Time and attendance systems

time and attendance systems

Initially time and attendance systems were mechanical punch clocks. These were crude machines that printed or punched, dates and times on a card given to the employees. However, overtime the needs of the employers changed, and mechanical time clocks were replaced by electronic ones, that used magnetic stripe cards. After that came the proximity and swipe cards. However, a common problem with these machines was buddy punching. Buddy punching is every employer’s headache these days; it is when employees have their colleagues sign in or put in attendance on their behalf. These workers are then not penalized for being late, leaving early, having long lunch breaks etc. This costs both small and big businesses thousands of dollars. Nevertheless, developers have come up with the perfect solution- the biometric time and attendance systems.

Hence, employers now have the biometric time clocks installed along with their time and attendance software. These types of clocks use the person’s unique physical attributes for verification and recognition; the touch based biometric devices are the most user-friendly. Most commonly used are the fingerprint, hand and retina scanning clocks. The hand punching biometric time clocks uses scanner to verify the employees on the basis of each individuals hand’s size, shape etc. Biometric scanning devices are becoming very popular today and are largely favored by all business owners. Even though the installation cost might be too much, they have a number of advantages.

Most importantly, as I have mentioned before, they eradicate buddy punching, as no two individuals have the same hand print impressions. Moreover, the data saved by this type of time and attendance programs cannot be lost. Earlier, when time sheets were used, and a single piece of paper got lost, it was a major problem. Now, the data is stored electronically in the computer’s database, and chances of losing it are minimized. Also, a large number of data can be stored. Other than this, the biometric hand scanner uses a digital clock to record the employee’s timings, so there is no way to tamper with the data. The workers cannot argue that they were on time, and the records are flawed.

The biometric time and attendance programs reduce the administrative and overhead costs associated with time cards. These are also faster and make further processing easier. The time and attendance systems are programmed in such a way, that when the employee logs in and out, the information is sent directly to the main database. The software then automatically updates the employee information and calculates relevant figures like hours worked or the times they were late. The data will then help the management when over viewing the person’s profile or processing the payroll. The hand scanners and other biometric devices are most beneficial for the companies with several different locations, even remote ones, as these time tracking software can be installed anywhere.

 

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