by Scott Prewett
When it comes to adopting new technologies like mobile workforce tracking and automated timekeeping, utilities have probably lagged somewhat behind many industries. But that picture is changing fast. Those who serve the water and wastewater industries are rapidly discovering new, easy-to-use, portable systems for tracking assets and attendance, and enjoying the substantial cost savings and efficiencies that go with them.
The latest, and perhaps the most dramatic, addition to jobsites is the Global Positioning System, or GPS. Originally developed for the military, GPS works off a system of satellites. It was made available for civilian use years ago, but only recently have GPS-enabled devices become affordable and popular with consumers. They've also become a valuable tool in the contractor's mobile management arsenal.
Asset Tracking with GPS
We're all familiar with how delivery companies use GPS to track truck fleets and packages in real time. These “active” GPS systems enable dispatchers to view maps showing vehicles, delivery status and other information. When a package arrives on time, GPS has played a part.
As utilities have discovered, if you can track delivery trucks with GPS, you can track the location of your equipment to help you manage and maintain it more efficiently. As a result, GPS systems are already being used to track utility assets. For companies with a lot of equipment at multiple locations, the use of GPS for asset tracking continues to increase in popularity.
Workforce, Payroll and Cost Tracking with GPS
For the utility industry, GPS has as much application to workforce attendance, job and cost tracking as it does to equipment tracking. GPS is a big step in the evolution of mobile workforce management: tracking employees by time, jobsite and cost code continuously throughout the day is an easy way for a company to boost its operational efficiency.
Workforce attendance tracking with GPS extends the capabilities of mobile attendance systems already in use. Some systems travel to jobsites with crews, replacing handwritten timesheets and manual tracking of cost codes, among other time- and money-saving features.
Accurate Attendance, Accurate Costs
Central Backhoe & Utilities, Ltd. (San Antonio, TX), a utility contractor with about 25 employees, has five to six crews moving around to multiple locations on a given day. Central relies on mobile attendance tracking to get accurate hours from workers.
Lillian Sanders, Central's accountant, found that attendance tracking resulted in significant savings on every one of the company's crews. “Before,” she explained, “everyone reported identical start times and I knew it wasn't right. Now it's accurate. The difference is unbelievable.”
Some systems, like ExakTime's JobClocks, travel to each jobsite. With this system, workers clock in and out using color-coded Keytabs that they keep on their own keyrings. The Keytabs can be assigned to identify specific cost codes within a job, which helps with job costing and controlling workers compensation. Other Keytabs can track travel time.
The JobClock stores the data, and at the end of the day or week, attendance records can be downloaded to a PDA or smartphone. The Internet can also be used to transmit records into the office.
Exaktime's proprietary software, TimeSummit, can generate separate reports for employees, jobsites and activities. The system can transfer the information into accounting software, such as QuickBooks.
