Can I track my employees with their IPads?

[Valkyrie]

I am considering purchasing about 10 IPads for my company and issuing them to my sales force. I am considering the 3's with WiFi and cell. Is there a way I can tell where my sales people are? General location? If so, what App is involved?

Also if they create a form or fill one out does the IPad have a time stamp so I know when it was created?

One thing I do is require my people to survey certain locations and fill out a form. I want to make sure they are actually there and did not fill out several surveys while watching there favorite show in the evening.

Thanks in advance.

 

[followthesapper]

There is a thread here that may interest you

http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-gene...er-allowed-track-my-company-issued-ipad2.html

 

[KevinJS]

Get them to take a photograph of the site. Then download it to your PC, right-click and select properties. The time stamp, geographical location and a whole heap of other info will be right there.

If the picture does not have the info, it means it was downloaded from the net, not taken with the iPad.

 

[AQ_OC]

Get them to take a photograph of the site. Then download it to your PC, right-click and select properties. The time stamp, geographical location and a whole heap of other info will be right there.

If the picture does not have the info, it means it was downloaded from the net, not taken with the iPad.

Excellent idea, Kevin!

 

[Wolfpuppies3]

Yes, of course you can track any GPS enabled device. The app is a freebie. HOWEVER, please remember that the Supreme Court ruled this year that requires a judge signed court order. Geographical tracking is absolutely different than the government or private employer's right to review email sent across their networks.

 

[KevinJS]

Yes, of course you can track any GPS enabled device. The app is a freebie. HOWEVER, please remember that the Supreme Court ruled this year that requires a judge signed court order. Geographical tracking is absolutely different than the government or private employer's right to review email sent across their networks.

In view of this, it would perhaps be wise to require that your salesmen email a photograph of the site upon their arrival. Not only would you have a record of their time of arrival, it would help with your requirement to ensure their safety while working alone etc. Another emailed photograph on leaving would serve to tell you that they had left the site safely.

 

[crw1948]

Find Friends. Look up on apps

 

[dhewson777]

I am considering purchasing about 10 IPads for my company and issuing them to my sales force. I am considering the 3's with WiFi and cell. Is there a way I can tell where my sales people are? General location? If so, what App is involved?

Also if they create a form or fill one out does the IPad have a time stamp so I know when it was created?

One thing I do is require my people to survey certain locations and fill out a form. I want to make sure they are actually there and did not fill out several surveys while watching there favorite show in the evening.

Thanks in advance.

In light of your post, I would recommend not rushing into buying bulk iPads until you have covered your bases in regards to what you want your employees to use them for. Do some research on specific apps that can assist you in getting the desired result. Functionality is all based on the apps you give them as tools. With some research I am sure you will find reporting type programs which integrate location data and time stamps. Look in the App Store under business and get familiar with what is out there. Read the full descriptions and visit their web pages. Also read the reviews from actual users.

I have seen posts from people elsewhere where their employer has issued iPads with no real reason, benefit or with the right tools to do the job. You do not want to become one of those.

Good luck, I believe with the right apps and advice at the start, you can come up with a working productivity machine!

 

[Bosvaark]

FormConnect is a form design app, you can create your own forms with fields of choice, time and date stamp is one of them , with signature field, it also allows photo insertion.
I have created a sample form , if you want to download to see, it is very basic with the criteria you want.
Sample Form

 

[Bosvaark]

Another app that records a photo with Gps position imbedded , you can then use the photo field to insert the GPS photo, workflow s to arrive at site and record image with GPS picture , fill form in and get signed.
The app is called Theodolite
http://hrtapps.com/theodolitehd/

 

[Walt Cullop]

Yes, of course you can track any GPS enabled device. The app is a freebie. HOWEVER, please remember that the Supreme Court ruled this year that requires a judge signed court order. Geographical tracking is absolutely different than the government or private employer's right to review email sent across their networks.

The court required a government agency to get a warrant to track someone by attaching a gps to their vehicle without their knowledge. That decision has absolutely nothing to do with an employer-employee relationship. If the employee knows it is being used for that all is fine.

 

[dhewson777]

This needs to be stopped

Please, random comments do not add to the discussion, they distract.

 

[iDeviceGuru]

The best way to track an iPad is using the find my iPad/iPhone app, this will allow you to locate the iPad within a reasonable 50 metre radius, you can also send a message, so if you find your employee is at McDonald's when he's supposed to be working you can send the iPad a direct message that rings rather loudly with this you will have to set up an iCloud account which you can install on the 10 iPads, so if you need to send out an email to all of your employees then you only need to send it once and don't need to worry about mail merge, the only thing you can't do is, keep track of what they're doing on the iPad, I'm not aware of any apps(although I am extremely interested) that would allow you to do this. Hope this helps.

The iDevice Guru

 

[Laurie_]

My youngest 20 and her boy friend are in Washington DC for the 4th and because they know what a worryier I am they turn Find my Friends app for me on their phones.
It works pretty well, but not perfect. I get a general location of where they are, but I can't tell if they are in the Capital building or standing half a block away from it.
Don't know if it's because of the distance about 200 mile a way from me.
I'm thinking that app is at it's best if the parties are with in 20 or so miles. Considering the idea of it is to be able to meet up with friends.

 

[hpulmer]

My youngest 20 and her boy friend are in Washington DC for the 4th and because they know what a worryier I am they turn Find my Friends app for me on their phones.
It works pretty well, but not perfect. I get a general location of where they are, but I can't tell if they are in the Capital building or standing half a block away from it.
Don't know if it's because of the distance about 200 mile a way from me.
I'm thinking that app is at it's best if the parties are with in 20 or so miles. Considering the idea of it is to be able to meet up with friends.

Hi Laurie,
Accuracy does not depend on distance, it takes some time to acquaint the exact location. So when you just start Find my Friends and look for a friend of yours just wait a couple of (in my case one) minutes and a better position will be shown (in my case: looking for a friend having an iPhone 4).

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