The N Strongest Guidelines for Using Biometric Attendance System
Author: huifan Time: 2021-05-11
This article describes what guidelines are needed to implement an automated biometric attendance system in the workplace.
Implementing the attendance system can save you a lot of time for timetable and payroll processing.
Currently, automatic attendance solutions are in a leading position in facial recognition biometric technology.
However, before launching, some unique features need to be considered.
What is biometric time attendance software?
Before delving into employee time and attendance systems, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the term "biometrics".
Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of the unique physical and behavioral characteristics of an individual, and is usually used for identification and access control.
Organizations often use biometric time and attendance systems to track when employees go to work and when they leave work.
Some organizations also use biometric management software to control access to restricted areas of the business to achieve a certain degree of security.
For example, a licensed club may be interested in restricting access to its cash room. Biometric software is useful for allowing only certain employees to safely access the cash room.
Biometric information refers to data or measurement based on an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics. There are many types of characteristics that can be measured, but biometric information is most commonly used for identity verification purposes.
This is because everyone has a unique set of biological characteristics. Your facial features, fingerprints, or tone of voice are all unique and are inextricably linked to the individual. Therefore, these functions are extremely secure methods for verifying personal identity.
How does the biometric system work?
Now that we have introduced what biometric information is, it is time to delve into the working principles of biometric systems.
Biometric information like fingerprints has long been used as the only method of personal identification. However, digital technology has created new and complex methods to authenticate people using biometric systems.
From a functional point of view, all biometric systems require:
Input devices that actually exist on site. The device (usually a scanner or camera) can capture the biometric information that needs to be authenticated.
A software system that can convert the biometric information sent from the input device and verify it based on the necessary records. Image processing algorithms can accomplish this task very quickly and reliably.
The biometric information database is used for verification purposes. The database must be established before the biometric system can be operated. The biometric data of each person must be recorded first, and then uploaded and attached to the record in the database.
Biometric technology has been widely used to handle entry into high-security locations, such as airports that interact with biometric passports. Having said that, biometric data is not only about security. This also makes personal life more efficient. Most new smartphone models have built-in facial recognition technology, and now you can even use your fingerprints to open the car door – it's almost impossible to leave your hand at home like a key!
Compare different types of employee time and attendance solutions
Organizations can use different methods to implement biometric time tracking systems, including:
- Fingerprint Scanner
- Heart and brain signals
- Finger veins
- face recognition
- Fingerprint reader
The fingerprint reader is the original version of the biometric time and attendance system.
Since the 19th century, obtaining fingerprints has been used in law enforcement. Since the late 1990s, it has been used in commercial applications-especially for the use of fingerprint scanners to record time and attendance events.
Although the fingerprint is unique enough, there are some practical issues involved when using a fingerprint reader as an employee attendance system.
For example, they have to remove dust and grease.
Moreover, the accuracy required to obtain proper scan matching means that fingerprint scanning methods are prone to bottlenecks, such as requiring all employees to go to work at the same time.
Other emerging technologies
The emerging biometric clock system also explores the use of heart and brain signals and scanning finger veins for correct identification-all of which provide enough uniqueness to be a positive form of ID.
Unfortunately, these emerging technologies have limited applicability in business environments-they are expensive, intrusive, and can cause delays and personnel bottlenecks.
Face Recognition Time Attendance Software
The face attendance system leading this bunch of business employees is facial recognition.
It is a widely accepted technology in many business environments because it has the added benefit of relatively low cost.
It works as follows:
The employee time and attendance software reads the geometry of your face.
The key factors to consider include the distance between the eyes and the distance from the forehead to the chin.
Compare your facial data as a mathematical formula with a list of known photos (usually limited to your time and attendance system users) to identify matches.
Facial recognition has proven itself time and time again, even in rare cases such as identical twins, facial hair growth and other characteristic changes.
The benefits of face recognition to the attendance system
Facial recognition provides the best opportunity to implement employee clock system for recognition.
Compared with other biometric time attendance solutions, the advantages of facial recognition include:
- Fast recognition: The biometric time attendance system can match the facial capture with the existing digital data within a second.
- Reduce bottlenecks: Due to its speed and accuracy, the facial recognition clock system reduces the queues that use a single kiosk to time employees or customers at the same time.
