TOMORROW’S CLEANING OCTOBER 09
Innovations
Every second counts
CHRISTIAN BERENGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT AUTO TIME
SOLUTIONS, EXPLAINS HOW THE LATEST MOBILE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
SOLUTIONS CAN ALLOW CLEANING CONTRACTORS TO EXPERIENCE A WHOLE
NEW LEVEL IN MANAGING THEIR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET, THEIR EMPLOYEES.
Within the cleaning Should a worker fail to clock-in by the correct The benefits of automated time and attendance
industry there are time, the absence is automatically identified, go far beyond automating the admin process;
thousands and enabling the manager to act on the information there are also security and health and safety
thousands of presented, whether it be checking the well- issues to consider.
employees that being of the employee or providing sufficient
work from dusk till cover for that shift.
While most businesses understand that they
dawn, with irregular
have a responsibility to look after their
hours and often
For employees the fact that they are in employees, many are not adequately protected
working alone
constant communication with the office and against the security threats that remote and
across an expansive
that managers can pinpoint their location at all mobile workers are exposed to.
area. Tracking labour costs in the cleaning
time provides reassurances about their
In the cleaning industry, workers have a unique
industry is extremely challenging because
personal safety.
risk profile not only because of the hazards they
of this. Data to determine a user’s identity can be
are exposed to but also because they often
Many contractors simply use written
captured via numerous methods, including
work alone at isolated facilities and during
timesheets to track time and attendance but
swipe card, proximity, biometric hand scan
irregular hours. Over the last few years new
manual recordings are unreliable, time
readers or even mobile phones for true
employment laws and tighter control on Health
consuming to produce week-in-week out, and
portability.
and Safety regulations have prompted many
are often ridden with errors and mistakes. Biometrics is by far the most effective method
companies to monitor the
working practices of their
That’s not to say that cleaners mismanage
of data capture as it overcomes the possibility
employees, especially
their time management but monitoring staff
that workers may clock in and out for one
lone workers.
that work unsociable hours (early mornings or
another. Hand scanner terminals automatically
evenings) is extremely difficult and this can
take a three dimensional reading of the size
Proof of
have a serious impact on the bottom line.
and shape of the employee’s hand and verifies
compliance has
the user’s identity in less than one second. As
ultimately become a
In many companies, time and attendance
such, it offers an infallible means of personal
necessity and the
systems have been used to measure and
identification for clocking in purposes.
pressure on
monitor workforce time. Traditionally, these employers to
were only capable of monitoring static
Once an employee clocks in, the data is
demonstrate duty
workforces, but thanks to technological
transmitted immediately to a remote and secure
of care for their employees in
advances remote workforces can also be
server where it is available for immediate
the field is ever increasing.
managed by the same back-end systems
viewing. Managers can centrally manage
using different forms of portable technology
multiple locations and get full, customised
Past experience by most cleaners on site will
to capture data.
management reports in a range of formats that
tend to confirm that they have been left to get
show the specific times of the shifts that have
on with their work without much interference.
Remote locations and the retrieval of
information from remote locations has always
been worked and any overtime accrued.
However, the latest time and attendance
technology can give you peace of mind to
required prohibitive infrastructure on site.
Benefits are also realised from the fact that the
accurately monitor your most valuable asset…
However, the latest time and attendance
time and attendance data can be integrated
your employees.
terminals now utilise GPRS technology which
with payroll software enabling fully accurate
obtains data via a mobile network. This
wage runs to be automatically processed with
www.autotime.co.uk
enables terminals on several locations to enormous efficiency and cost-saving benefits
communicate with one another and to be to the HR function. This process saves hours
centrally monitored. The benefit of GPRS is of expensive, manual recycling of payroll
that it delivers real-time attendance input and makes it easy to compile hours,
information, accurately identifying the calculate overtime and reduce payroll errors
movement of staff as it happens. before they occur.
The future of our cleaning industry |TOMORROW’S CLEANING |
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INNOVATIONS
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