Discussion:
Tracking devices fitted to engineers vans

Good or bad idea I bet not many salesmen/women have them fitted???
  • Posted 6 Nov 2009 00:33
  • By Bingo
  • joined 15 Sep'09 - 7 messages
  • N/a, United Kingdom
Showing items 1 - 20 of 26 results.
if you have full use of the van they must be turned of friday nite and turned on monday morning as on w/ends it is a private vehical.heavy fines occur depends on your location aus/us /uk,14 days in writing,stickers on vans to say you are tracked i think applies in aus.but all states different.must get a covert survalence to track you and go through the courts and they can not abuse it
  • Posted 18 Aug 2010 21:07
  • By aussie
  • joined 18 Aug'10 - 2 messages
  • New South Wales, Australia
trackers are pure and simple victimisation, the weak excuses that companies give are pathetic,

1. For insurance purposes , why are the sales and managements bmw and mercs not tracked they are far more valuable than your average transit van.

2.faster response to breakdowns closest engineer, worked with trackers for 5 years never seen it happen yet engineers are still passing each other on the road to get to jobs ,most customers have there own dedicated engineer

they are supposed to save money how much does the trackers and license cost you never hear that cost
  • Posted 17 Aug 2010 16:32
  • By coal_miner
  • joined 10 Mar'09 - 27 messages
  • yorkshire, United Kingdom
You really don't need GPS to find lazy workers look for vans that make or lose oil, cleaners and filters. Look at those work orders do the hour meters seem erratic and sometimes run backwards? Will it keep techs inline not if they leave their van at a customers and drive something else or just unhook it. I have witnessed this at several dealerships. It is known who the slackers are they just really do not want to deal with the situation so they try GPS
  • Posted 17 Aug 2010 08:00
  • By proshadetree
  • joined 23 Feb'06 - 484 messages
  • Tennessee, United States
If you have nothing to hide, why should anyone have a problem.
Other engineers 'go missing' late in the day and leave the rest of us to do the urgent breakdowns, often finishing late. Bottom line is, they are coming, so if you don't like it, start looking for another job in a different industry.
  • Posted 7 Jul 2010 00:01
  • By thepoliceman
  • joined 21 Mar'09 - 4 messages
  • Nottingham, United Kingdom
Most of the company cars via leasing companies already have em fitted as part of the deal , so yes the sales team do have them.
  • Posted 2 Jul 2010 04:34
  • By DeepJoy
  • joined 2 Jul'10 - 10 messages
  • West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
We have GPS's fitted in all vehicles. The idea was to speed up service to customers by sending the closest tech to whoever needed the fastest service. Turns out there are few people to actually monitor our movements. Everyone speeds, leaves early or comes in late.
A lot of us techs who put in an honest 40 hrs or more get ticked when we see our fellow techs at the bar on a friday afternoon, and not answer their phone for service calls. They have their 40 hrs billed....but only worked 20! It's all about making targets, as long as you bill 40 hrs, the company is happy. They dont care who you took advantage of, as long as the paperwork is done. The honest workers make up for the bottom feeders.
We have GPS's, but no one is watching
  • Posted 1 Jul 2010 23:24
  • By EasiTek
  • joined 12 Aug'08 - 533 messages
  • Ontario, Canada
Spy in the cab thats all it is & it gose to show the managers dont trust the engineers.
  • Posted 25 Jun 2010 06:07
  • By Snapman
  • joined 10 Sep'08 - 53 messages
  • Liecester, United Kingdom
real managers,with real experience in running service departments have done the job and know how long things take.they can allow for problems and dont need these type of tools to do the job.these tools are for managers who are not to be trusted themselves.service centres probably use use them because you dont get much sense from them.
  • Posted 25 Jun 2010 03:23
  • By oldone
  • joined 25 Jun'10 - 15 messages
  • Iowa, United States
the old ways are some times best
Trackers are great for redirecting the nearest engineer to problem or urgent customers.

improving responce times etc. could even be cost effective.

We have it on my sales rep car as well.

the only problem is the managment and the in house service department managers find it a tool to abuse staff and check on thier every move, in the begining i was constantly being phoned and asked why i was in an certain area or why i was there.

Trackers are only as good as the system and of the use of them INCLUDING THE IDIOT WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE........


pros and cons... ?...
  • Posted 25 Jun 2010 02:43
  • By profg
  • joined 12 Jan'10 - 13 messages
  • gwent, United Kingdom
from a service managers view i think having it would harm the trust between real world managers and the engineers.we have to be able to trust the engineers if we expect them to trust us,just like we expect customers to trust us.if our company does go down this route i think ALL managers and ALL sales personnel should have to have it fitted as well.
  • Posted 24 Jun 2010 23:46
  • By billywizz
  • joined 21 Sep'07 - 10 messages
  • East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
youl never walk alone
Many pros and cons for this. Some people dont mind being "watched", others dont like it.