- Reduce friction: Trigger the software by reading and matching captured facial photos or videos. In workplaces that may be full of dust and grease, little contact with the equipment means that its lifespan is longer than fingerprints and other systems.
- Cost-effective: Facial recognition biometric technology can run on existing commercial hardware. For example, we often implement automatic attendance solutions on the existing Apple iPad, which can be mounted on a wall bracket. Wall mounts usually include some security features, such as a lockable housing and a home button with a cover.
- Reduce the risk of fraud: With modern technology, the software provides the best opportunity to implement a biometric clock system that is difficult to deceive. With the automatic attendance system, people who enter and exit on time must stand in front of the equipment. Therefore, it eliminates fake selfies, fingerprint stamps or "borrowed" swipe/bondy cards.
- Scalability: Facial recognition systems are usually driven by kiosks and used on handheld devices. Therefore, having a stable Internet connection may mean that biometric data is automatically stored on a cloud server. The server can then interact with payroll software, attendance, access control or other systems. In addition, the workplace limit can exceed 50,000 users without delay.
- Contactless clock: Facial recognition time tracking system uses cameras and face detection algorithms to clock time-stamped events. Therefore, non-contact clock input is an option. This has hygienic benefits and reduces the spread of viral infections such as COVID-19 in fixed-location workplaces.
- 1. Eliminate friend interruption and time fraud
Attendance systems that use ID cards or personal identification codes can sometimes be easily deceived.
With these systems, colleagues can represent each other’s clocks and can even control the exact number of hours worked during shifts. In this regard, the biometric system is more secure because employees must personally check and check out their time before they can authenticate on the system.
- 2. Save the time usually spent on manual data entry
Another disadvantage of traditional attendance tracking methods is that human resources and payroll teams need to spend a lot of time processing all timestamp records, and check these records with employee records to ensure that the correct wages and benefits are paid.
On the other hand, the biometric attendance system automatically completes most of the work by synchronizing data in real time. Without performing tedious data entry tasks, your managers can focus their time on more valuable work.
- 3. Easily authorize employees distributed in various places
When a company has multiple sites or locations across the country that are constantly changing like a construction site, tracking attendance becomes more difficult. However, with the biometric data on hand, you can easily track employees in multiple locations and provide a way for local security personnel to guarantee the identity of newcomers.
The biometric clock also enables you to adjust the attendance process to comply with local state regulations related to personal data.
This means that the system can be rolled out nationwide, and the check-in process can be adjusted in specific states as needed.
- 4. Simplify shift handover
Shift work usually means peaks and troughs in the flow of people as the group of employees starts and finishes work. However, this can be resolved.
The biometric system can process employee data in a few seconds, helping to speed up the process and avoid lengthy queues. In fact, our fingerprint sensor can process employees in just one second.
- 5. Ensure the accuracy of records
The biometric clock helps you ensure the accuracy of records by eliminating the risk of fraud, human error and data islands. In addition, each department can access reliable data through attendance records shared in real-time within the company.
As you may already know, any labor law or visa type restricts the time an individual is legally allowed to work. In addition, social security benefits may change with the income of employees. With a biometric time attendance system, these records will always be up-to-date and accurate, helping you run your company seamlessly.
6. Protect workers from COVID-19 and improve health and safety
It is no secret that COVID-19 has a high transmission capacity. As a result, employers are looking for ways to reduce the risk of the virus spreading among workers in the field. Switching to a non-contact attendance system is an efficient way to eliminate a hot spot of infection from the workplace.
For example, our RA08T device uses facial recognition technology, which means you can benefit from using a germ-free way to process employee attendance records. If needed, you can also integrate Timerack's COVID-19 symptom screening platform to keep an eye on any potential signs of infection among employees.
Maximize employee adoption and privacy issues
Consumers are increasingly concerned about privacy-employees are no exception.
In the past, face recognition, as an employee's timing system, has been involved in social media scandals regarding privacy violations and user data.
As a result, you are likely to hesitate to agree to employees as an attendance solution.
However, when introducing this timing software into the workplace, there are some ways to alleviate privacy concerns:
Education: In most cases, education about safety can alleviate the worries of most employees. The leading biometric time attendance system is encrypted to the highest standard, namely TLS/SSL. This means that hackers can access the communication between the device and the cloud server for the highest security. Security can be further ensured by using two-factor authentication, but this is a decision of security and convenience.
