Safety and service are two of the reasons JEA has pursued a GPS system for tracking its employees and equipment, and the installation of the equipment is nearly complete on the almost $2 million project.
Some JEA employees find themselves in perilous situations when they are in the field reading meters or disconnecting services, said Gerri Boyce, JEA media relations coordinator.
This was evident when a JEA employee was beaten when attempting to fulfill a work order to turn off power at a residence Feb. 11, 2009.
The GPS equipment allows JEA to provide help to employees who find themselves in dangerous situations as well as to monitor vehicles and equipment to ensure the utility is maximizing its assets.
“Tracking is the main function of the system. It helps us to provide a safe work environment for our employees as well as letting us know if we are getting the most efficient use of our fleet,” said Kent Brumfield, JEA director of fleet services.
JEA ordered 1,470 units and has installed 1,259, Boyce said.
Of the units installed, 270 are “trailer trackers” –– used for non-motorized equipment –– and 400 offer GPS with a panic button. A button is installed inside of the vehicle and can also be activated with a key fob remote.
Employees are issued a key fob that they use to identify themselves as the operator of a vehicle by touching the fob to a dime-size port in the dashboard. The contact must register or a loud beep will sound until the operator is registered with the vehicle.
The system can also track a variety of information about the vehicle, including its location, daily mileage, average and maximum speeds, and ignition-off time. It also provides alerts and reports noting the proximity of vehicles to other vehicles.
The GPS also is useful for tracking vehicles that are not being used to perform JEA functions, such as when vehicles are sent for repair or loaned for disaster relief in other areas.
“When we send crews to assist with problems in other areas, we can track the mileage and compare that to the reimbursement requests from the crews. We can track where it is if it is broken down, so we can get the equipment back. If it is being repaired, we can tell how far it has traveled and where it has been while at the repair shop,” said Brumfield.
JEA continues with the installation of GPS units and its managers are being trained how to operate the software to gather information and create reports.
“Right now we are figuring out what the system can do and we plan to come back together as a team to develop the protocols for the reports,” said Brumfield.
JEA started its Request for Proposals process in March 2011 for a contractor that could develop a GPS system for its 1,200 vehicles and 370 pieces of non-motorized equipment serving more than 360,000 customers in Jacksonville and parts of three other counties.
Through the RFP process, SageQuest, based in Solon, Ohio, was selected by JEA for the contract with a bid of $1,841,514.
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