Tracker On Work Van

[Jaffa72]

The people who tend to complain about it, are the people who have made it necessary to have them fitted in the first place.

Not a truer word spoken woody......the main people to complain when we were told we were getting trackers fitted were the same ones that i refered to in my last reply.

I dont want it to seem as though im complaining because the top and bottom of it is that i think it will be better for the ones who go to work to WORK.I started this thread just to read other peoples thoughts and experiences of having a tracker fitted to see what i can expect i.e certain people complaining or if indeed they are a good investment for the company.
Ive heard of companies that have had trackers fitted and then after a couple of years,months even the devices were removed.

 

[Paul Barker]

fold up bike in back, park it outside last job.

 

[daytona]

The people who tend to complain about it, are the people who have made it necessary to have them fitted in the first place.

Not a truer word spoken woody......the main people to complain when we were told we were getting trackers fitted were the same ones that i refered to in my last reply.

I dont want it to seem as though im complaining because the top and bottom of it is that i think it will be better for the ones who go to work to WORK.I started this thread just to read other peoples thoughts and experiences of having a tracker fitted to see what i can expect i.e certain people complaining or if indeed they are a good investment for the company.
Ive heard of companies that have had trackers fitted and then after a couple of years,months even the devices were removed.

not necessarily,some of the blokes i know who have had them fitted to their vans take it personally because they dont need to be checked up on.

 

[gcol]

We have trackers fitted on all our company vans/cars. We had them fitted initially because we had a few vans nicked. Now we have the system, our engineers are closely monitored as to what time they leave their house and what time they arrive at night. The system reports to a dedicated pc in the office with a road map on it - we can see exactly where every engineer is at all times. The engineer's home address is programmed in, and if he arrives within 200 metres of his house before 5pm it's flagged up. It depends how your company sees fit to use the system, but if it's anything like our company, believe me, be careful!

 

[^woody^]

The other important thing from a management perspective, is that the system should not be used to constantly 'spy' on the operatives.

It's not good practice for the management to be constantly watching and querying every single move of the workforce - that just leads to resentment and a bad working relationship and ultimately poor performance. Many of these systems are used incorrectly and for the wrong purpose

There should be policies in place to allow discretion and leeway - and action only taken if the use of the vehicle is actually affecting the company.

 

[RF Lighting]

Last company I worked at had trackers fitted to their vans cos the boss was paranoid.

We would be whinged at if we left site 5 mins early, but if you worked an hour over there was no mention of it, and overtime kept being refused.

I was even told I needed to set off from home earlier in a morning becuase they felt I was driving my van too fast to make sure I was at the yard on time.

We would regularly be questioned if we visited the wholesalers "too often" despite doing landlords repairs and visiting perhaps 10 properties a day, which maybe 2 or 3 would need parts which were not on the van.

He used to employ 8 men.

This paranoia and non trust has led to him having 2 staff left, and 1 is currently actively looking for another job. My current boss trusts his staff, and as a result gets much more respect from his lads, and we are not looking for ways to beat the system just to get one up on him.

 

[^woody^]

Hmmmm, well thats a bad management style and trackers or not there would still be the same level of paranoia and mistrust.

The thing is, there must be something keeping the people working at companies like that. It's very rare for someone who is unhappy about an employer not to be able to walk away, and get a job elsewhere which they will be more happy with.

 

[Paul Barker]

Sadly in many areas the workforce hasn't a great deal of choice. This is what keeps nurses in the nhs, despite bad management and mistreatment compounding the very tough nature of the job, the only way out is a change of career.

Closer to home, if you live out on a limb you would have either work away as I find myself doing, or move the whole family.

So no not everyone can choose easily to leave mismanagement.

Margaret Thatcher would be proud of me I "got on my bike"

 

[lagunaglen]

We have trackers fitted, although it took 5 months before they got round to putting mine on. The ones who complain most ARE the lazy sods , i was told it was a waste of time my van NOT having a tracker cos i didnt abuse this fact.
Thses same people also complained when fingerprint clocking in came into effect. Personally i was glad cos one guy would sneak off home a t 4 every day when we finish at 5.
This meant i got all the late calls as his phone was always dead , lazy arsehole.
If you dont toss it off then trackers nothing to worry about, if your a grafter then it could be to your advantage.

Something ive always thought though is that the people who bring these systems in ,do so because if they were in our position and out and about then they would be abusing the system !!!

 

[333rocky333]

our trackers were removed , now they use this.
http://www.followus.co.uk/Corporate_T06.PDF

 

[steveroof]

Fair days work for fair a days money

 

[jono_h]

There were tarckers fitted to all of the vans at a Water Company I worked for (in London, can you guess who it was!). There were hundreds of vans altogether.

The number of vans outside schools at 3.00 was incredible, as was the fact that one Technican had moved to Bristol and so was leaving work at 2.00 to get home at a reasonable time.

As just about everyone says, it's only those who abuse the system that need to worry. Hopefully there's enough flexibility to allow you the odd occasion when you're somewhere else.

 

[Jaffa72]

Well,the tracker has been on my van for almost a month now with no real hardship........until this morning!! Whilst driving down the motorway this morning i received a phone call from my boss(hands free of course) asking me why i was still sitting at home at 8am when i should be on-site by this time.I calmly replied that i was indeed some 40 odd miles away from home,to which he had no answer apart from the tracker must be playing up! This was the case,SO MUCH FOR MODERN TECHNOLOGY

 

[r.bartlett]

I'm having them fitted to our vans mainly because before I joined even the apprentice said he "liked to be indoors by 4.30" !! He's gone and possibly won't be the last.

I've got a list as long as your dick of excuses, lies and god knows what else. Engineers seem to feel they should be trusted. 99.9% are simply not up to the task.

A very good friend of mine who runs 10+ engineers once said to me "I don't run a company -I childmind" he's so right it's scary

Trackers have other advantages apart from lazy workers.

When he say's "I'm on the M5 stuck in traffic" I know he's telling the truth and that increases trust between him and the office.

When a customer calls and says "I'm not paying to 5.30 coz your guy left a 4.00" I can look and prove him right or even better for the engineer wrong. Or if we turned up and the customer rants that we didn't, I have rock solid proof.

That aside if I'm sitting in the office and a call comes in I can instantly see who is where. I can direct response far more efficiently which will hopefully increase business for us and increase job security for him...

It also means if engineers 'forget' to put in their job sheets that job doesn't get missed as at the end of the week as a log can be made and each day accounted for. We've just had that instance where my customer phoned to ask why we haven't billed him for two visits!!

I can incorporate the weekly log into an automatic time sheet alleviating that thankless task for him. plus it ensures he gets any overtime he should be given.

I believe in these day's they are vital to reducing costs and increasing efficiency

It's a no brainer

Cheers

Richard

 

[Zampa]

How much would one cost?..im thinking of getting one fitted to my van.