Geofencing Configuration

Overview

The Geofencing service tracks the movement of an equipment unit between the yard and the jobsite. It automatically determines when to modify the job status based on pre-defined rules configured in Company - My Company settings. The moment at which the job status is changed by Geofencing is referred to as GPS job status time. The user has the flexibility to disable some of the GPS job statuses if manual correction is needed.

Benefits

Geofencing brings efficiency and accuracy to equipment tracking by automating job status changes based on predefined rules, reducing manual efforts, and enhancing operational visibility. This not only optimizes resource utilization and saves time but also ensures compliance, accountability, and cost-effectiveness in operational management. The system's configuration flexibility allows tailored integration into specific operational needs.

Specifics

Enable/disable Geofencing

1. Go to Company - My Company.
2. In the Geofencing panel check/uncheck the settings for enabling Geofencing. 
3. Select whether to update the Job Ticket Times.
4. Configure the Alerts.
5. Customize the initial tracking conditions. 

Jobs statuses

• The Conditions for each job status can be customized. There is an option to enable/disable the tracking of the particular job status. This proves particularly beneficial for HVAC companies that might opt to deactivate Returning Conditions tracking. This flexibility accommodates situations where multiple trips to a disposal site are necessary while still on the clock, requiring manual status changes to "Returning" when operators leave the job to return to the yard.

Crew Central: Why are there missing GPS times for job status changes?

Issue

When opening Crew Central in Human Resources one or more jobs may not have a time value set in any one of the following GPS times: GPS Left Yard, GPS on Job, GPS Left Job and GPS Returned.

Resolution

GPS job status times are automatically set by the Geofencing service. The Geofencing service tracks the movement of an equipment unit and its proximity to or away from a job site or its yard.

For example, If the job status is manually changed to On Job by either an Operator or Dispatch prior to the time when Geofencing marks it in the system, the service stops the tracking of this status and DOES NOT enter time in the GPS on Job field. Consequently, it starts tracking the equipment unit based on the next chronological job status.

To check when and how the status is changed:

1. Double-click on the job in the Job ID column (in the Crew Center report).
2. In the Add/Edit Job Information window click on the Changes History button.
3. In the Job History window observe all the changes made by the system, the Operator or the Dispatcher.
   
   

In this example Geofencing has changed the status at 4:45 AM (pos.1). At 5:30 AM the Operator has manually changed the job status to "On Job" (pos.2) and the system has recorded the time of change to be at 5:32 AM.

Because of the manual status change by the operator, Geofencing will now assume that the equipment unit is now situated at the job site and immediately stop tracking its movement towards it. Therefore, it will not be able to record a GPS time for the exact moment when it had arrived at the job site.