Clocking in Machine?

[russy01]

Evening Chaps,

Considering a clocking in machine. As we are expanding we have more and more part time workers joining the fold, to this point we have let employees keep records of their own hours and we have always been happy with the system as we have a very close/loyal team.

However with the addition of more part time workers (warehouse stuff) I am starting to see some very "optimistic" hours, bad maths and general taking the piss. So looking to take the guess work out of it and put technology in place.

I have to say I am sad to do so, as I like to run on trust. But after doing the maths, 30mins here and there on several members of staff soon adds up.

Looked on eBay and all that comes up is these cheap digital jobs - dont really like the look of them.

Any suggestions from you lot?

Thanks.

[kev b]

Probably best to have CCTV installed at the same time to stop people clocking their mates in.

[Jonnas]

You can get clocking machines that work on fingerprint recognition now to stop that. Don't forget that it also helps when evacuating the building during an emergency to know exactly who is there.

There are lots of systems on the marketplace from simple ones to full blown T&A software systems. Someone like this can prob help you.....

http://www.computimedirect.co.uk/

[mph1977]

Jonnas said:

You can get clocking machines that work on fingerprint recognition now to stop that. Don't forget that it also helps when evacuating the building during an emergency to know exactly who is there.

There are lots of systems on the marketplace from simple ones to full blown T&A software systems. Someone like this can prob help you.....

http://www.computimedirect.co.uk/

the biometric ones do make clocking in fraud rather harder than traditional systems , the main problem with them is either

1. some work places struggle with fingerprints becasue of the work people do meaning their finger prints become indistinct or corrpupted if they don;t use gloves / barrier cream etc

2. conspiraloons who think it;s all related to some tinfoil hatter ste

[DSLiverpool]

Rather than cause possible conflict simply put a CCTV monitor near the door showing the camera on same door with time and date visibly enabled.

Only the stupid won't catch on

[CoolHands]

mechanical ones work well for manual jobs like warehouse. This one looks good and is cheap to try. Decent make:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-QR475-Calculating-...

[Mojooo]

When I worked at Tesco we had cards that you swiped through and the managers get a report on the computer.

One thing I did find with this was that if you started work 10-15 mins early you got nothign but if you left 5 mins early you were likely to get picked up.

If your jobs are not time critical then worth bearing this in mind.

[mph1977]

CoolHands said:

mechanical ones work well for manual jobs like warehouse. This one looks good and is cheap to try. Decent make:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-QR475-Calculating-...

however given the OP reports there are significant issues with inaccuracy and fraud on a timesheet based system a none biometric time clock offers as many problems as it solves.

[russy01]

Mojooo said:

When I worked at Tesco we had cards that you swiped through and the managers get a report on the computer.

One thing I did find with this was that if you started work 10-15 mins early you got nothign but if you left 5 mins early you were likely to get picked up.

If your jobs are not time critical then worth bearing this in mind.

This is what annoys me. We pay well above the average wage, very easy going place to work, provide food and snacks during long shifts, very flexible hours through our quiet periods, bonus scheme.
Then we get the odd member of staff push the limits with starting times etc - so quite frankly I'm not that fussed about the odd 10 mins here and there, they had their chance.
However I will ensure the staff who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded.

Need to do some reading up on these machines, the biometric one sounds ideal, but don't like that it's <£100!! Sounds far to good to be true!

[Cyberprog]

Paxton's Net2 Door Control stuff can do Clock In/Out - and then scales nicely to secure areas of your building in the future also.

[mph1977]

russy01 said:

Mojooo said:

When I worked at Tesco we had cards that you swiped through and the managers get a report on the computer.

One thing I did find with this was that if you started work 10-15 mins early you got nothign but if you left 5 mins early you were likely to get picked up.

If your jobs are not time critical then worth bearing this in mind.

This is what annoys me. We pay well above the average wage, very easy going place to work, provide food and snacks during long shifts, very flexible hours through our quiet periods, bonus scheme.
Then we get the odd member of staff push the limits with starting times etc - so quite frankly I'm not that fussed about the odd 10 mins here and there, they had their chance.
However I will ensure the staff who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded.

Need to do some reading up on these machines, the biometric one sounds ideal, but don't like that it's <£100!! Sounds far to good to be true!

the guts of the biometric machines are a cheap and relatively low-end Android tablet in many cases , the fingerprint scanners are well establsihed technology and a not especially rare ...

