iPhone Locating Question...

[Marky]

Hey all,

I'm working closely with my company on getting iPhones for all our engineers.

One thing they'd like to do is to be able to see where the engineers are - And I mentioned that instead of putting trackers into the vans (Which many engineers are unhappy with ), they could track the iPhones through the iCloud...

Am I right in saying...

They could setup on iCloud account for the whole company - get the engineers iPhones - setup each phone onto the same iCloud account - and be able to login to the iCloud and locate each phone (Without the engineers being notified) on the same account?

I just tried it on my iPhone, and it located fine, but I received an email each time from Apple saying that I should "Get set up and start enjoying iCloud today!". This is bad as each time you locate the phone, I get an email sent.

Any ideas on if this is possible or if there is a better solution?

Thanks,

Marky

 

[Doug]

An easier method might be to let them configure the phones as they like and just use Find my Friends to track everyone.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Tut tut tut not trusting enough are they?

 

[Marky]

An easier method might be to let them configure the phones as they like and just use Find my Friends to track everyone.

Ooo I never thought of that - but wouldn't that mean they would have to put the app on there - hence they would know they are being tracked

Tut tut tut not trusting enough are they?

Sadly no Try and find an honest engineer in this country! (Says the engineer )

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Sadly no Try and find an honest engineer in this country! (Says the engineer )

Very disappointing indeed. I have no solution as I don't think tracking is needed as long as the work is been done.

 

[Marky]

Very disappointing indeed. I have no solution as I don't think tracking is needed as long as the work is been done.

Well to be honest it's not really about finding the sneaky engineers taking long breaks and what not - it's mainly for the service manager who can plan jobs around where the engineers are. For example, if we get a job come in from Epsom, we could see which engineer is nearest and plan accordingly. But most engineers I've spoken to hate the idea of a tracker - some have even threatened to walk if a tracker if placed :/

 

[Deleted member 77746]

Well to be honest it's not really about finding the sneaky engineers taking long breaks and what not - it's mainly for the service manager who can plan jobs around where the engineers are. For example, if we get a job come in from Epsom, we could see which engineer is nearest and plan accordingly. But most engineers I've spoken to hate the idea of a tracker - some have even threatened to walk if a tracker if placed :/

oh I see.

 

[Doug]

Ooo I never thought of that - but wouldn't that mean they would have to put the app on there - hence they would know they are being tracked

Not planning on telling them? Hope your boss likes being sued

Sadly no Try and find an honest engineer in this country! (Says the engineer )

I know a few

Well to be honest it's not really about finding the sneaky engineers taking long breaks and what not

That's what they always say

But most engineers I've spoken to hate the idea of a tracker - some have even threatened to walk if a tracker if placed :/

I've heard some stories, to be honest: Managers are all "The trackers will not be used as a disciplinary tool... yada yada." Then the next thing you know it's "why were you at such-and-such a place at such-and-such a time?"

it's mainly for the service manager who can plan jobs around where the engineers are. For example, if we get a job come in from Epsom, we could see which engineer is nearest and plan accordingly.

If that's the real honest-to-goodness motivation behind the idea, explain that to them.
And remind them of all the overtime they'll be missing out on if they turn the tracking off

 

[Marky]

Not planning on telling them? Hope your boss likes being sued

I know a few

That's what they always say

I've heard some stories, to be honest: Managers are all "The trackers will not be used as a disciplinary tool... yada yada." Then the next thing you know it's "why were you at such-and-such a place at such-and-such a time?"

