Workyard uses next-gen GPS and geofencing to give you the most accurate time cards and mileage reports of any employee tracking software in the construction industry.
Still, at times you may have time cards that are submitted with missing GPS data. This article outlines some of the reasons why your employees could be experiencing loss of GPS on their phone.
They've turned off location sharing
To create accurate time cards and mileage your employee's phone requires location sharing to be set to 'ALWAYS ALLOW.' If you're repeatedly noticing missing GPS information from an employee it may be because they didn't grant that permission to the Workyard app or they've entirely turned off location services on their phone.
Remind your employee to choose 'AWAYS ALLOW' for Workyard when they're prompt and to make sure location services is set to 'ON' under privacy settings.
We covered in detail Workyard's privacy policy and how we protect employee location information in this article.
They've physically closed the Workyard app
If your employee physically shuts down the Workyard app by sliding up on their screen the location tracking could be lost. We send them a notification on their phone to remind them to relaunch the Workyard app to accurately create their time card.
A manual time card was created
Workyard allows you or your employees to create manual time cards in the app. Manual time cards do not collect GPS information since Workyard only shares that information when an employee is physically clocked in on the app. If you want employee time cards to include location information remind them to create their time card by physically clocking in and out on the app each day.
Their physical location is affecting signals
GPS relies on signals from satellites thousands of miles away. Because those signals have to travel through space before reaching earth they can be sensitive to degradation.
Areas with tall buildings or trees, basements, lots of aluminum, or even days with heavy fog or extreme weather events can impact the GPS signal. Many of these events are temporary or location-based.
Their battery is low or on power saver mode
GPS requires a minimum amount of battery resources to effectively run on your phone. If the phone battery runs too low, gets switch to power saver mode, or if your employee is using a third-party battery saver app, your phone could lose GPS signal.
Make sure your employees plug their phone into their car charger while driving or on breaks. If they're using a battery saver app make sure that Workyard is not included as one of the apps to save battery.
The temperature of the phone is too high or too low
If your employees are working in extreme conditions (unlikely they're working from the top of Mt. Rainier or the basin of Death Valley) that can negatively impact the performance of GPS on their phone.
Remind them to keep their phone out of direct, hot sunlight. This can cause the phone to overheat. If working in extreme cold keeping the phone in an inner pocket closer to their body can help better control the temperature.
Their phone operating system or the Workyard app needs to be updated
Out of date phone software or an app that is several versions behind could cause an impact on the GPS performance on employee phones. Recommend that your employees update their phone software while plugged in at home and then update the Workyard app.
The phone cover is causing interference
Some heavy-duty phone covers meant to provide added protection can interfere with GPS on your employee phones. Have them run a test by removing the cover for a shift to see if that provides accurate GPS data on their time card.