The 2 new options are “Sync media over Wi-Fi only” and “Photo Compression”.
Here’s what they look like:
Sync media over Wi-Fi only is used to conserve your mobile data connection while you are on the road or rental lot.
Enabling Sync media over Wi-Fi allows you to take all your photos but not sync any photos/videos until you reach Wi-Fi. When you return to Wi-Fi (office, home, coffee-shop) then DAMAGE iD will begin its uploading.
Here’s the background:
DAMAGE iD uses a small amount of “network” in order to keep the cases in sync. This network use keeps order – making sure case numbers are in proper sequence on the Review Portal.
After photos/video are taken, the media sync/upload process within DAMAGE iD starts up. In this sync/upload process, DAMAGE iD copies the images from your phone to Cloud storage. This can use a lot of bandwidth. (Here’s a simple calculation: 5 megabytes per photo or video X 12 photos X 2 for before and after photos. That can max up to 120 megabytes of data per case!).
Enable Sync media over Wi-Fi … and no more expensive mobile data bills!
Photo Compression allows you to control compression vs image quality.
We recommend you capture the highest quality (least compressed) photos you able to.
However, there are times when these photos are just too large and bulky and the extra size is unnecessary or barely noticeable.
Options are “None”, “75%”, “60%”, “50%” and “25%”.
75% compression will reduce image quality and size a little.
25% will reduce quality and image size the most.
We look forward to hearing your feedback on the new settings.
ps. We are also working on improving the speed of downloads within the Review Portal next. The new release will greatly increase the download speed of these images without requiring any reduction in photo quality. Look for a major Review Portal release announcement coming soon!
Happy New Year! Yes, yes, it’s a bit late for that, but the DAMAGE iD A-Team dev has been a bit absorbed lately.
So, what’s been going on?
Infrastructure.
In the past few months we’ve been working on an upgrade our customers won’t notice at first. Known as Grails 4, this very modern and high performing system will really help with performance and reliability, and gets oursecurity patches are up to date!
At the same time, we also switched to a highly available architecture.
The migration went off without a hitch! Our API (backend system) is now the latest “Grails 4” platform, and more resilient to interruptions to service.
Customers are going to start noticing improved response times and better performance overall.
… And now that this is out of the way, we’re back on the (more noticeable) features our customers have requested.
In fact, there will be an important new Android release within a few hours! Keep your eyes out for that.
Yesterday, we launched an important change to the DAMAGE iD Review Portal.
First, a little background.
DAMAGE iD stores “Before” and “After” photos and video in a “Case”. The Case brings the 2 sets photos together for easy comparison – before and after. The before-and-after comparison makes it super easy to find damage that occurred during a rental or between change in drivers. It’s really true:“Pictures Don’t Lie”.
The “Case List”, in the Review Portal is where the Cases are found. Cases can be searched by unit number, VIN, license plate, user etc.
BUT some customers, prefer not to take both “Before” and “After” photos. Rather, they choose to take only “Before” photos and video, and skip the “After” pictures.
And that’s fine!
Because we’ve just made DAMAGE iD easier for these customers.
In past versions of DAMAGE, any damage found during the “Going Out” (or “Before”) pictures would not appear within the search results of the Case List when “see something” was checked.
We’ve changed this.
Now you will see RED FLAGs for damage found in the “Going Out” (or “Before”) pictures as well as the return photos.
This feature is important for DSPs or Amazon Delivery Service Providers.
DSPs often choose to use DAMAGE iD by creating a new Case every time they take photo and video. These users, who only have “Before” pictures, can’t easily find damage from the Case List.
Now it is easy for them to find damage – either “Before” or “After”.
Hopefully rental customers will also benefit from this change as well!
The Review Portal is the web site where you view your photo and videos. Photos and video are taken on the app, and are then stored in the “Cloud”. This creates a PERMANENT DIGITAL ARCHIVE of your entire fleet. The photos and video can be reviewed in the Review Portal. The Case List in the Review Portal is where your photos and video are available for easy comparison. Search and sort by date, status, unit number, user etc. Now you will see red flags when damage is found in the Going Out (Before) as well as the After (Return). No more questions asked about when damage occurred! Photos and video can be used for insurance claims, proof of vehicle condition, or when selling the vehicle.
p.s. If you are unsure which version you have, look on the main screen. The version number appears in red at bottom of screen – see screenshot below.
What to Expect
With 3.7, the photo review is now on the app. Now, you don’t have to visit the Review Portal to see past photos.
After login, you will see a slightly different screen, with a “View Photos” button. This new screen allows you to scroll through the photo (and movie) history quickly, to find the source of “mystery damage”.
Enter the “Matrix View” via the View Photos Button.
View Photos Screen
The notes below should help with any questions you have with navigation.
Click to expand the image above.
The below video shows how the sequence scroller is used.
The sequence number scroller is shown above. This allows you to focus on a position, then scroll until damage appears (or goes away) – indicating when the damage occurred. Note that each sequence represents “1/2 of a Case”. Each sequence is either an “incoming” or “outgoing” set of photos.
We know this update will save lots of money!
And AppleiPhone users – never fear! We are working on the IOS version of this release. We will have that ready this Fall.
Let us know how the “Matrix” version works for you by emailing the “A-TEAM” with your feedback.
For all you movie buffs, we’ve code-named our “Neo” DAMAGE iD release … “The Matrix”!
We chose this name because, now – directly on the app – you can scroll “vertically” (in time) and horizontally (over the positions of photos taken) – a “grid” (or matrix) layout. We think make identifying where a damage was first introduced much easier than today’s version.
All fun aside, we think this feature will save you some serious money on vehicle damage.
Will “The Matrix” release save DSPs and rental agencies time and money finding and proving damage? Photo copyright Warner Bros. (United States).
This release is targeted especially for DSPs – but also relevant for rental companies as well.
Today, the DAMAGE iD app has one main “flow”: The ability to take photos and video, then upload them into the cloud.
In the “Matrix” version (3.7), there are now two main “flows” – the ability to take photos and video and to review them.
The new release will include 2 main functions instead of one. Users will be presented with these 2 main options, once this release goes live. In “Review Photos, users can scroll up and down vertically in time since the earliest photo was taken. Change photo position at the bottom. Identify previously captured damage with the flags and red triangles in each position.
We are planning to launch “The Matrix” release version 3.7 on Android first. Once we receive feedback on Android, we’ll then launch on Apple (IOS) devices. Look for an announcement shortly.
So …. Are you ready to enter “The Matrix”? ?? If so, please send us your feedback at the email below.
Damage to the Fleet is the biggest Loss from profit. It’s hard enough making a profit as a DSP Owner, never mind paying exorbitant Damage Costs. DAMAGE iD provides DSPs with an affordable software solution which monitors the condition of the Fleet sending the Date and Time-stamped Images Directly to the Owner. DSP Dispatchers, Managers or Drivers take daily photos of the Vans to keep track of the van’s condition and provide a running audit. This Daily Photo Report helps the Owner notice WHEN and with WHOM the Damage occurred. DSP Owners have requested the ability to View ALL Past photos on the App in a “Photo Matrix” (to be announced soon). DAMAGE iD is developing the “Photo Matrix” feature, due for launch this Month!! Contact DAMAGE iD today at: https://www.damageid.com/dsp/
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.
