Data management systems for collision repair coaching

• US 8,428,810 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriFacts Automotive, LLC
• Original Assignee: VeriFacts Automotive, LLC
• Inventors: Afshar, Farzam, Granse, Cynthia L., Olson, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jayne, Darnell
• Assistant Examiner(s): Varghese, Sasha T
• Application Number:
  US12/363,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20090197228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/33, 701/29.6, 701/31.6, 701/31.7, 701/32.2, 701/32.9, 701/33.2, 701/33.4, 701/33.7, 705/4, 705/7.27
• US Class Current: 701/29.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A system for on-site collection of evaluation data at a vehicle repair installation site is disclosed. Generally the system includes a computing tool connected to a database, a workflow operations guiding module that runs on the computing tool, an evaluation module, a comparison module, a data-mining module, a certification module, a legal compliance module, and a repair procedure compliance module. As a vehicle is repaired, the workflow operations guiding module prompts a coach with questions. The evaluation module performs a quantitative analysis of the answers provided by the coach and the comparison module compares the result of the quantitative analysis against aggregated or averaged information. The certification module compares information from the comparison module against predetermined certification criteria and the data mining module identifies correlations, trends or patterns in collected data by the system.

Claims

1. A system for collection of evaluation data, comprising:

a computing tool configured to communicate with a database, the computing tool configured to receive digital images showing a technician at an installation site performing a vehicle repair procedure;

a workflow operations guiding module operable on the computing tool and configured to provide instructions and one or more dialog interfaces to query a user for evaluation information on steps performed by the technician in the vehicle repair procedure as specified in the database and prompt the user for responses including observations regarding the technician, reason codes, corrective actions, or scoring information; and

an evaluation module configured to receive the evaluation information and the digital images, to evaluate and verify the evaluation information from assimilated sources, and to generate a review summary of the technician based on the evaluation information and the digital images showing the technician at the installation site performing the vehicle repair procedure.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital images comprise a photograph.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing tool is configured to receive an e-mail including the digital images of the vehicle repair procedure.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital images comprise video of the vehicle repair procedure at the installation site.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the computing tool is configured to receive an e-mail including the video of the vehicle repair procedure.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the video of the vehicle repair procedure is received in real time.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the video of the vehicle repair procedure is part of a video teleconference between a coach and the technician at the installation site.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the database in communication with the computing tool is operative to store the digital images of the vehicle repair procedure received by the computing tool and wherein the database is operative to be searched by a second technician to retrieve the digital images of the vehicle repair procedure.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing tool is a mobile computing tool.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing tool is further configured to determine a suggested vehicle repair procedure and to suggest the suggested vehicle repair procedure to the technician.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein to determine the suggested vehicle repair procedure, the computing tool is further configured to determine whether to suggest replacing a damaged component of a vehicle or whether to repair the damaged component of the vehicle based on a cost of any components that will need to be replaced when replacing the damaged component, labor costs associated with replacing any components that will need to be replaced when replacing the damaged component, labor costs associated with repairing the damaged component of the vehicle, a cost of painting any components that will need to be replaced when replacing the damaged component, a cost of painting any additional components surrounding the components that will need to be replaced when replacing the damaged component, an amount of time the vehicle must be present in an installation site to repair the damaged component of the vehicle, and an amount of time the vehicle must be present in the installation site to replace the damaged component of the vehicle.

12. A method for providing coaching for repair technicians, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing tool, digital images of a technician performing a vehicle repair procedure at an installation site;

generating a query from a database on a repair step of the vehicle repair procedure that is performed by the technician;

displaying instructions and dialog interfaces to provide the generated query on an interface of the computing tool and prompt a user for responses including observations regarding the technician, reason codes, corrective actions, or scoring information;

receiving an input regarding the repair step of the vehicle repair procedure that is performed by the technician in response to the query whose value is based on the digital images of the technician performing the vehicle repair procedure; and

generating at least one of coaching, evaluation, verification or certification information for the technician based on the response to the query, evaluation information from assimilated sources, and the digital images of the technician performing the vehicle repair procedure.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the digital images comprise video of the repair procedure.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the video of the repair procedure is received in real time.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the digital images comprise a photograph.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

storing the received digital images of the vehicle repair procedure in a database in communication with the computing tool;

receiving a search query associated with the vehicle repair procedure from a second technician; and

sending the digital images of the vehicle repair procedure to the second technician.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for providing coaching for repair procedures, the set of instructions to direct a processor to perform acts of:

receiving, at a computing tool, digital images of a technician performing a vehicle repair procedure at an installation site;

generating a query from a database on a repair step of the vehicle repair procedure that is performed by the technician;

displaying instructions and dialog interfaces to provide the generated query on an interface of the computing tool and prompt a user for responses including observations of the technician, reason codes, corrective actions, or scoring information;

receiving an input regarding the repair step of the vehicle repair procedure that is performed by the technician in response to the query whose value is based on the digital images of the technician performing the vehicle repair procedure; and

generating at least one of coaching, evaluation, verification or certification information for the technician based on the response to the query, evaluation information from assimilated sources, and the digital images of the technician performing the vehicle repair procedure.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the digital images comprise video of the repair procedure.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the video of the repair procedure is received in real time.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the digital images comprise a photograph.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising a set of instructions to direct a processor to perform acts of:

storing the received digital images of the vehicle repair procedure in a database in communication with the computing tool;

receiving a search query associated with the vehicle repair procedure from a second technician; and

sending the digital images of the vehicle repair procedure to the second technician.