I think its good for security and factual investigation if necessary. It is not good if the goal is to "catch someone out".
  • Posted 16 Jun 2010 15:48
  • By jay_j
  • joined 12 Jun'10 - 5 messages
  • New South Wales, Australia
90% it is not productive, how sure are you that they are doing what they are suppose to do even if they are at the right place? Can that device tell you they are working? its not a cheap device, it has cost in it, not very popular in the Philippines
  • Posted 25 Apr 2010 09:51
  • By leobert
  • joined 27 Dec'07 - 14 messages
  • Manila, Philippines
I do drive a company Van that is fitted with a gps tracking device. It has helped me when I had a competitor (acting as a civilian) call in my van number and tell my service manager that I was doing 80mph and swerving all over the road. The gps showed me doing exactly the speed limit, exactly where I was supposed to be. Without it, I would possibly have gotten a write up. Now on the other hand, I've had to move my van on a saturday to snowblow my driveway (I live in Michigan), and got a call first thing monday morning asking why I had my van running after hours. Once I explained myself I was in the clear.
To me it's necessary since you can never trust anyone in this world, but the problems occur when the management confronts an employee in the wrong manner, as if they're TRYING to catch you doing something.

-The eye in the sky doesnt lie-
  • Posted 14 Nov 2009 09:30
  • By griffman_23
  • joined 5 Aug'09 - 28 messages
  • Michigan, United States
--Just an opinion from some punk ruining the world--
If they fit tracker, not only does it -show- "lack of trust", I think there is a valid arguement that it -proves- "lack of trust", and it doesn't matter when or how they do it.
I think everyone should be aware that people almost always expect others to be thinking the same way they do, so someone who is often considering how to work less expects everyone else to be considering how to work less, someone who steals expects others to be considering how to steal, someone who is honest and hard working expects others to be honest and hard working.
The method/timing of the install may have as much to do with management not wanting to create any -extra- friction as it does with trust.
I still have never seen a valid side by side comparison of the costs, strengths and weaknesses of the different available tracking systems, to be able to make an -informed- decision about the quality/pricing and what is my boss getting (to be able to look over my shoulder and second guess me) for the money my sweat earned for them. I have also never seen any ROI numbers/arguments that do not include the phrases "hard to quantify" unless they appeal to the argument that the customer will always complain that the tech took too long or was not really on site that long, and the tracker can prove they were on the site that long of a time frame.
I would also like to note that "lack of trust" should not really be considered a negative thing, since blind faith (which seems to me to be the opposite of lack of trust) qualifies as rushing blindly off a cliff.
To me, "lack of trust" more qualifies as "question everything" and/or "critical thought".
  • Posted 13 Nov 2009 21:38
  • Modified 13 Nov 2009 21:39 by poster
  • By edward_t
  • joined 5 Mar'08 - 2,334 messages
  • South Carolina, United States
"it's not rocket surgery"
I'm not sure about being in the wrong.But if they have to fit trackers under the cover of darkness it shows a lack of trust,in my opinion.I will try and find out what FLT company had been told they could not monitor engineers out of normal working hours.
  • Posted 13 Nov 2009 02:51
  • By alan_m
  • joined 20 Apr'07 - 72 messages
  • United Kingdom
Alan,

Absolute no mention at any time, I only found out when a workmate told me ???? do you think they are in the wrong!!!
  • Posted 13 Nov 2009 02:25
  • By Bingo
  • joined 15 Sep'09 - 7 messages
  • N/a, United Kingdom
Wake up Tricky :-)
  • Posted 10 Nov 2009 21:05
  • By sean_d
  • joined 4 Mar'09 - 30 messages
  • uk, United Kingdom
Its not mentioned in my contract,but i'm sure you have had some sort of meeting with management and they explained the reasons why it was installed.

(yourprivacy.co.uk/YourPrivacyRightsAtWork.html)
dont forget the w's
  • Posted 10 Nov 2009 17:20
  • By alan_m
  • joined 20 Apr'07 - 72 messages
  • United Kingdom
Alan,

You seem really up on this, what if we have no mention in our contracts of employment relating to what the tracker is used for!!!.
  • Posted 10 Nov 2009 05:14
  • By Bingo
  • joined 15 Sep'09 - 7 messages
  • N/a, United Kingdom
Its only an intrusion of privacy whilst you are not working.While you are driving around and getting paid for it there is nothing you can do.I am sure there is a company that have been instructed they must not use their system to monitor vans out of hours,can't think who it is though.
The employment rights act does say that if a company wishes to install/monitor (cctv,trackers etc) they have to give good reason.Eg..."we have installed a service monitoring system for our customers...."we have installed it so our vehicle insurance premiums are reduced" etc..
  • Posted 10 Nov 2009 03:13
  • By alan_m
  • joined 20 Apr'07 - 72 messages
  • United Kingdom

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