The Benefits of GPS Time Tracking for Waste Hauling Businesses

January 31, 2024
4 min read

Many businesses in the waste hauling industry find themselves wasting time with inefficient processes and cumbersome systems. Fortunately, new waste management technologies are emerging to solve these challenges. To enhance efficiency and streamline operations, waste hauling businesses are turning to GPS time tracking systems.

GPS time tracking integrates the power of global positioning systems with precise timekeeping capabilities. It allows waste hauling companies to monitor their fleet in real-time, giving them insights into vehicle locations, routes taken, and time spent at each stop. This granular level of visibility empowers businesses to identify inefficiencies, optimize routes, and minimize idle time, ultimately driving down operational costs.

Additionally, time tracking with GPS enables accurate and reliable tracking of employee hours. This eliminates manual data entry errors and ensures compliance with labor regulations. By automating time-keeping processes, your waste hauling businesses can streamline payroll management, enhance workforce accountability, and allocate resources more effectively. 

Let’s take a look at the benefits of GPS time tracking systems in more detail below. 

5 Key Benefits of GPS Time Tracking in Waste Management 

Here are the main benefits of incorporating GPS time tracking in waste hauling operations:

1. Automated Timesheets

As a waste hauling business owner, embracing timesheet automation can simplify how you capture and manage the hours your crew works. GPS time tracking software enables you to automate timesheets and track time on various devices. It also lets you track time from multiple locations, revolutionizing the payroll process.

This technology seamlessly collates data, ensuring managers and finance teams receive timely, accurate information for efficient client billing and payroll compliance. 

Some of the top benefits of this automation include:

  • Reduced Administrative Tasks: Automated timesheets reduce the time and effort of managing entries by centralizing everything digitally. They set reminders automatically, alleviating the need for manual follow-ups.
  • Real-Time Visibility into Employee Hours: Automated timesheets show you how much time an employee spends on each task. This gives you an accurate picture of their performance and helps you identify areas where they’re overworked. On top of that, it lets you track project progress more efficiently, letting you make quick and accurate decisions in resource allocation.
  • Reduced Time Theft: GPS time tracking reduces time theft as it lets you know each employee’s location and how much time they spend in one location. Tracking individual performance with automated timesheets reduces time wastage and eliminates the possibility of employees entering false information. 

2. Improved Efficiency

For waste hauling companies, the efficiency of daily operations hinges on the number of pick-ups and drop-offs drivers can successfully carry out. GPS time tracking helps enhance waste hauling business efficiency by boosting operational transparency, accountability, and performance. Ultimately, this leads to cost savings and a more competitive position in the market.

With a GPS time tracking app, you can accurately monitor vehicle locations, routes, and time spent at each stop. Accurate time tracking lets you optimize routes, reduce idle time, and minimize fuel consumption. Additionally, precise time tracking facilitates accurate billing by providing verifiable records of service duration at each location. 

GPS time tracking also provides real-time data that enables better coordination between drivers and dispatchers. This improves communication and reduces downtime. Managers can analyze this data to identify route- and trip-related patterns and trends, enabling them to make informed decisions to streamline operations further.

3. Geofencing

An employee time-tracking app with GPS lets your business delineate geofences around collection points, landfills, or client locations. With this feature, employees can only clock in through the application when they physically enter the designated work area. This prevents premature time logging.

You can also set the app to notify users to clock out once they leave the geofence. This increases accountability, ensures drivers only log work hours when they are at a job site, and fosters precise labor tracking.

4. Better Scheduling

GPS time tracking provides accurate real-time data on vehicle locations and activity. With this information, you can optimize routes and assign tasks more efficiently. Here's how:

  • Real-Time Visibility: GPS tracking lets you monitor the exact location of each vehicle at any given time. You can then assess current progress and adjust schedules dynamically based on factors like traffic conditions or urgent customer requests.
  • Route Optimization: By analyzing historical GPS data, you can identify the most efficient waste collection and disposal routes. Scheduling the most optimal route minimizes travel time and reduces fuel costs.
  • Task Assignment: With GPS time tracking, you can assign tasks to the nearest available vehicle, ensuring optimal utilization of resources. You can also schedule pickups and deliveries more accurately, reducing customer wait times and improving overall service quality.
  • Improved Communication: GPS time tracking systems let you send instant updates, instructions, or route changes directly to drivers' devices. This ensures everyone stays informed and on the same page.
  • Data Analysis: By collecting and analyzing GPS data over time, your business can identify trends and patterns in vehicle activity. This analysis helps in making data-driven decisions to optimize scheduling further.

5. Mileage Tracking

Accurate mileage tracking is imperative for waste management businesses with extensive fleet operations. It ensures that the drivers do not report excessive travel, thereby preventing unwarranted reimbursement expenses.

GPS time tracking apps enable you to keep precise records, aiding in internal cost management. These records are also necessary for adherence to tax regulations and maintenance of financial records for deductions and audits.

Once the employee clocks in, the GPS tracker begins recording miles as they progress from one job site to another. This makes it easy to verify the accuracy of the reported mileage.

Final Thoughts

GPS time tracking systems are invaluable for optimizing waste management operations. They empower waste businesses to operate more efficiently by automating timesheets, enhancing scheduling, and enabling geofencing and mileage tracking.

The integration of GPS time tracking also ensures regulatory compliance and data-driven strategies. This refines operations and fosters growth, ultimately propelling your waste management business toward a more sustainable and customer-centric future.

If you're in need of an excellent software solution to help you manage employees, check out Basestation. Our cloud-based software will help you with everything from asset tracking and managing drivers to route optimization and customer billing. Book a demo today!

WRITTEN BY
ALEX TUSHINSKI