the VIN scanner in the screenshots below.
After logging in, click the bar code to the right of the “unit number” input field when checking out your vehicle.
The VIN scanner appears. Hover the red line over the bar code for a few seconds and the VIN will be captured.
PRO TIP: Use the flashlight in case the light is low.
The vin scanner appears. Hover over red line over the bar code for a few seconds and the VIN will be captured. p.s. Use the flashlight in case the light is low.
Once the VIN is captured, the “Checkout” is automatically submitted. You can now begin your walk-around, photographing and taking videos, building your permanent digital archive of your vehicles’ condition.
We have done 2 DAMAGE iD releases for IOS in the past month. With these releases we are happy to (finally) be achieving “feature parity” with Android. Now both Android and IOS have nearly the same features.
Keep your eyes out for more updates and announcements soon. We are still moving ahead quickly with DAMAGE iD and have some great things in store this summer.
Contact the “A-Team” with any questions or problems with the VIN scanner.
We are excited to announce IOS/iPhone/iPad 3.2 is now available on the App Store.
Here’s what you get when you download 3.2.
1. Improved Speed of the Walk-Around by Auto-Forwarding Photos
No more rotating the camera each time you walk to the next position. The overlay automatically rotates to the next position, making your walk-around much smoother and faster.
(Just be sure to adjust your settings in the Review Portal.)
In version 3.2 you’ll see the Signature Pad when you complete a vehicle inspection (outgoing and return, depending on settings).
3. Ability to Compress Images
Today’s iPhones, like the iPhone X and iPhone 11 take high definition photos with great detail.
BUT they can be HUGE.
We’ve heard from some customers that they prefer a little less image quality vs. having to wait for their images to upload (and appear within the Review Portal). Although we recommend you use the best resolution possible, sometimes slow network speeds can make this compression a requirement – especially on these new phones.
Click the “Gear” to access settings. This opens a new screen where you can adjust compression settings.
Now you can reduce your wait times for uploading by adding compression to your photos.
4. iPhone X and iPhone 11 Notification Bug has been Fixed
Ok, this is a really a bug – not a feature!
Our users will be glad to know that we have used the “Safe Region” on version 3.2 – no more missing those uploading notifications!
We hope you enjoy version 3.2 for iPhone/iPad!
As with any new version, there can be problems, so please contact the “A-TEAM” if you notice anything wrong.
Best of luck getting your business up and running again now that Coronavurs is (mostly) out of the way!
UPDATED Summer 2020: As of Android version 3.6, the Alpha or Numeric keyboard setting is now found within the Settings area of the app. Click the “Setting Gear” ⚙ icon to reveal this setting.
For versions prior to 3.6, to enable numeric (or alpha) keyboard input into the VIN/Unit Number field on Android, CLICK THE LOGO on that screen.
This will enable a settings screen, which allows you to toggle the setting.
After version 3.6 we use a more conventional “Setting Gear” ⚙ icon which you can click to reveal this setting.
Increase your Company’s Integrity with more Specific DAMAGE markings. We feel your Pain!! For a long time, our customers have asked for the ability to mark and comment on specific damages within DAMAGE iD.
We call this “Annotation”. The ability to circle and comment on specific damages.
On April 10, 2020, we launched this new feature. “Annotation” is now available within the (desktop) Review Portal.
Here’s how it works:
After capturing photos, users visit the Case in Review Portal. Click “Add Damage” to circle damages found during the walk-around. From this point on, those damages are given an id and saved permanently. They can now be referenced in future walk-around (inspections). Choose from a subset of AIAG Vehicle Damage Codes, then makes any comments on the specifics of the damages.
Going forward, users take photos of the vehicle, performing regular, routine walk-around on the vehicle using the mobile applications (available in Android and IOS). A red button will appear showing the vehicle has existing damages.
Click the “Existing Damages” button to see all the damages on the vehicle, and browse through the original photos where damage was first noticed.
To view all damages within your fleet, we’ve created a new “Damage Report” under “Reports”.
The new Reports section, available for Company Admin Role. In the Damage Report, users can review damage across the entire fleet. Filter by unit number or license plate. Then download the report to get an Excel version, including all details of the damages.
We hope “Annotation” takes our product to an entirely different level.
Please give “Annotation” a try and let us know if it helps you better identify and capture damage. It’s time to Charge the Money You’re due on Minor, Mystery DAMAGE. Never lose $$$ on Damage again!!
As always, reach out to us at support@damageid.com with any problems, suggestions or feedback.
