ILC ARTICLE

Caps fuels data transfer to power eye-load’s workshop loading and scheduling system

8th March 2019

Eye-Load, a web-based system that enables bodyshop managers to prioritise jobs across multiple bays and locations, can now communicate seamlessly and automatically with the UK’s five top workshop management systems following an integration with the Common Automotive Platform Standard (CAPS). The five workshop management platforms are Eclipse, Autosoft, Autoflow, EMACS and Advance.

The integration means that users of any of these platforms can automatically integrate with Eye-Load’s workshop scheduling software so that all job-related data is shared and only needs to be input once.

Eye-Load users have reported direct productivity gains of a minimum of one additional job per week as a result of using the software.

By enabling body shop managers to allocate and prioritise jobs with the workshop, Eye-Load monitors the health of the workshop in real time, 24/7. The software is highly visual, using a ‘traffic light’ system and automatically highlighting the next most important work so that technicians always focus on priorities.

Eye-Load can help managers to set ideal staffing levels, to reduce turnaround times on each job, to enable departments to work together more effectively, improve profitability, customer service and overall productivity throughput.

Used by more than 900 UK body shops and increasingly the de facto standard for data transfer among companies involved in collision repair, CAPS is a secure system that connects body shops, work providers and insurers to all the major claims and management applications.

CAPS enables each of these organisations to share data safely and consistently. It allows any company involved in the collision repair process to work more effectively with its chosen partners and better serve its customers by sharing data quickly and seamlessly

Ray Jenkins, Eye-Load’s Owner, said: “The integration with CAPS is critical as it means Eye-Load can start to deliver benefits the minute job data reaches the chosen workshop management system. Managers lack the time for double keying, and this process can also introduce errors that impact the effectiveness of the software.

“Our pilot programme has already demonstrated the enormous benefits that can be reaped now that CAPS provides the essential power to fuel our system.”

David Neave, Chair of the CAPS National Advisory Council, said: “This is another example of the vital role that efficient, secure, automatic data transfer can play in making bodyshops work better. Vehicle repair is a complex and specialised process requiring co-operation between a large number of specialists who all need access to the same information.

“Platforms such as Eye-Load are essential in ensuring the right things happen in the right order at the best time. By increasing productivity, it also increases profitability, which is exactly what bodyshop managers are looking for.”