Keep your workers safe with tracking and Fall Detection technology.
Most employers have control over their business to keep things running smoothly. This is especially true for monitoring their assets such as vehicles and expensive machinery. However, some employers want to employee work location tracking. This is mainly to keep employees safe. So, for example, if any employee goes outside a geofenced area, the alarm raises.
Typically, employers monitor their employees while at work to ensure their maximum productivity and efficiency. Some advantages of employee tracking include:
- Reduced expenditure on vehicle fuel.
- Knowing employee attendance to ensure pay for the hours they work.
- Improved customer service.
- More efficient business operations.
- Greater control over your business assets.
- Keeping up on any company policy violations.
- Keeping employees and assets safe.
- Allowing for easy retrieval of vehicles if they get stolen.
A company has the right to track its own assets such as vehicles, machinery, laptops, and company phones. But very rarely can a company demand employee work location tracking — unless their job entails it for safety reasons.
What types of employee tracking is available?
There are two main ways employers can successfully monitor their employees while on company time. Firstly, through tracking applications downloaded to a device like a phone, laptop, tablet, or GPS smartwatch. Secondly, by physically tracking their work vehicle to see their routes in real-time.
Let’s look at these closer.
Tracking Apps
Various tracking apps are intended for employers to maintain their workforce. Monitoring employee whereabouts based on their GPS location to how much time they spend there.
How employees spend their time keeps an employer aware of productivity. Four of the most popular apps that integrate GPS tracking and timesheet data include Hubstaff, eBillity, OnTheClock, and Timely.
Downloaded these apps onto laptops, computers, phones, or GPS-enabled smartwatches. They help you ensure that every employee is where they should be, and they’re getting paid for their hours worked. This type of tracking is certainly great for companies whose staff is out in “the field” across multiple locations.
Vehicle Trackers
For businesses with a fleet of vehicles, there is a range of physical trackers to wire into vehicles. They will broadcast in real-time the vehicle’s location and speed.
Vehicle trackers are particularly useful when combined with GPS software. Rather than wasting time and fuel blindly driving around, they give drivers directions based on their location.
Numerous top tracking companies offer combined hardware and software to ensure vehicles are where they need to be and for quick retrieval should a vehicle get stolen.
Our top five vehicle trackers would be:
Most of these are simple plug-and-play devices to add to any vehicle. Their website login will allow you to track your team in real-time and use the data for maximum efficiency.
What is Fall Detection monitoring?
Fall Detection is another element of tracking employees’ health and well-being. It’s relatively new and relies on accelerometer sensors within a smartwatch. It’s particularly useful for workers who may be climbing ladders or operating a cherry-picker, like roofers and telephone line repairers.
Safety precautions are always necessary, but accidents can happen. And this is where fall detection monitoring comes in.
Here’s how it works. When Fall Detection is enabled, employees can call emergency service directly from their smartwatch if they suffer a hard fall. It can also alert someone specific, such as a call center operative at the monitoring base.
Many smartwatches, like the Apple Watch Series 4 or above and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 have this feature. Other specialized devices offer Fall Detection only, such as LifeFone, MobileHelp, and Medical Guardian.
Some of these are developed with seniors in mind. But their dual purpose allows employers to use them to ensure their workforce is safe while at work.
Are you a business owner that uses employee location tracking, or are you an employee that is tracked? We would love to hear your experience in the comments.
Follow us on social media to stay up to date with our latest articles
Last Updated on February 14, 2022
A top of the line copywriter with more than a decade of writing experience with many high-end and diverse multinational clients. Lots of experience and interest in writing about and implementing technology. Scott manages the creation of content for us as a freelancer service and even though he is based in the UK, his writers can adapt and cater to our audience which is mostly US based.
Currently living a rural life in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom and devoted to work. Owner of Anglo Content writing services.