WSC eyes GPS tracking solution to fleet abuse

WSC eyes GPS tracking solution to fleet abuse

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (WSC) executive chairman said yesterday the water utility expects to curb abuse of its fleet, improve operational efficiency and increase productivity through its ability to track its vehicles in operation.

The Corporation yesterday announced it has extended its existing arrangement with CompassCom, a US-based GPS tracking solution and mobile resource management  solution provider.

According to WSC executive chairman Adrian Gibson, the company currently provides  GPS tracking services on 48 of the corporation’s vehicles which will now be extended to an additional 75 vehicles.

The corporation has been paying $2,800 for the 48 vehicles currently equipped with CompassCom’s GPS tracking technology, he said.

Gibson said the ability to track the corporation’s vehicles in the field provides significant benefits for safety, efficiency and accountability.

He also noted that the move also allows the corporation to ensure that vehicles in its fleet are being used for their intended purpose.

Chairman of the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Adrian Gibson.

“It enables the corporation to enhance, command and control from its dispatch centre as well as from mobile supervisors in the field,” Gibson said.

“It uses local wireless networks to deliver the real time location of vehicles. The location data leverages the corporation’s  investment in our mapping and call center assistance and work order management system solutions. The interaction of these systems coupled with its wireless capabilities, mapping feature and related time data gives the corporation a world class solution to meet increasing demands throughout the islands where the corporation provides service.”

He continued: “We will extend original agreement with CompassCom to track an additional 75 vehicles. We will also agree to track the balance of vehicles we have and those vehicles would include heavy equipment, trucks etc. The aim is to cover or entire fleet. The ability to track the corporation’s vehicles in the field provides significant benefits of safety, efficiency and accountability.

“As you all know when you look at some of the red plates on the road there has been some abuse. (WSC) can also speak to some abuse of our feet. You would see vehicles, red plates in particular and others at beaches, parks pirate homes riding in the middle of the night.

Gibson said: “We don’t want that to happen with our vehicles. We want our vehicles to be used for the reasons for which they were bought. That preserves the vehicle and saves us cost with respect to fuel etc.”

Gibson noted in recent months an employee, who has since been fired, was found to be misusing the corporation’s time.

“In recent months we found an employee via GPS. This employee every month would collect a car and go home,” Gibson said.

“Late in the afternoon the employee would come back to work, falsifying documents. We fired this employee but the reality is that we were able to catch this employee because of GPS tracking. Embracing solutions that helps us to improve operational efficiencies, while providing safety to employees.

“We have received complaints about staff. Our investigations disproved that some of those complaints were untrue and so it also protects staff.”

Yesterday, Brant Howard, founder and CEO of CompassCom said: “It’s basically a dollar a day per vehicle. It’s a 20 per cent saving off the fleet cost just by installing the system. These systems typically pay for themselves.”