In recent months, CARSTAR Torcam owner and general manager Sebastian Torres has implemented Solera’s AI-powered automated damage detection technology to manage capacity levels. In January, Torres’ Brantford store was about four to six weeks backlogged. By June, backlogs were down to one to two weeks. He told breakout session attendees that the results have been amazing.
Victoria, British Columbia — Solera is making waves with artificial intelligence (AI) in Qapter. At CARSTAR Velocity Conference Sebastian Torres, owner and general manager of CARSTAR Torcam Group, highlighted the transformative impact of Solera’s Qapter mobile inspection technology on his shops, emphasizing its efficiency gains and enhanced customer experience.
Via an app on a smartphone or tablet, Solera’s latest technology, an add-on to Qapter Estimating, can empower non-skilled appraisers to document damages and produce AI-generated estimates in record time. Users are taken through the comprehensive guided vehicle image capture; those photos are then run against the AI technology to produce an estimate, which is always then double-checked by an estimator.
“The app is for more than just estimators,” said Davoodi. “Customer service representatives can take the app and the customer while the estimator can focus on the more complex skills.”
Davoodi visited Torres at his CARSTAR Brantford facility in March. The partnership was ultimately born out of last year’s CARSTAR Canada event, EVOLUTION, in Montreal, Quebec. Solera’s Bill Brower presented the company’s latest ventures in touchless claims, which intrigued Torres. He approached Solera and worked with Davoodi to tweak the settings to his liking before hitting the ground.
"I can honestly say this work with Solera has become the most rewarding partnership of my career."
— Sebastian Torres, owner and general manager of CARSTAR Torcam
“I can honestly say this work with Solera has become the most rewarding partnership of my career,” said Torres during a Thursday breakout session at CARSTAR Canada’s Velocity conference, adding that he’s already seen significant increases in yearly sales.
“We wanted the breakout session to be as concise as possible,” said Stephen Klemchuck, director of business development for Solera. “Sebastian wanted to present the data, which speaks for itself. He was even more keen to hear audience opinions and provide his personal experience.”
“I love when people challenge me,” Torres half-joked on stage.
Though he said AI functionalities can help take a non-drive estimate from 90 minutes to 20 minutes, Torres stressed that AI is not a replacement for a human being.
“This is not a replacement for human touch. AI is just a tool. If you invest in a welder, a frame rack or a technician…why would you not invest in AI? It’s a tool that could help your team work more productively.”
He added that there was some questioning from his team when they first embarked on the project.
“Our estimators thought, no way, we’re not writing the estimate twice. But you’re not writing the estimate twice—AI writes the estimate for you, and the estimator can go through and adjust as needed. The estimate is 85 percent to 90 percent done by the time the vehicle reaches disassembly.
“It’s made my life easier, and it’s easier for us to acquire new locations. Once they’re up and running with this management capacity, I can go off and look for more acquisitions.”
Solera's AI estimating has helped Torres' team take a non-drive estimate from 90 minutes to 20 minutes. The estimate is 85 percent to 90 percent complete by the time the vehicle reaches disassembly.
Davoodi added that Solera “barely gets feedback nowadays” where pictures are wrong or unusable. The baseline for the AI learning mechanism rests in more than five billion images of damaged cars, and the AI is also constantly advancing based on new knowledge and damages processed.
More than that, Torres added that this new management capacity through AI has helped his company build a culture where all estimates are double-checked.
“There are errors sometimes because we are human. But if you’re grooming your estimate from the AI, you’re building a culture where you double-check every single estimate.”
Solera hosted demonstrations of the app during the vendor trade show at CARSTAR’s Velocity conference Thursday. Attendees were thoroughly awed at the breadth of AI and its capabilities, particularly in solving capacity issues.
The app is currently available as an add-on to the Qapter estimating platform. iOS is live, with Android functionality planned for the coming months, according to Davoodi.
For more information on the app and Solera’s Qapter AI estimating, click here or visit www.qapter.com or reach out to a Solera rep today.
