Category: Increase Productivity

Forms are vital documents for every business, government organization, and enterprise as they help the various businesses and organizations get details and information of clients and customers. For instance, Schools use forms to register their students and pupils, customer services use forms for inquiries, also hospitals and health centers use forms to get their patients information and health history.

 

As the world is gradually evolving to become a more digital and technological community, it is no surprise that the conventional way of creating paperwork and paper forms are becoming extinct because of the innovation of e forms or electronic forms.

 

Since it’s innovation, e forms have proven to be beneficial to both organizations and their users/clients. Below are some of the ways that e forms are beneficial.

 

 

1. More Access

 

 

Whether you are close by or on a trip far away, you will always have access to an e form. With a good internet connection, you can access your e form wherever you are in the world especially if it is a cloud base. In order words, paperless forms have provided a solution for remote access users or clients. That is to say, forms can be easily and digitally routed from one location to another without the conventional stress.

 

 

2. Saves Effort

 

 

 

Collecting forms using the conventional way only proves to be stressful and a waste of effort at times. Businesses and large organizations like hospitals that receive forms every day have to deal with many issues and errors on paper forms submitted by patients. If an organization chooses to use e forms, on the other hand, it helps eliminate the issue of deciphering a client/patients handwriting, errors and transcribed data. Hence, saving time, effort and labor.

 

 

3. Easy Control of Form Quality

 

Using e forms enables an organization to control the data they are collecting. This can be done by creating controls to make sure that customers and clients are submitting correct phone numbers and email addresses etc. E forms also help the organization to always be updated and to gather error-free information by integrating form fields with existing databases and classifying synchronized data by sending them automatically to their systems.

 

 

4. No Paper

 

 

The opportunity to use less paper or no paper is very beneficial to both the user and the organization. Paper forms can be quite expensive to produce and can easily create clutter which can be very disorganizing. A form or two is very likely to get lost in a pile of forms. In order words, paper forms are expensive and time-consuming.

 

Another downside of using paper forms is that users can easily make mistakes and errors while filling them and corrections cannot be made hence, making the form look disorganized and less presentable. Using e forms, on the other hand, the user will have the opportunity to correct their work, save their progress and start all over if not satisfied.

 

 

Summary

 

As we look for new ways to increase the quality and service of our businesses, it is essential to understand that Forms are very important to the growth of every organization and should be treated like that. If you haven’t started using electronic forms for your business and organizations by now, consider giving it a try with a few forms, and you will immediately see the benefits. E forms will provide a smooth administrative growth for your business and great services to your clients.

 

 

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One of our biggest client request is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, operation planners use worker efficiency reports to plan employee activity and to monitor time usage.

Worker Efficiency Reports

This week’s guide focuses on efficiency. Worker efficiency means producing the most output while minimizing resources. In particular, we’ll split worker efficiency reports into utilization reports, time card reports, and unauthorized usage reports.

Utilization Report

Firstly, we’ll take a look at utilization reports. Utilization reports focuses on vehicles rather than specific employees. In these reports, fleets study a vehicle’s usage rate and if that usage rate is efficient. Why is utilization important?

Utilization is important because businesses can get rid of excessive assets. For instance, most fleets do a “utilization audit” and discover underused vehicles. They can then decide to sell those vehicles, thus cutting down on business costs.

To illustrate, here’s an example of an utilization report. This report is neat because it breaks down fleet vehicles by distance travelled. An operation planner might look at the report and reflect that a lot of vehicles travel less than 100km; it might good time to cut down on fleet size!

Time Card Report

Another efficiency report are time card reports. Supervisors use time card reports to monitor their employees’ job productivity.

In fact, time card reports are probably the #1 need for new vehicle tracking adopters. From my experience, many business owners struggle with employees that start late, leave early, and take long breaks.

There are several reports that target inefficient employees. One of our favourites is the Late Arrival Report. To illustrate, Geotab had a contest for some of their employees to see who were early birds and who were late arrivers. In reality, however, Late Arriver Reports were effective in cutting down time fraud and improving customer satisfaction.

Unauthorized Usage

Similarly to time card reports, another useful efficiency report is unauthorized usage reports. Why? A lot of businesses let employees take work vehicles home. This increases the risk of unauthorized use.

For instance, one business owner noticed a company vehicle outside a bar. Rightfully so, the owner questioned if the employee was drinking and driving with the company vehicle. In another case, an employee used work vehicles for personal jobs.

What can employers do to cut down on unauthorized usage? One way is to track and monitor unauthorized use. In the above example, we can see that several employees broke unauthorized usage rules. This is valuable information because employers can use this as physical evidence against suspected rule breakers.

Enjoyed our blog on worker efficiency reports? Check back with us for our next report set – maintenance and fuel!

Fleet tracking is important, but let’s talk about fleet efficiency. Not only is fleet efficiency important for protecting the environment, but it’s also good for your business! (Who would have guessed). Let’s get started.

1. Fleet Aerodynamics

Poor aerodynamics on your fleet vehicles will cause more costs in fuel, especially when lots of kilometers are driven. This is due to the amount of drag that is created, essentially making your vehicles work harder to move forward, therefore using more gas. Just as if you were biking against hard winds while wearing a very puffy jacket. You will get tired much quicker and use more energy per kilometer. There are many options to consider for adding aerodynamics to your vehicles, without compromising the look! Take a look at this site for example. 

