The system will track inspectors on their rounds using GPS systems in their department-issued mobile phones. Inspection unit heads will be able to track the inspectors movements in real time on the web. The first inspectors began using the system on Monday; by the end of the September all 379 of the department’s inspectors will be using the system.
Buildings commissioner Robert LiMandri said, “This new GPS-tracking system is a simple, innovative way to ensure inspectors reach their assigned locations and are held accountable for their important work. With this technology, our inspectors can respond to a building-related emergency faster than ever before, and we can provide them with a greater measure of safety when they are working in the field.”
In other US cities, the use of such systems has met with resistance from public employees. Joseph Corso, president of the IUOE local representing inspectors, told the Associated Press, “It seems no matter how hard these guys try, management won’t let them move past the transgressions of the past.”
