Time Clocks

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ITO

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Texas
Anyone here use a time clock for a job?

Specifically I am interested in a time clock for a larger project to be mounted in the job trailer, that I can connect to via a phone line to down load the time.

This is an experiment, I decided to try after I made the mistake of tracking some of my guys with the GPS on their Nextel. Don't do that, you don't want to know.
 
ITO said:
after I made the mistake of tracking some of my guys with the GPS on their Nextel. Don't do that, you don't want to know.
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might as well tell me "don't look now"

do tell....do tell....
 
I am working for a new company, we all will be GPS tracked and dispatched shortly.

With the old company we used time clocks in the gang boxes of large jobs. But they where just paper and required a 'second man' to collect and keep track of.
 
Bob,

can't believe you are going to agree to be tracked....now they are gonna wanna dock pay for unauthorized breaks:D
 
emahler said:
Bob,

can't believe you are going to agree to be tracked....now they are gonna wanna dock pay for unauthorized breaks:D
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I am one of the few in the company that has no issue with it.

There is 'my time' and there is 'company time' as long as I am on their clock, driving their truck, using their phone, representing them I think they have every right in the world to know where I am. :)

Also for all those times I am home early they can also see how early I start. :cool:
 
At my company all of our trucks have gps. They claim they use it for maintenance on the vans like oil changes etc.. They also look to see who is leaving early or using the truck on personal time. Makes sense to me I would do the same if I were an owner. It sure did help when one of our trucks was stolen from a guy’s driveway five minutes before he was leaving. They were able to tell the police in real time where the truck was and assist in catching the thieves.
 
I think it's hard to put as much trust in employees as we do on one hand, then put GPS in the truck. Sorta contradictory. Production, number of calls per day, and average ticket per man hour are simple enough metrics to track to see who's historicly goofing off. I would support an employer's right to install GPS, but it's just not something I see myself doing purposely. I know the better dispatching systems now come with that as a standard feature (and, indeed, a necessary feature to the way the dispatch system works), which is how I might end up with it one day whether I want it or not. No big deal, in that case.
 
brian john said:
MY partner wanted GPS's I fought the idea and so far have won.
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I agree, GPS to secure truck, not the employee, we hire what we preceive as men with special skills, one of which should be their ability to manage their time, IMO, treating them as production labor, is counter productive.
 
mdshunk said:
I think it's hard to put as much trust in employees as we do on one hand, then put GPS in the truck. Sorta contradictory....
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The truth would probably give you heart burn.

So why is it so hard to get info about the jobclock without filling out an application?
 
ITO said:
So why is it so hard to get info about the jobclock without filling out an application?
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Beats me. It costs about 1400 bucks to get a basic set up. It's a pretty decent system. You could do the same thing by building a little shack over a regular time card type time clock that you can buy out of the Grainger catalog, but you won't be able to poll it over the phone line. You'd have to collect the cards by some means.
 
I had one job that I had to carry a work pager. I didn?t know why they wanted me to carry a pager when I always had 2 cell phones with me at all times.

After about a moth of the pager I found out it had the GPS in it to track where I was 24/7. I complained and ended up leavening the job because of this. My time is my time when I?m on the clock it?s there time. They always had a way to contact me with my cell phones. I will never work somewhere that I have to care a GPS on me unless it is in working hours.

As far as one in a company vehicle like I have now I don?t mind it at all. I only use it for work and a few trips to the store or something. I love that when I?m traveling out of town they don?t have to call me to find out where I?m at, they just get on the net and they can see. The best part of the car is I the on star.
 
Okay, so I'm interested in getting a simple GPS system for our two vans. I understand there are two basic types; real-time internet tracking and build-in memory that you download at the end of the day or week. Cost is an issue. Suggestions, please.
 
I bought a cheaper analog system to track me. I have lost weeks because of not writing my time down. Every 15 minutes it would log where I was and I could retrieve it at my convenience via internet. I drive alot and can make mutiple stops on the same route several times in the same day. Didn't help. Just more paper work to sort through. The websight was to slow etc. On the plus side, I can use it to start/stop equipment via cell phone any where analog service is available.

Get one you can try for a month before you buy.
 
1. It's not your vehicle, so you don't have any legal way of installing one.
2. He's the boss. Maybe he spent 2 hours at lunch somewhere talking with a builder about a $XX-million contract that will keep you employed for the next two years. Besides, he's probably salaried anyway, so hours don't count.
 
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