Increase your Company’s Integrity with more Specific DAMAGE markings. We feel your Pain!! For a long time, our customers have asked for the ability to mark and comment on specific damages within DAMAGE iD.
We call this “Annotation”. The ability to circle and comment on specific damages.
On April 10, 2020, we launched this new feature. “Annotation” is now available within the (desktop) Review Portal.
Here’s how it works:
After capturing photos, users visit the Case in Review Portal. Click “Add Damage” to circle damages found during the walk-around. From this point on, those damages are given an id and saved permanently. They can now be referenced in future walk-around (inspections). Choose from a subset of AIAG Vehicle Damage Codes, then makes any comments on the specifics of the damages.
Going forward, users take photos of the vehicle, performing regular, routine walk-around on the vehicle using the mobile applications (available in Android and IOS). A red button will appear showing the vehicle has existing damages.
Click the “Existing Damages” button to see all the damages on the vehicle, and browse through the original photos where damage was first noticed.
To view all damages within your fleet, we’ve created a new “Damage Report” under “Reports”.
The new Reports section, available for Company Admin Role. In the Damage Report, users can review damage across the entire fleet. Filter by unit number or license plate. Then download the report to get an Excel version, including all details of the damages.
We hope “Annotation” takes our product to an entirely different level.
Please give “Annotation” a try and let us know if it helps you better identify and capture damage. It’s time to Charge the Money You’re due on Minor, Mystery DAMAGE. Never lose $$$ on Damage again!!
As always, reach out to us at support@damageid.com with any problems, suggestions or feedback.
Please attend our ZOOM Webinar this Thursday. Find out how to save money, improve employee morale, and make customers happier. For rental agencies, DSP fleets and transportation companies struggling with accountability from their drivers, renters and lessees.
After launching the signature for initial vehicle conditions, our customers asked for “Signature-on-Return”. On March 11, we’ve released Android version 3.5, includes the ability to capture a signature of a driver on either or both going out and return!
With the Corona-virus pandemic this Spring, large companies like Amazon are scrambling to meet the needs of consumers with limited mobility. These companies are hiring as fast as possible through DSPs (Delivery Service Partners) or similar models, which are low-investment business who own vehicles or rent vehicles from Leasing Companies.
Both DSPs and Leasing Companies want protection and are using DAMAGE iD for accurate history of vehicle conditions.
Today, we are developing new features within DAMAGE iD which are specific to DSPs (Delivery Service Partners) and Leasing Companies to protect them from negligent drivers and to provide documentation for insurance claims.
Here’s how it works.To enable this feature, log in to the Review Portal.
Check the checkbox, one or both to enable signature pad on the app!
Now, when the driver returns the vehicle (and captures vehicle photos and video), the signature will be captured and stored in the cloud.
The signature pad will appear after the walk-around and before submission of photo and video to the cloud.
The signature for both before and after will appear within the Review Portal on the Case Details window.
If you click “Export Photos”, you will also see both signatures (if you have both enabled) on the downloaded PDF.
We hope you make use of the new signature options. Look for the signature pad to appear in future IOS versions as well (currently Android has the signature feature).
We wish you and your family good health in these difficult times of the pandemic.
Thank you delivery companies, and DSPs for everything you are doing for us!
Recently some of our delivery customers have told us that some of their drivers are not entirely trusted. Delivery companies often switch drivers, and drivers should not be able to access all videos and photos taken by other drivers in the Review Portal. These delivery companies suggested that DAMAGE iD should include a limited access account.
Today, we just added a new type of user to the DAMAGE iD Review Portal. The role is called “App Only”.
Just like it sounds, this type of user only has access to the mobile app – they can’t log into the Review Portal. It is a restricted use account.
Here is a quick review of the different roles within DAMAGE iD.
Where to find the new “App Only” User
You can find the App Only user role in the pick-list you select when inviting a new user.
You will also find this user type when editing an existing user. Yes, existing users can be converted to “App Only” users at any time.
Todays update is a “backend” change – so both IOS/Apple and Android users will get this update. There is no reason to check the app store for an update. (e.g. We didn’t launch a corresponding app update with this update).
We hope you find this feature helpful. A big shout out to our friends at Reliance Delivery for suggesting this feature!
Are renters taking care of your daily rental or leased vehicles?
Have them sign off on the condition of the vehicle.
A signature ensures drivers are responsible for the vehicle condition when the vehicle leaves.
Today we released version 3.3 on Android. This version adds a new setting within the Review Portal. When you enable this setting, a Signature Pad will appear on DAMAGE iD. The signature appears when the vehicle is outgoing.
