Cheap tracking device for our works van?

epninety

If you don't need the info 'live', then one of these will do the job :-

http://www.maplin.co.uk/gps-travel-tracker-227620

It records it's position every few seconds, you download the data into a pc later, every point is timestamped.

If you're hiding it, it'll need a view of the sky - inside a plastic front bumper is a good option. If it's a tall van, just slip in in a condom and tape it to the roof.

I'm sure someone will have an opinion on the legal status of doing this without telling him...

amcluesent

I'm sure someone will have an opinion on the legal status of doing this without telling him.

Depends what's in the contract of employment.

interstellaflyer

Hammyman wrote: »

Pretty much every haulage company I worked for for the last two decades had what they thought a run could be done in. Apart from the middle of the night it very seldom worked out and even in the middle of the night it wasn't uncommon to have an hour or more tacked on because of an accident or roadworks.

Have you actually done the run or are you just yet another typical traffic office womble who thinks that the route planning software you've used can't be wrong?

And if he is hanging the bag out, could it be because your company is paying the same money they used to pay in 2001 like all the haulage companies round here seem to be offering in their job adverts?

Quite agree, an old friend of mine worked for a company that thought he could drive from Colchester Essex up to Newcasle on Tyne, get tipped and get back easily in 8 hrs, we're talking a large van.

Whilst I have no time for people who swing the lead, I am also very sceptical of people who work out how long a run should take mathematicaly, real life just ain't like that.

HO87

@OP had exactly the same problem with one of our drivers. We got a Super Trackstick. (Google is your friend) cost about the £120 mark IIRC. Idiot-proof to use although it is a passive tracker (can't watch it in real time) and you upload the data onto a computer at the end of it and watch the track on Google maps. We'd tried a realtime tracker before - dealing with the airtime provider (won't name them) for the onboard sim card was a PITA to start with. Powering it up became problematic and when were able to view it because we operate in a very rural area half the data was missing because of lack of mobile coverage. We also found that unless the satellite antenna was in a really good spot the quality of the "fix" was not reliable as we had spurious locations - miles out from the rest of the track

We were able to get right down to the 34-second long stop (I kid you not) our guy made in the middle of a small housing estate - where he shouldn't have been (and didn't live). Couldn't work out what he was doing there so went down the following morning and found that where he'd actually stopped was opposite a couple of back gardens but nothing obvious and the nearest house would have taken more than 34 secs to get to and back from. Colleague had a look over the garden wall and there were two of our boxes sitting on the patio - job done. Exit one driver. Also used it to deal with an agency bod who couldn't navigate supposedly (he could but just not to where he was supposed to be going) and another "slow" driver who was paying three visits a week to his bit-on-the-side and was using the overtime he earned as a result of the "delays" (appropriate I suppose) to pay for it.

The stick is about 6-8 long weatherproof/heavily rubber armoured with a thumping great magnet on one side so it will grip to a body strut or whatever - but somewhere that can "see the sky" so to speak. Good bit of kit. Has saved us a lot of money over the last couple of years. We let the workforce know we have it and switch it around from time to time just to keep people on their toes.

For the record I do not work for Trackstick, I don't sell them, receive no commission and have no commercial link with them whatsoever other than being a satisfied customer. Worked for us.

Hammyman

docmatt wrote: »

When he rang in sick on Monday I did the same Monday route as last Monday and I was back at 2.30 PM, last Monday he was back at 5pm, hence my question about a tracking device.

And? On its own it means nothing - you could have just been lucky and had a good day where you didn't get held up and were turned around quickly at the drops. I used to go to Tesco RDC at Middleton. On a normal day I'd be in there 2hrs. On a bank holiday I'd be in there 20 minutes. Pretty much every place I have ever delivered to I have never been in there the same amount of time and the time to get unloaded could be anything from 10 minutes to a couple of hours for exactly the same load at exactly the same place. There was one where I used to deliver a single Pallecon of condensed milk to a food factory. If I got in there early and was the first wagon I was in there 10 minutes unless I picked up empties and then I could be there 1/2hr loading them. If I was unlucky and the egg man beat me I was waiting there an hour whilst they unloaded his 24 pallecons. Same load, same drop, an hours difference because of one single change.

Doing a run to Manchester Trafford Park from Hull during a school holiday takes 30 minutes less each way than during term time.

If you have several drivers doing the same run and they are all CONSISTENTLY doing it quicker then you may have a point but then it would only be if they were observing the speed limits and all legally required breaks - you are aware that as a driver he HAS to have more than the minimum 20 minutes the WTD states you need to have? This applies even moreso if he is on a tacho.

Perhaps you'd like to post the route and the number of drops, type of goods (ie parcels, pallets) and the vehicle used.

He is actually paid a good wage for a driver.

Really? I bet my bottom dollar its less than a Tesco shelf stacker gets....

Hammyman

HO87 wrote: »

Colleague had a look over the garden wall and there were two of our boxes sitting on the patio - job done. Exit one driver.
.

Perhaps if parcel companies didn't routinely put 100 drops or near as dammit on a van which you seem to think they can do in 8hrs without breaking the law, the drivers wouldn't feel the need to do this.

buglawton

You can bet that if you ever tried to use covertly acquired data in an employment tribunal or court, you will get smacked down for not informing the employee in advance of being tracked! Just the same as the Ts & Cs regarding tracking employees' internet habits at work.

Many drivers choose the job due to the perceived 'freedom'. This just shows that all drivers should be self employed contractors that get paid by number of deliveries and distance done.

epninety

Of course, if you were to collect the data simply with a view to improving your business efficiency - changing delivery routes and times to avoid traffic hotspots at certain times of day - then it would surely be none of your employees business? You might even say that from a purely scientific point of view, it's important that he doesn't know, as it might influence his driving.

You can decide what to do with any information that you gain at some later date.

banger9365 wrote: »

travell time changes every day ,so do's the unload time ,looks to me he needs more time to do the job you want him to do ,or a more realistick time

It seems to me that installing a tracker without the knowledge of the driver would be the perfect way of finding this out - from a purely scientific point of view.

Hammyman

buglawton wrote: »

This just shows that all drivers should be self employed contractors that get paid by number of deliveries and distance done.

Yeah because when lorry drivers were paid on mileage and/or percentage of earnings it worked so well the tachograph and speed limiters were introduced because of the dangerous driving and excessive hours regulations breaches it encouraged.

Most tipper drivers get paid a tonnage bonus which is why they're also the most dangerous wagon drivers on the road.

htrj

How far from Stratford upon Avon are you? PM me with your phone number if you'd be willing to travel. I might be able to help.