Post Box Scan GPS inaccurate?

[NP1975]

Today I was asked about why a scan of one of my post boxes occurred, according to the GPS, back at the D.O. I didn't have an answer for that as I have always scanned all my boxes correctly. I am aware of those who have taken photos of the barcode inside the boxes and scanned them later. They've been sacked. I've never done that. So I'm curious if anyone else has had, or heard of, the PDA not giving the correct GPS position, or losing connectivity, when away from the D.O., and giving a false record.

P.S. Thankfully both my manager and PHG know I'm reliable and honest and are dealing with the issue.

[Zicomurphy]

There was a thread in the Union Room forum where someone had the same thing happen to them

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=103828

[HTPostman]

Yes, a few weeks into my RM career I was asked why I’d scanned a parcel 2 miles off route on a street covered by another DO. Given at the time I wasn’t driving for RM and I don’t think me and my van partner took a drive and then surpressed all memories I couldn’t answer it. Incredibly strange and I’ve always been pessimistic about how accurate our PDAs are since then.

[SpacePhoenix]

How far away from the DO in a straight line is the box?

There's been a thread fairly recently about a similar issue

[NP1975]

Is there any other record available to prove I was at that box and scanned it other than the PDA saying I was back at the D.O.? For example, I thought the PDA records your exact location the whole time you're logged in. The van surely has a tracker that would prove I was parked next to the box after is collection time. I carry my phone with me and the Location Services is active although I'm not sure how to view my route and timeline. Would any of that help, just in case?

[WASD]

Time of scanning that can be matched to other scan times of the same box gives a fair indication of routine, might be worth looking at?

GPS is not reliable if we're talking about someone's job. A place a used work at recorded one chap doing 120mph on a busy A road in a Bipper. Physically not possible, we all had a laugh at that one.

I'm of the opinion if a proven reliable postie has supposedly made a mistake that only GPS positioning says so, then no further action is required. The Union should shut this kind of thing down straight off the bat, a tribunal would.

But a van tracker would say what you think, position and time. However it's based on the same technology, requires multiple satellites together in order to work as intended.

[ted_e_bear]

Surely they can look at the PDA actuals and see what route you took plus the timings, that would place you in the correct location, another thought I've had is when I look at the info on some of the photos I've taken on my phone it's shows a slightly incorrect location maybe 1/2 a mile away so perhaps sometimes just a "snapshot" can be inaccurate.

[Schiff]

Today I was asked about why a scan of one of my post boxes occurred, according to the GPS, back at the D.O. I didn't have an answer for that as I have always scanned all my boxes correctly. I am aware of those who have taken photos of the barcode inside the boxes and scanned them later. They've been sacked. I've never done that. So I'm curious if anyone else has had, or heard of, the PDA not giving the correct GPS position, or losing connectivity, when away from the D.O., and giving a false record.

P.S. Thankfully both my manager and PHG know I'm reliable and honest and are dealing with the issue.

The last sacking for this at our place managers didn't just rely on the GPS data. The data showed that it was happening regularly so they sent a manager from another office to observe the box and witness that the box wasn't actually being emptied when it was scanned as cleared.

Hopefully this is a simple query from your manager but make sure that your union rep is aware of the issue.

[POSTMAN]

Delivery Systems Intergration Manager

The GPS coordinates returned are those understood by the PDA at the time of the scan. There may be variability to these coordinates in terms of precise location since GPS accuracy can be impacted by a few external influences such as tall buildings or even the time of day.

Simply put, GPS position is calculated using a minimum of 3 satellites, the PDA requires line of sight to these in order to calculate position the more satellites the greater the potential accuracy of the location.

The PDA will calculate a position using the best data available to it.

[NP1975]

Thanks for all your replies.

As I said, my manager knows I'm very honest so she's not at all concerned that I've done anything wrong. I'm more just interested in why the PDA reported the box as being scanned when I was back the D.O. It's a mystery.
As it happens, a very similar incident occurred in our office only the week book. A colleague was asked why he had scanned two boxes, about 200 meters apart, at exactly the same time. He hadn't. But the PDA report said that they had been. We don't have individual PDAs, they're not marked, it's first come first served. Is it possible one of them is faulty, and we just happened to have the same one on two separate days? Who knows.

[TopperGas]

Is there any other record available to prove I was at that box and scanned it other than the PDA saying I was back at the D.O.? For example, I thought the PDA records your exact location the whole time you're logged in. The van surely has a tracker that would prove I was parked next to the box after is collection time. I carry my phone with me and the Location Services is active although I'm not sure how to view my route and timeline. Would any of that help, just in case?

If you've got an Android phone then go to Google maps > time line and you should get a detailed history of your journey.