If that's the real honest-to-goodness motivation behind the idea, explain that to them.
And remind them of all the overtime they'll be missing out on if they turn the tracking off

From what you've said, it sounds like you're an engineer that wouldn't like to be tracked

Why could he be sued for not telling them they are being tracked? Surely every iPhone is track able anyway never mind what situation it is - If what you're saying is right, then if we get the engineers iPhones we could be sued? :/

It is ultimately down to making better decisions on what jobs to give what engineers - But if you tell them that they won't believe you

 

[Doug]

Only the police are allowed to track people without their knowledge

You couldn't fit trackers to the vans without letting them know that it's being done, and the same goes for the phones. The fact that the phone can be tracked (even with Apple touting it as a feature) has to be spelled out, to comply with law (not a lawyer but had a few conversations along this line)


I'm with you on the making things easier for the Contract Managers, the less time they're spending messing around their engineers the better


So long as everything's spelled out I don't really see why there's such an issue about it. So long as the powers-that-be aren't abusing it, I'm all for it


Anyway, given it a little thought and came up with some pro's and cons:

One iCloud account for all engineer's iPhones:

Pros:
Contract Manager can see all device locations under one login to iCloud.com
Shared Contacts - all engineer's info, client info, suppliers, office numbers, etc
Shared Calendar - push out info on team meetings etc
Reminders, Notes etc (the code for the staff room has changed, etc)
Photo Stream to share pics on best practices or other useful things

Cons:
One numpty deletes a contact and it's gone for everyone (what happened to Bob's number?)
Some one adds a personal number and it's on everyone's phone (Who's this "Bob" guy?)
Ditto Calendar entries (no one turns up for friday's team meeting 'cos no one has it in their calendar)
Ditto all of the above, and it's a chore to get things back.
Someone takes naughty pics of the mrs
Everyone can see where everyone else is

Tracking via Find My Friends:

Pros:
Can only be seen by who you want to be seen by (default add everyone to share with the contract manager)
Can treat the phones more personally without the chance of fouling up the shared contacts, calendar etc

Cons:
No access from icloud.com
No shared contacts, calendar etc


If all you're looking to do is track the phones, Find My Friends seems cleaner.
If you want to try the sharing features of a single iCloud account, remember how easy it is to muck up

Either way this should be a fun little project to implement

 

[Marky]

Only the police are allowed to track people without their knowledge

You couldn't fit trackers to the vans without letting them know that it's being done, and the same goes for the phones. The fact that the phone can be tracked (even with Apple touting it as a feature) has to be spelled out, to comply with law (not a lawyer but had a few conversations along this line)


I'm with you on the making things easier for the Contract Managers, the less time they're spending messing around their engineers the better


So long as everything's spelled out I don't really see why there's such an issue about it. So long as the powers-that-be aren't abusing it, I'm all for it


Anyway, given it a little thought and came up with some pro's and cons:

One iCloud account for all engineer's iPhones:

Pros:
Contract Manager can see all device locations under one login to iCloud.com
Shared Contacts - all engineer's info, client info, suppliers, office numbers, etc
Shared Calendar - push out info on team meetings etc
Reminders, Notes etc (the code for the staff room has changed, etc)
Photo Stream to share pics on best practices or other useful things

Cons:
One numpty deletes a contact and it's gone for everyone (what happened to Bob's number?)
Some one adds a personal number and it's on everyone's phone (Who's this "Bob" guy?)
Ditto Calendar entries (no one turns up for friday's team meeting 'cos no one has it in their calendar)
Ditto all of the above, and it's a chore to get things back.
Someone takes naughty pics of the mrs
Everyone can see where everyone else is

Tracking via Find My Friends:

Pros:
Can only be seen by who you want to be seen by (default add everyone to share with the contract manager)
Can treat the phones more personally without the chance of fouling up the shared contacts, calendar etc

Cons:
No access from icloud.com
No shared contacts, calendar etc


If all you're looking to do is track the phones, Find My Friends seems cleaner.
If you want to try the sharing features of a single iCloud account, remember how easy it is to muck up

Either way this should be a fun little project to implement

Wow thanks a lot for taking the time to produce a pros and cons of iCloud

I kind of wish you could lock features on certain phones. For example, it would be nice to let the Service Manager control the contacts list from the office, and not allow the engineers to remove contacts etc.

I haven't really looked into Find My Friends - So I'm going to have to experiment a bit I think...

Thanks again though - You've definitely brought up good points and food for thought

Cons:
Someone takes naughty pics of the mrs

Why is this under Cons?