COMPANY:
Rollins Orkin, Inc.
OPERATION:
Pest control, residential and commercial properties
Mike Gibney, director of claims and loss control
Problem:
Orkin, Inc., a wholly owned subsidy of Rollins Corp., is a very familiar name to U.S. consumers, who see “the Orkin Man” pest control commercials on television and Orkin trucks around and about every neighborhood (www.orkin.com). Founded in 1901, the company today has some 400 locations nationwide serving more than 1.7-million residential and commercial customers.
“About eight years ago, we had a big problem with loss control in our fleet,” recalls Mike Gibney, director of claims and loss control for the company. “We had about 6,500 vehicles out there and we needed a better way to monitor our workforce while they were on shift,” he explains.
“We had to find a way to reduce our liability claims, which had reached about 12,000 claims per year at an annual cost of approximately $35-million.”
Solution:
In 1996, the company began using GPS for vehicle tracking, and about four years ago they switched to Geotab, a provider of GPS-based vehicle tracking and related software solutions. By 2006, according to Gibney, claims had fallen to about 4,000 per year and related costs to about $20-million annually and the savings are ongoing, year after year.
“Today, GPS is integrated into almost everything we do,” he says. “Geotab virtually puts us in the vehicle with every Orkin service provider. In addition to vehicle location/time, it enables us to monitor speed, excessive idling, after-hours use of the vehicle and seat belt usage. Productivity improvements have been an even bigger benefit. When people know they are being watched, they are more productive; they stay on task. We probably can't get much better than we are today when it comes to productivity.
“We don't just use the system to spot problems,” Gibney continues, “we also use it to exonerate our people who are accused of doing things they did not do, such as theft of property from a residence or bogus bad ‘how's my driving’ complaints. The Geotab reports can document that an employee was not even in the area at the time of an alleged wrong doing.
“In the past, if a customer refused to pay the bill because ‘your guy didn't show up,’ it became a dispute,” he adds. “Now we can prove that our person was there and for exactly how long.
“One of the other areas where Geotab has been a truly great partner is in the area of data management and reporting,” Gibney notes. “We have 400 terminals and our fleet typically logs about 8-million miles per month. All of that data flows into our home office in Atlanta. Can you imagine how much that is? And we have four years' worth. Thanks to Geotab, we manage by exception now, which means we don't have to worry about the 98% of our people who are doing a great job day in and day out.”
For Orkin, GPS technology has been transforming, according to Gibney. “GPS is not an option anymore, it is a requirement,” he says. “If you don't have it, you'll just be left behind by your competitors. It is not the technology in and of itself that is so valuable, it is what it enables you to do that makes all the difference.”