Obtain the individual acceptance of the new biometric attendance policy: It is not enough, just introduce a new policy. For personal data, compulsory compliance is not allowed. It requires existing employees to individually accept and approve a new policy.
Updating the employment contract: The terms of your employment template should be updated to include standard paragraphs regarding the introduction of a biometric attendance system. Employees usually reduce their worries when they start work.
Establish an alternative clock system for employees who do not agree: Despite their best efforts, some employees will always choose not to use the new biometric attendance system for various reasons. Whether it's a contrarian personality, real safety concerns or fears caused by lack of understanding, you need alternative time and attendance solutions.
Adding the consent step to the time and attendance software: The biometric assessment and time and attendance system should include a consent screen to cover the record keeping required by employees using the facial recognition system.
Functional considerations
How to set up the attendance device is an important consideration. Users should consider:
- Targeting
- light
- background
- Targeting
Due to the different heights of different workers, it is recommended to install the kiosk about 150 cm (or 5 feet) above the ground. The wall mount selected should provide security features (such as a lockable housing) and non-core functions (such as a cover with an iPad home button that prevents operation).
light
Lighting is also a consideration. Indirect light produces the best performance when a face matching a given direct light will cause blur and distort the result. Look for the software itself to allow variable settings for ISO and shutter speed.
A fixed shutter speed will work well in a fixed installation position. In the case of using the iPad in different locations, a variable shutter speed would be better.
The ISO setting allows you to adjust the camera's lighting to suit fixed lighting conditions (usually indoors).
background
Consider the role of background in preventing fraudulent selfie matching. A simple background (for example, a white wall) is great for allowing the algorithm to understand the expected background. As a result, the foreign background may warn of a mismatch and become the reason for investigating time theft attempts.
Use biometric time and attendance tracking for payroll accounting
The employee clock management system works well in maintaining Australian salary compliance.
Some considerations for including facial recognition in the payroll system are:
How to use the "roster window" for rounding?
How often does the employee record synchronize?
Can the interface capture shift conditions?
Can shift parts be assigned to cost centers?
Can conditions be changed seamlessly during mid-shift?
Interact with the roster
Modern cloud-based payroll applications allow automatic sending of rosters and usually compare the start and end times of the rosters (expected) with the actual (based on facial recognition) start and end times.
The rest time of employees can be captured in the same way.
When deciding what to use, the timetable can be "rounded" to within the tolerance threshold of the roster.
For example, if an employee wants to go to work early, it can be at 8:47 am, but because they are within a 15-minute tolerance of the start time, their roster is rounded to 9 am. This means that fewer changes are required during the timetable approval phase.
Some time tracking and attendance management software, such as Microkeeper, can even go one step further and allow automatic approval of schedule matches within scheduled tolerances.
Sync employee data
The best employee time and attendance tracking system will include the ability to synchronize employee records on a fixed schedule.
Generally speaking, the true source of employee records is the payroll system. Pairing your facial recognition with a modern cloud payroll system will enable employees to self-maintain their own records, such as their mobile phone numbers and email addresses. This will produce the best results and means frictionless interaction with the clock software.
Management compliance
In Australia, many industries need to record shifts as part of the schedule to ensure compliance. Therefore, you need to consider whether your biometric clock system allows a simple interface to allow employees to interact with the pay conditions.
For example, a construction scene may need to capture:
How many staff members are supervised;
Disability related to shifts (artificial heating, cold work, dirty conditions);
If work needs to travel outside a certain radius of the workshop;
If the employee has certain responsibilities (e.g. emergency personnel)
The best time and attendance software will capture this level of detail to ensure that you meet the salary compliance requirements set forth in the Modern Rewards or Enterprise Agreement.
Pairing your time tracking software with a modern cloud-based payroll application will give you the added benefit of being able to maintain shift conditions through rule-based interpretation.
Cost center report
You can capture your cost center (or location, department, or job) at the same time as the clock event, regardless of whether the kiosk is associated with a cost center or a set of options captured when the clock event occurs.
The generated schedule is then recorded in the payroll system and can provide the actual division of cost centers instead of relying on percentages and estimates.
