Citation
(2005), "Where are you, now?", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 54 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2005.07954daf.005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Where are you, now?
Using GPS to track workers and vehicles is now very feasible and increasingly popular. GPS – global positioning by satellite – is a technology that came out of military operations, and allows the position of a receiver to be fixed by the way in which it interacts with the signals from a number of orbiting satellites. Many large, long-haul, trucking companies have had such systems for years but the range of employers adopting GPS – usually fitted in vehicles or in cell phones and other devices workers carry on the job – is broadening, particularly among companies dispatching large numbers of service technicians.
UPS Inc., for example, will distribute new hand-held computers to its 100,000 US delivery truck drivers early next year, each equipped with a GPS receiver. The company says the feature will be used not to monitor workers, but to alert them when they are at the wrong address or help them identify an unfamiliar location.
Some workers initially grumble about the introduction of such technology but – if they can be persuaded that its purpose is to make their job easier – they seem to accept – and even value – it.
GPS can be an advantage to workers, for example in support of legitimate overtime claims that employers might previously have disputed, said Krish Panu, president and CEO of At Road Inc., a service provider. Some employers, using the systems to track how many assignments a worker completes, use it as a means of awarding incentives rather than punishment, he said.
“This is not about tracking people. It’s about managing the business”, Panu said.
As ever, with such technologies, it is not the technology itself which is a problem. Problems arise when the technology is badly implemented or improperly used. It is important to explain the “rules of engagement” to staff – clearly and up-front – and to make sure that those rules are followed.