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By Greg Bartlett

Some companies are involved in different types of work including seismology, pipeline laying, and running cables for electricity or telephone. Some work above the ground and others must dig below ground to perform their functions. Often, employees are scattered to the four winds performing various functions from start to finish without ever setting foot in a central office during the work day. How can employers keep track of their employees and measure their progress on such jobs? The answer is with GPS tracking.

If employees are paid an hourly wage and the amount of time spent on the job is needed, a GPS log can provide employers with the amount of time spent away from a job site, the time in transit, the time spent on the job. Progress during the day can be measured to verify that this crew is working and making progress according to the planned work schedule. It is even possible to know when and how long the crew spends on their lunch break because progress will cease to be in single direction for a time. This makes it possible for one supervisor to oversee more than one crew, because any work stoppages that occur in his absence will be noted by a lack of progress with the job.

GPS tracking of employees in this fashion can also help employers in the event that a service call comes in or an emergency comes up. The central office is able to take such calls and make a determination of who is closest that can handle the situation. This can save a great deal of money for the company by avoiding dispatching a crew that would have to travel farther to do the job than the one shown to be closer by the GPS system.

There are a variety of reasons for companies to make use of GPS technology. Tracking the locations of equipment and employees on jobs that require them to work in rural areas away from any sort of central office are two very good reasons. Ground crews working in scattered areas having materials transported to them by helicopter can be found quickly and the most direct route taken by the pilot to minimize time and fuel on each run. Supervisors can have two or three different crews working for them and be able to locate them easily using realtime GPS tracking technology. Companies can measure the progress made on pipeline and cable jobs by checking where the crew finished the day against where they started.