 

2. Regular Scheduled Oil Changes

Executing scheduled oil changes without delay will ensure internal engine parts are protected, saving you money on future repairs. Not only that, but did you know oil health also affects fuel usage? As oil breaks down, it loses its effectiveness to lubricate the internal parts of the engine, causing more friction and heat, which leads to loss of engine efficiency. Make sure oil changes are done on time, and your fleet’s engines will run more smoothly and more efficient.

 

3. Tire Pressure Maintenance

Picture yourself riding a bike with nearly flat tires. I bet you’re imagining how hard it is to pedal and how tired you are getting! Well, this principle applies to vehicles as well. Keeping your tires consistently pumped to the correct PSI level will let the vehicles drive along will much less resistance vs. having low tire pressure, and will save you a lot of fuel usage. Keep in mind, tire pressure decreases approximately 1 PSI per 10 degrees Fahrenheit the temperature drops and vice versa. Pump it up to save!

 

4. Get rid of the paper!

Another way to lower costs, and be more efficient, is to go digital. Some things, of course, need to be on paper, but the more you can convert to digital the more you will save. This will reduce printing costs, paper costs, and increase the speed of workflows within the office. This will also reduce clutter and reduce the need for extra storage, creating a clean and pleasant working environment.

 

5. Fleet Telematics

Last but not least, our sophisticated fleet telematics systems are a great way to be on top of maintenance schedules. It’s also a great way to catch a problem with a vehicle as early as possible, in order to prevent further significant damage that could have been avoided. Our fleet tracking system will prevent excessive idling, eliminate paperwork, improve driver safety (possibly saving you money in the future for insurance), promote fuel efficient driving habits, and streamline operations (less time and money wasted).

 

These are some of our tips, and if you have more, share the knowledge on our “5 Ways to Improve Fleet Efficiency” post on Facebook!

The One Who Slacks At Work

 

When was the last time you noticed a co-worker slacking off in the office?

 

Sleeping at work is an obvious give-away of a slacker. Other than dozing off, there are other creative and not-so-creative distractions. In fact, the top three productivity killers for office workers include:

All of these behaviours are observed while employees are supervised in the office. However, what if employees were not supervised and worked on a remote job site? These are four crazy stories that we compiled.

 

Story 1: The One Who Took Long Breaks

 

Several years ago, a handful of Toronto bus drivers made the news for the wrong reasons. Passengers increasingly complained of drivers who left for unauthorized breaks while driving.

In one incident, a passenger took a video of a bus driver who took an unscheduled doughnut shop break. For each night in the past few weeks (at 3 am!), the same driver left the bus while leaving the door open. The driver then visited the shop to buy beverages and returned several minutes later.

As a result of similar incidents, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) took action against the drivers. However, the damage was already done. To this day, some Torontonians brand the TTC as “Take The Car”.

 

Story 2: The One Who Horseplayed

 

What is the boundary for horseplaying at work? In industries where injuries are common, the boundaries should be narrow. Ron Parker, a leading Safety Professional, experienced incidents where unsupervised employees took advantage of their freedom.

Parker recounted a story where a carpentry crew played Cops & Robbers with live equipment. The crew shot nails at each other with their equipment. In the aftermath, several windows were broken and a young kid narrowly missed injury.

 

Story 3: The One Who Stole

 

In a remodeling business, a crew of 2-3 workers were sent to work sites. They recorded their working hours on a timesheet, which was then approved by the team’s supervisor.

The business owner noticed a suspicious trend. For several days, one particular crew reported working hours of 7 am – 4 pm. This was too perfect to be true. The owner started tracking this crew and found out that the team usually left around 2:30 pm but took credit for extra hours.

Both the workers and the supervisor were stealing steal time!

 

Story 4: The One Who Was Caught Red-Handed

 

A relatively productive landscaper started showing up to work late. When his kind-hearted manager asked for an explanation, the employee said that his personal vehicle broke down. The manager allowed the employee to use the company’s spare truck in the meantime, as long as the employee only used the truck to commute to and from work.

One evening, the manager left the office relatively late. The manager used the local gas station and noticed that the spare truck was parked. At this time of the day, the only open local venue was the bar. The manager coincidentally knew the owner of the bar.

Within the night, the manager found the employee drinking at the bar while wearing his company uniform.

 

And The One Who Wants to Solve this Problem

What is the best way to manage remote workers?

 

The Sure-Fire Method

The sure-fire method to manage remote workers is to personally supervise employees. Even the biggest slackers would not dare to slack off within eyesight of the potential terminator of their employment.

However, this is rarely feasible nor time-effective.

The Alternative

An alternative to personally supervising employees is to employ a superpower sidekick. Many managers use tracking devices in order to prevent similar productivity killers.

 

The Superpowers:

 

Location tracking & geofencing. This power allows managers to see exactly where vehicles are located. Furthermore, managers can set up zones and can receive notifications if the vehicles leave such zones. As a result, managers stopped slackers from leaving for unauthorized breaks.

Electronic timekeeping. This power allows managers to verify working hours with vehicle data to ensure workers are accurately compensated. With manual timestamps and manual approvals, there is an increased risk of time fraud.

Dispatching & route planning. This power allows managers to get direct updates on job progress and plan efficient routes. As a result, slackers cannot kill productivity with unplanned detours.

 

Sources:

Image by Freepik

Top 10 Office Distractions

TTC Employee Caught Slacking

Horseplay or Carelessness at Work

Workers Cheating on Time Cards [forum]