Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Dec 26, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Dec 26, 2005 |
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Info-Tech
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Outsourcing Logistics - Roadways EI Labs device to track BPO vehicles Preethi J.
Bangalore , Dec. 25 SECURITY for BPO employees has attained top priority in the city. Bangalore-based EI Labs has developed an indigenous solution to their woes. The solution comprises a GPS device, combined with a Geographical Information System (maps) and an employee database. Global Positioning System (GPS) uses satellites to track a vehicle's location co-ordinates (longitude and latitude). Software such as Google Earth can be used to zero down on the vehicle, once a GPS unit is installed. "GPS has been used to track consignments and trucks across the country for years now," said Mr Krishnamurthy Vaidyanathan, CEO, EI Labs India. The company makes the TransitData family of GPS devices, which is in use by Toyota Kirloskar and Patel Roadways. The latest version, TransitData007, combines the strength of GPS and a mobile. It is supplemented with a real-time connection to a central server. Every 4-5 minutes, TD007 uploads the location as well as the time data to the server, where it is recorded. It also reports on the distance run per day. Since it runs independent of the odometer, it is tamper-proof. TD007 integrates with the company's internal employee database (employee numbers, contacts and addresses). TD007's roster update module contains employee pick-up and drop timings, along with estimated distances. Shift timings can also be included in the workflow. "Currently, in most BPOs, all the rosters, schedules and details of cabs and employees to be picked up are arbitrarily written on paper and discarded. This solution eliminates paperwork," said Mr Vaidyanathan. With the EDB-GIS software, the fleet manager can refer the city map online and assign a cab for those employees residing nearby. The company has mapped Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin and Delhi cities in detail. Next on the list is Hyderabad. "We hope to cover the entire south India by the third quarter of 2006," said Ms Nalini Ramachandran, Director, EI Labs India. Detailed minute-by-minute reports of the cab and alerts, when the cab takes a deviation or misses a pick-up, can be viewed online over the Trackit Portal. This portal also simplifies the billing process, as exact information on the distance is available. With the intranet application, the finance executive can approve and settle the bill online. Another unique feature of the TD007 is that when the employee enters the cab, he/she needs to just punch in the employee number and their attendance is recorded immediately. This remote-attendance is updated into the employee database. EI Labs is two-years-old and employs 10 developers. The company is currently testing TD007 and will begin selling it in January. Mr Vaidyanathan declined to divulge the price of the TD007, but said the previous versions were priced from Rs 12,000 to Rs 16,000.
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