How to Enable
What You’ll See on the App
When you have finished your walk-around, customer will be prompted to accept vehicle condition. In the Review Portal, you will see the signature in the Case Info section.
Summary
Our new Signature Pad is a great way to get “sign off” from your drivers.
and… who knows, this could be the one thing that makes drivers change their bad habits!
For this feature – and suggestions, comments or support needs contact us at support@damageid.com.
Today we released version 3.2 on Android. This version combines changes to the “Review Portal” to enable photo positions to be labeled you, our customer.
Background
In DAMAGE iD, each of the photo and video “positions” is labeled. “Passenger Front”, “Rear” etc. These are the “standard positions” (7 or 5 pictures, depending on your settings). Besides the “standard positions”, we also have “additional photos”, labeled “Other 1”, “Other 2”, etc.
Suppose you’d like to have your agents take a photo of the tire jack, the roof and the wheels, without having them remember the photo numbers of each.
…. Or if you are a UK or Ireland driver, perhaps you would to reverse then names of “Driver” and “Passenger” sides of the vehicle.
Use Custom Photo Positions
To use Custom Photo Positions, login to the Review Portal. Next, visit “Settings” in the top Navigation.
Now log into the app (currently this only works on Android. Be sure to upgrade to version 3.2). Your labels will appear in the app.
You will see the Custom Labels during photo and video taking.
(Note that DAMAGE iD only allows a few words in the labels, because it breaks the layout of this page if the text gets too long).
Finally, in the Review Portal, you will see the new Custom Positions when you review your cases.
Recommendations
We strongly recommend that customers don’t change the actual meaning of the photo position. For example, we don’t recommend changing “Passenger Front” position to “Left Wheel” – use the “Other” positions for that. (Our upcoming Artificial Intelligence features will make use of the photo positions, so we recommend you do not completely change what the positions means.).
Summary
Best of luck with the new feature. Contact us at support@damageid.com if you have suggestions, comments or need support!
p.s. We hope to have IOS/iPhone version ready soon.
Thanks to a suggestion from our wonderful friends (and customers) at Renta Autos Guatemala (Guatemala Auto Rental) and Ivan for encouraging us to develop this feature!
Christmas Season … what a wonderful time to be in New York City!
On Thursday, Paula (president) and Jack (founder) met with the UNITED MileFleet team at the Classic Car Club in the Big Apple. The event promotes the DAMAGE iD products as well as offering steep discounts to members of the UNITED MileFleet Partner program.
Members of the program receive up to 20% discount on products for the rental and leasing industry, such as DAMAGE iD.
At the Classic Car Club, members network and share experiences relevant to rental and leasing companies. The venue was filled with classic vehicles, setting the perfect stage for networking, Christmas cheer, and also some serious marketing and promotion of DAMAGE iD.
Andy Wilson, president of UNITED MileFleet discussing the origins of the company. Paula at Grand Central Station.
Some very hot cars at the Classic Car Club in New York.
We are happy to announce a new version – 3.1 r38 is now available on the Google Play Store.
Immediate upload notification and sync.
Enhanced notification tray messages about uploads.
Enhanced debugging tools allowing user to retry uploads in case of a bad connection.
Direct link to the web portal from the app.
In the past, “Syncing” or uploading of movies and photos happened in the background – and could take up to 5 minutes.
The upload is now immediate.
As you may know, some customers have had problems with photos not uploading. This is especially noticeable where Wifi or mobile-data connections are not strong.
This release addresses that problem. Uploads are more reliable, and when they do fail, it will be much clearer what went wrong. A new “Try Again” button will appear, prompting the user to synchronize again, when they have a better data connection.
A new screen shows the user the status of the upload. The REVIEW PORTAL button takes the user directly to the case that just uploaded. No login is required – the user is securely authenticated from the app to the web REVIEW PORTAL. If an upload does fail, a new button will appear on the main screen. For advanced troubleshooting, a new button has been added to the “Debug Tools” screen A new screen shows all details of the case, and allows you to re-sync the case when your connection is stronger.
As always, please share your feedback with support@damageid.com. We look forward to hearing your feedback!
Fresh of the Press! We are happy to announce Today’s new features on the Review Portal.
View Case – improved support for medium-sized and very large devices (HD Screens on Desktop). After updating for smaller devices and tablets, this completes a major round of updates across all device sizes.
The Review Portal as-seen on a 1200px wide screen. Formerly, the user would be forced to scroll to the right. This will make things more convenient. On very large screens, we now “grow” the pictures to the full width of the screen.
