NexTraq, a provider of GPS tracking devices and fleet management solutions, offers a mobile app to help landscape crews stay connected to the office.
NexTraq Connect allows crews to receive job instructions, clock in and out of jobs, log notes and more—all from a mobile phone or tablet. Generally speaking, the crew foreman would have this app on his mobile device, as opposed to every member of that crew.
Two basic features are offered as standard:
- Time & Attendance – time clock features, attendance reports, automatic alerts for things like late clock-ins or clock-outs, hour overages (i.e. overtime)
- Vehicle Information – associate drivers with vehicles, report vehicle problems or maintenance issues, update odometer readings, etc.
A third optional feature is offered, Dispatch Package. This allows crews to receive detailed job information, view jobs for the day and customer information either on a map or in list form, obtain turn-by-turn directions to jobsites, and update job status in real time. Because this app works in concert with mobile device's navigation system, jobs are also ordered in a way that creates the most efficient route for the day.
"Connect is a great way for crews to know what's going on, and also better communicate with the office," says Dan Valentine, NexTraq's director of marketing. "Crews will get to jobs faster and safer, which also helps to save fuel and labor."
