Sept/Oct 2003

Construction giant May Gurney is using the FleetOnline tracking system to keep track of its staff around the country. FleetOnline tracks individuals by monitoring the geographical location of their mobile phones. According to one of the first users, Sarah Chapman, who is operation manager of May Gurney Piling: "Accuracy is not quite pinpoint, but it is certainly good enough for us to tell whether someone is on site or travelling."

She says the company had considered putting GPS units on vans, but decided this would be expensive, and could cause problems when vehicles were out of use for servicing. She adds that the company hasn't had much objection to the use of the system from its staff. "We would only expect resistance to this from those who may incorrectly record their hours on their time sheets ­ such as those leaving site early."