Enterprises are increasingly implementing biometrics into their workforce management solutions for access control and to eliminate both intentional and error-driven time theft, which by industry estimates amount to 1.5% to 10% of gross payroll. Biometric readers offer the only effective means of dealing with buddy-punching, the practice of one worker clocking in or out for another.
We have been implementing biometric timeclock solutions for the past twelve years, working with construction companies, shipyards, and other enterprises. Our biometric solutions are fingerprint based, due to reliability and the ease and speed of use by employees. For any construction company interested in implementing biometrics for the work force, there are a number of questions that will need to be answered, such as:
- Do you need a fixed timeclock, a mobile solution or both with inter-operability?
- How many employees will be using each device and how will it be used?
- Do you need to be able to operate when there is no network connectivity?
- What functions besides basic clock in and clock out will you need to satisfy Payroll, Human Resources as well as job costing?
- Do you need the flexibility to modify the functionality over time as your requirements may change?
The answers to these questions may direct you from a limited function wall mounted timeclock to a completely programmable PC or tablet solution with fingerprint reading.
Responding to customer requests, the PowerTrack team has developed a range of biometric solutions including a web-based Touch PC kiosk solution for fixed job sites and a iPad solution for mobile workforces that also need the ability to work offline.
With our iPad biometric application, a supervisor can pass his/her iPad around to the crew and each can clock in to the job. No need to swipe a badge or enter an employee ID number – just have the worker touch a finger and he or she is instantly identified. For clock out, custom questions can be answered like “were you injured today?”
Since the introduction of these biometric solutions, our customers have been keeping us busy adding more features to them. We see an increased interest in biometrics along with a shift from the traditional limited function timeclocks to more flexible fuller screen solutions. With our experience, the PowerTrack team is well positioned to meet these needs.
