Top > Webmaster > 2006 > February > 2006-02-09

GPS Saves Both Time and Money

GPS, or Global Positioning System, is the best way to get to where you need to quickly. The device has actually helped save time and money for many businesses that require dispatching their employees to specific locations. From taxi drivers to support services, GPS has helped save endless hours on the road. Questar Exploration and Production predicts savings of $200,000 this year by more-efficiently dispatching contractors to its well-sites using GPS vehicle tracking systems being installed this month.

Dennis Paulson, Senior Operator, Questar E & P., said GPS vehicle tracking will save his company 10% or more on fees paid each year to contractors who remove waste water from Questar?s wells. The GPS tracking systems allow Paulson to see, on a computer screen, which contractor is closest to a company well and to send them instantly instead of first calling several contractors and determining who to send. This system helps Questar avoid paying a contractor to drive 20 miles to a particular well when another contractor is only 5 miles away, Paulson said.

The GPS systems also help with verifying service visits to each well, Paulson said. The system displays the exact time and date a GPS-equipped vehicle was at a particular well for the past 90 days, he said. This eliminates the old, paper-based verification system. Some contractors have been ?upset, a little nervous,? Paulson said. Any change causes stress, he said, but having a clearer picture of daily operations has allowed the contractors to schedule days off better. ?Installation has been a piece of cake,? Paulson said, ?even I can put them in.?