2. In the “Case List”, we added a new filter (Additional Filters) for User
“Filter By User” can be found in “Additional Filters”. Use this to segment your fleet. (Note: The user is the inspector or user who took photos).
DAMAGE iD is one of your most useful (and profit-making) Apps.
But does ALL of your team know how to automatically update their device for the newest version. They might be missing out on all the cool benefits of new features!
It’s really simple. Here are the directions:
Auto-Update ALL Apps
Open the “Settings” app on the iPhone or iPad.
Click Settings
2. Go to “iTunes & App Store”
Go to iTunes & App STore
3. Under the ‘Automatic Downloads’ section, look for “Updates” and toggle that switch to the ON position.
Toggle the “Apps”
4. Exit out of Settings as usual.
Sorry, no Auto-Update Only DAMAGE iD
You cannot auto-update DAMAGE iD only on iPhone or IPad. You need to manually check for an update.
DAMAGE iD is one of your most useful (and profit-making) Apps.
But does ALL of your team know how to automatically update their device for the newest version. They might be missing out on all the cool benefits of new features!
It’s really simple. Here are the directions:
Auto-Update ALL Apps
Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Tap Menu Settings
3. Tap Auto–update apps.
4. Select an option: Over any network to update apps using either Wi-Fi or mobile data. Over Wi-Fi only to update apps only when connected to Wi-Fi.
Auto-Update Only DAMAGE iD
Note: Enabling Auto-Update on only this app is time-consuming on Android, unfortunately, because you have to disable auto-update on all other apps, and then enable it on DAMAGE iD only.
Open the Google Play Store, go to Menu -> Settings.
Tap on the “Auto-update apps” and disable auto-updates.
Go back, then go to “My apps” section, search to locate DAMAGE iD and tap on it once.
Now tap the Menu button and the first option should be the “Auto-update.” Ensure the checkbox is selected for DAMAGE iD.
We’ve optimized it for smaller devices and tablets.
The old version was suited for larger display sizes on desktops – full screen. However, we knew you wanted to access the portal with your mobile devices as well.
So we added additional mobile navigation, removed a few table columns and added over-under images/video so that you can see it with devices as small as an iPhone 5.
(The old, desktop version hasn’t changed at all.)
Check out the mobile-optimized version below (shown on a Galaxy S9)!
If you are using the new mobile version, let us know how it’s going at support@damageid.com. Enjoy the new update!
Today, we released our version 1.0 API for the DAMAGE iD API.
The release of the damage identification API is important because it opens up the functionality of DAMAGE iD to developers and IT integrators. Developers can use the API, or “application programming interface” to integrate more closely with DAMAGE iD – exposing it’s core services to software applications outside of the DAMAGE iD app and web portal. For example, the API could be used to pull damage tracking features into a conventional rental software application. Or the API could be used to bring Case statistics data into an analytics (reporting) package or database.
The documentation is a work-in-progress and will be updated as new features are added. The documentation can be found at https://www.damageid.com/api.
What is an API? According to Google, an API is a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
To gain access to the API, developers must have a typical username and password as well as an “API Key” which is available upon request at support@damageid.com.
Many of our current and potential customers have asked for the ability to mark specific damaged areas and add comments. We call this “Annotation”.
This video below shows how Annotation works.
“Annotation” is the ability to add new damage directly to the photo position.
This is a work in progress and there are some open questions.
That’s where you come in. We’d love to hear your reactions and thoughts on:
What if a user of the app circles damage twice? We will have a unique identifier which comes up when damage is found. However, we’re not yet sure how we will make sure the circles identify damage uniquely. We don’t want to re-issue a new damage identifier in this case, rather we want to associate multiple “circles” with the same damaged area.
Where should we insert this feature into DAMAGE iD? Our current approach is to add this screen after a photo is taken. However, we don’t want to slow down the (highly optimized) walk-around experience which our users really love about our app. Of course, most of the time, new damage isn’t found, so we’ll want to provide the ability to quickly dismiss the annotation screen or prevent it from appearing if no damage is found.
Should we add Annotation to the Review Portal – or is annotation in the app sufficient? This all depends on whether customers want to change the annotations on the Review Portal. (There’s probably some benefits to approaches).
How to annotate videos? Our new video feature (launched this Spring) makes annotation slightly more complex. Should we just annotation photos, or would you be interested in annotation of videos as well? (Videos would require a timeline slider and would be a bit more complicated than with photos).
Customers (current and future) – Please send your feedback to the comments section or send an email to support@damageid.com.
