Bay camera tracking on existing cameras
The cameras log every car that pulls into a bay: when it came in, when it left and how long it was there. No new hardware at the stores.
Quick lube, multi-store
Bay cameras vs the POS at a multi-store quick lube
The cameras counted more cars than the POS. A car-by-car check showed why, and the fixes now run every day.
We keep client names private. This page covers what we built for this operator, what the check found and what we're adding now.
Published · Updated
At a glance
Client name kept private
- Business
- Quick lube, multi-store
- What we built
- Bay camera tracking on existing cameras
- Plate reading that opens the order
- A daily snapshot per store and for the group
The situation
This operator runs several quick lube stores. Like most multi-store owners, he can't stand in every bay, so he wanted to know what's happening at each store without driving between them.
We'd already put bay camera tracking in his stores, running on the cameras he had. Each morning he gets a snapshot email for every store and for the group: cars serviced, average time in bay against last week, the share of cars over the 20-minute target, and the busiest hour.
Then he noticed something. The car counts in the snapshot didn't match his POS.
What we built
Plate reading that opens the order
When a car pulls in, the system reads the plate and opens the order in the shop software, so the visit and the ticket start at the same time.
A daily snapshot per store and for the group
Cars, average time in bay against last week, the share of cars over target and the busiest hour, by store and rolled up, in the owner's inbox every morning.
What the car-by-car check found
A mismatch between the cameras and the POS can come from either side. The camera might double count, or the POS might be missing work. So we didn't guess. The team took one Friday and went through it car by car at every store: camera footage against the POS against the orders in the shop software.
Most of the gap had a plain explanation. But the check also showed cars that were serviced and never got a finalized order, so they were never billed. One example: an SUV that had two techs on it for 18 minutes and no finished ticket at the end.
That's the kind of thing an owner can't see from the POS alone, because the POS only knows about cars that got a ticket. The cameras know about every car.
What we fixed
- Out-of-state plates. Added a lookup so cars with out-of-state plates match their orders instead of falling through.
- A tighter plate check, so a misread plate doesn't create a false mismatch.
- A new plate-reading model that adds plates to the shop software on its own, so fewer orders depend on someone typing them in.
- A repeat check. The same car-by-car audit can be run again each week to confirm the gap is closing.
What we're adding now
This next phase is in progress, not shipped yet:
- The share of cars under the time target, not only over it, plus bay open and close times and time to first hood.
- Daily, weekly and monthly reports that send themselves.
- Lead and assistant-lead ranking from POS clock-ins, so managers are compared on speed and revenue together.
- Revenue per bay minute, by matching camera service times to POS invoices.
- No-revenue visits (top-offs, tire checks) taken out of car count and bay time, and queued for the owner's auditor to review with the footage.
What this means for other quick lube owners
If your camera count and your POS count disagree, don't assume the worst and don't assume it's the camera. Check one day car by car, sort the gap into honest reasons, then fix what's left in the process. Our guide to quick lube KPIs by store explains how to define and track car count so every store counts the same way. Our guide to car count vs tickets lists the honest reasons to rule out first, and employees not ringing up oil changes covers what to do if some of the gap is work that never gets rung up.
See how the same setup works across the quick lube industry page, the camera analytics service and the owner dashboard. To run your own numbers, try the bay camera payback calculator.
Questions about this build
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly or call 416-262-2723.
What did Trilix AI build for this quick lube business?
Bay camera tracking on existing cameras. The cameras log every car that pulls into a bay: when it came in, when it left and how long it was there. Plate reading that opens the order. When a car pulls in, the system reads the plate and opens the order in the shop software, so the visit and the ticket start at the same time.
Is this quick lube build a live client system or a demo?
It is client work for a real business. We do not publish the client’s name, because it is their data, not our marketing. This page covers what was built and how it runs day to day.
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Want to see every car at every store?
Tell us how your stores run today and what your POS is. We'll show you what the first check would look like.