The acceleration of technology in recent years has been a significant factor in the development of new ways to track time and attendance. A huge benefit to many companies – big and small – these advances have resulted in easier, more convenient, and more accurate, ways of monitoring the hours worked by employees.What once was a minefield of paper documents and the trust of the word of your employees has now evolved into a process which is far  more streamlined and seamless.

A past life of files and files of documents has been substituted for an online cloud storage of a plethora of information that can be accessed anywhere, anytime, without taking up space in the office! Here at Addtime, we bring to you the future of time and attendance software tracking…

Biometrics

Biometrics were the natural progression from clock cards, that had been the go to time and attendance system since the 19^th century! As computerised technology dominated the 1990s, a link between biometrics and time and attendance was established. Finger print scanning, and later face scanning, became a viable option in most facilities as a result. This has proven to be a popular, easy way of identifying a person based off their unique physical attributes, rather than using a clock card that could in theory be used by anyone. This way both improves accuracy and security, surely a win-win right?

There are a variety of ways in which biometrics can be measured. This modern day technology for employee attendance includes…

Fingerprint scanning

Fingerprint clocking in systems are still the most common way of biometrically tracking time and attendance. This was the first of its kind to be introduced, which scans the employees’ unique fingerprint, so they can use a code that is created through an initial scan to identify this reading. It is important to note that the fingerprint itself isn’t stored on the system, but the code that is created when it is first read. This should put potential users at ease that their personal unique data is not being stored.

Facial recognition

It is argued that face recognition clocking in systems provide a more detailed reading, as they are able to map all of an individual’s facial features and store the data as a faceprint. These systems use algorithms to store the digital image, which can then be used to verify the individual’s identify when it comes to clocking in and out of a building.

The software goes into huge detail when identifying a face and uses up to 80 end points to do so. These include the length and width of the nose, the depth of the eye sockets and even the shape of the cheekbones!

Hand scanners

Biometric hand scanners, as the name suggests, is where an individual scans their full hand to obtain a unique identification, instead of just their fingerprint. This has proven to be popular in construction businesses, where fingers may be dirty or damp, thus obscuring the reading. More accurate identification produced by this method helps businesses when it comes to documenting this data to assist with time and attendance tracking.

Palm vein scanners

This contactless way of time and attendance tracking may become more popular for businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and beyond. Once the user raises their palm close to the camera, it is read to identify who they are. A palm vein scanner again uses their physical attributes as a way of identifying, but without any need to physically touch the hardware machine.

If you are looking for a quick and efficient way of clocking in and out of a building, one of these biometric stations should be top of your list!

Contact us

To learn more about any of the biometric methods of time and attendance that we have highlighted in this blog, be sure to visit their designated webpages. If you are interested in using one of these for your own facilities, or would like any further information, then contact the team at Addtime today and we can discuss our time and attendance software. You may also find our guide to time and attendance interesting.

You can get in touch by calling 01942 272061 or emailing us at sales@addtimerecording.co.uk. Our online enquiry form is also a great way of getting in touch, and we endeavour to reply as soon as we can!