The City of Springfield, Ill., is planning to max out efficiency in its operations by installing GPS units in vehicles assigned to the power generation and transmission divisions of the city-owned utility company.

"With major storm events, this could perhaps help us dispatch crews more efficiently," said City Water Light and Power public information officer Amber Sabin.

The city and union hammered out a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which the city council discussed and approved at its Sept. 9, 2013 Committee of the Whole meeting. It included provisions such as an agreement that the information collected and available through the GPS units will not be "trolled" or used for disciplinary purposes unless a review has been prompted by a bonafide reason to suspect the employee of misconduct. The MOU will remain in effect until Sept. 30.

The Springfield Department of Public Works and Fire Department have already implemented GPS in their fleets. Sabin said the utility is planning to equip about 78 vehicles with GPS, but could not provide a time frame of when the installations would take place.