[anothernameitist]

Russ,
You should have an email.
Thanks

[Dunclane]

Sorry to hijack this thread but our company is in manufacturing, we use manual clocking in and out for each day but is there a system where they can log the time spent on each job that they do so we can gauge productivity?

[sparkyb999]

Cyberprog said:

Paxton's Net2 Door Control stuff can do Clock In/Out - and then scales nicely to secure areas of your building in the future also.

We have just installed this system for door entry only. Its great for time recording as well. Although we also have an expensive clocking system from Kronos as well. As if two people come to the door at the same time, they would let each other in.

[mph1977]

Dunclane said:

Sorry to hijack this thread but our company is in manufacturing, we use manual clocking in and out for each day but is there a system where they can log the time spent on each job that they do so we can gauge productivity?

In these scenarios you have to balalnce the time spent on doing this ( up to one hour per person per day, plus up to a full day a week to adminsiter it ) against the costs of doing it - unless it's necessary becasue you are billing the customer on a per person per hour basis.

abandoning such a system reportedly saved a medium sized logistics business a six figure sum Per annum - they now only worry about individual times for additional works orders - primarily becasue the additional works orders are billed per person- hour rather than o nthe basis of volumes recieved - time it's stored - how it's picked and packed

[sparkyb999]

Dunclane said:

Sorry to hijack this thread but our company is in manufacturing, we use manual clocking in and out for each day but is there a system where they can log the time spent on each job that they do so we can gauge productivity?

The cheapest way to do it, is get each operator to write the time they start the job on the job card. If the part goes for 1st off inspection check, get the inspector to write the time he passes it, and then when the operator finishes the job he writes the finish time down on the card.

From this you can then work out how long the job took to set, and then you can work out how long each component took to make. With this info you can the create a spread sheet to calculate the hourly rate giving you the info you need to use for analysis for quoting accuracy and employee performance. Simples!

[Dunclane]

Purity14 said:

Dunclane said:

Sorry to hijack this thread but our company is in manufacturing, we use manual clocking in and out for each day but is there a system where they can log the time spent on each job that they do so we can gauge productivity?

You have three options.

1. A TP20 / TP2000 Job Stamp Timer.
How it works: You write the persons name at the top of the card, You then write the jobs down the list on the left, and the individual stamps when he is starting or stopping the said job.
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Ongoing card costs unless you create your own. Hassle if wanting to know "How much time was spent doing x this week" You would need to go through all the employee cards and add it up.


2. Time & Attendance Software with Job/Department costing.
How it works: Enter the jobs into the system, and print the job barcodes out and stick them on the wall. Each employee will clock in at the machine, and then scan the job they are starting on. Returning to the device to switch/swap/stop/start jobs.
Pros: Good reporting, instant cost analysis.
eg. You can run a report to see who worked on job X between Ydate and Zdate , and how many hours were worked, and what did it cost.
Cons: About £2000

3. Bespoke System
How it works: However you want it to work.
Pros: It works perfectly, its tailored to you.
Cons: It costs minimum £7000+

There is a lot more do it; but it depends on how much you want to spend, and what you want out of the system.

Thanks for this, to be honest I work for the sister company and only have a passing interest. I know they always moan about jobs taking a lot longer than they should do. I'll pass this on and let them digest.

[Cyberprog]

sparkyb999 said:

We have just installed this system for door entry only. Its great for time recording as well. Although we also have an expensive clocking system from Kronos as well. As if two people come to the door at the same time, they would let each other in.

Yes, this is a problem, but when you don't get paid you soon learn to tag the reader regardless of if it's open! You can also install another ACU on a wall somewhere with a pair of readers one for Clock-In, and one for Clock-Out. Set them as such in the software and then you can view time/attendance via the app.

Net2 can also use a fingerprint reader as a reader, and a pair would do the above task also.

[bazza white]

We currently use a kronos fingerprint system on the shop floor.

Sign in sheets on the shop floor may be a short term solution.

[thepeoplespal]

A cousin runs http://www.northtimeanddata.co.uk/product-category... in Norn Iron, so probably not suitable for them to do anything directly for you, but there is enough info on there to help on possible solutions and names of equipment suitable for you.

A lot will depend on what you want to get out of it for you, but most time & attendance is going to cost, one way or the other, be that in your time or your money. If you are planning on expansion, it might be worth exploring more sophisticated systems, that will tie in with payroll, absence & holidays, especially with mandatory calculations of holiday pay for casuals & part timers , or moves towards, different shift systems or annualised hours contract systems etc.