Changing environment
Changes in shift conditions or cost centers do not need to be output one by one, and sent back at the same time.
The biometric clock system allows a successful match and then displays a series of buttons or options on the screen. This should effectively divide the existing timetable into two parts, which means that the capture of penalties and allowances is based on actual workplace conditions.
There are multiple kiosks in the physical location, which means employees can enter and exit at each location, which can provide extremely accurate (second) cost center failure information.
Notes on activity costing
The clock system can be used to specifically track the direct hours of work.
If you want to use clock software for cost accounting, you also need to consider the following points:
Will the job number be synchronized with the existing attendance system?
What will be used as a tool for capturing job numbers? For example, compared to entering the job number on the screen, a Bluetooth scanner may improve efficiency by scanning the job card using a barcode or QWR code.
Does the facial recognition clock system, labor management system or ERP allow more than one job to be completed at a time?
Time and attendance applications equipped with these functions will be very effective in tracking accurate and direct labor in the work or manufacturing process.
Other clock factors to consider
There are other factors to consider including:
Mobile Device Management (MDM)-It is worth considering using MDM when multiple devices are required.
Offline use-to ensure that the biometric time and attendance system can still operate offline. If the local WiFi fails, it should still store the clock event locally and synchronize it to the cloud server after the online status is restored.
Support-As with any software, implementation and support are key considerations. Ask what level of support your supplier provides, and make sure that the support hotline is local, knowledgeable, and able to contact you through various methods during working hours.
Employee registration-When an employee is set up on the device for the first time, it will be executed together with the authentication event. A robust biometric time and attendance system application will allow multiple options such as SMS code, Authenticator application using 6-digit codes, static passwords or administrator consent.
Training and communication-there are appropriate strategies to promote the software. Each location has one or two nominated champions to ensure that employees who encounter technical issues or general concerns can participate.
Uses outside the payroll system
The use of facial recognition is not limited to payroll.
Interactions with customers are becoming more and more common, and facial recognition is a valuable tool that can be used in critical business environments to improve the customer experience.
The occurrence of only identifiable events can have a huge impact on business processes outside of payroll software.
E.g:
It can improve the safety of picking up children from daycare centers;
Law enforcement agencies can use it for parole registration;
Schools can avoid using roll call;
Universities can use it to register attendance rates for lectures and tutoring courses;
The stadium can use 24/7 to enable access to the members-only database.
The application of biometric time attendance system is limited to your imagination.
Important points
Face recognition as a biometric time attendance system represents the best practice of fixed-location companies.
It obscures the ease of use, affordability, and tight integration with modern cloud-based payroll applications of other biometric methods.
It also has a purpose other than salary, and can be used for access control applications or any event registration, visitor registration, childcare, etc.
At Pay Cat, we are agnostic salary experts who are committed to matching the organization's salary as well as time and attendance needs through the right cloud-based solutions.
We also provide an automatic employee attendance solution called HFSecurity Colud, which uses TCP/IP or Wireles or 4G to capture the beginning and end of shift time. The data is synchronized with your payroll software to easily achieve payroll and compliance!
We implement, train and support you through the process of migrating to cloud payroll software or the best attendance system, thus saving you time.
Can employees cheat on the biometric clock?
In short, no.
In order for the system to verify the timestamp of the day, employees must be physically present. Suppose an employee wants to leave an hour earlier. Using a PIN code or signature, colleagues can technically leave on their behalf at the end of the day. Commonly referred to as partner punching, more than 75% of companies in the United States have suffered losses due to this practice. The biometric scanner can only authenticate the timestamp in the presence of the correct employee, and cannot pass fingerprints or faces like manual input methods.
The biometric clock also eliminates the possibility of incorrect manipulation or input of data by employees or salaried employees. Since the system is fully automated, only the hours certified by the biometric time and attendance system can be used for payroll processing.
Is the biometric clock legal?
The biometric clock is legal, but there are strict, specific laws that regulate how employers use biometric data.
In addition, in the United States, these laws are not consistent across all states, so it is important to understand local and federal regulations. This regulation may mean that biometric data can only be stored for a certain period of time, or that personal consent must be recorded in a specific format.
If you are considering using a biometric attendance system, you need to make sure you have the latest biometric laws and keep track of any new regulations.
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