Though biometric technology is becoming more and more prevalent today, many still don’t know exactly how it works.

Scientifically, biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and statistically analyzing biological data. For IT, the measuring and analyzing is used to verify that an individual is who he says he is, much like a computer password.

The way biometric time clocks work is by scanning human characteristics that are statistically unique enough to identify each of us. These characteristics may be used individually or in combination with others. The characteristics most frequently used are face (spatial pattern of the face), fingerprint, hand and finger geometry, handwriting, eye retinas or irises, and speech.

Why use biometric time clocks?

There are many reasons to consider biometric time clocks. For each reason, authenticating ourselves by who we are and not what we know, what we carry, or how we choose to identify ourselves, i.e. PINs, passwords, smart cards, and security tokens.  Other benefits of biometric time clocks include:

• Passwords are expensive and the cost of password and identity protection is far superior with biometric time clocks
• Biometric time clocks reduce paper. In many cases, traditional forms of verification generate boatloads of paper. Know too that other instances of authentication like notaries often rely solely on paper to document an event. 
• Passwords are overwhelming. Simply put, we have so many of them that we cannot remember them all. Our saturation of these secrets increases the likelihood that we do not properly protect them.
• Biometric time clocks increases financial accountability 
• Biometric clocks improves physical security. We are now more sensitive than ever about the need to ensure that physical premises are safeguarded at point of entry.
• Biometric time clocks’ automation can eliminate our sole reliance on a paper trail for a given transaction or event.

Bottom Line

Whether you want more efficient employee time keeping, limited paper trails, heightened security, or more organized accounting—biometric time clocks can take care of multiple business needs. In addition to more efficient time keeping, you’ll also intrinsically have heightened security and biometric logging capabilities for every employee.

Student attendance in TAFE, colleges, training schools and schools for international students is now being measured for attendance levels across Australia. Students and Colleges requiring attendance records include:-

• International Students
• Flying Schools
• Governement supported TAFE programs
• Any private or professional training school receiving government funds
• Medical students

Government to crack down on training school, trainees payments in 2001 – Has anything changed?

A Sydney-based trainer in the retail and fast food industries had only four people complete training out of 378 who began training. It claimed continuing payment for trainees who had dropped out months ago.
The actual attendance requirements can vary. Some colleges post attendance requirements onto websites like Victoria University for TAFE students
“All students that are enrolled in a TAFE program at Victoria University are required to achieve a minimum 80% course attendance, as required by their student visa. Students who fail to attend 80% of their classes can risk having their eCoE cancelled and their student visa revoked”

Minimum student attendance requirements can vary depending on the course students are undertaking and include

• twenty hours per week
• 4 days per week
• 80% per term
• 85% of the full year
• 18 months

Government payments now require attendance records to prove attendance……Do you have good attendance records?

Maintaining student attendance records manually can be very time consuming keeping all records and measurements within minimum student attendance requirements.

Complex requirements with different sets of attendance rules determined by what type of student ……

• Australian students
• International students
• TAFE students
• Apprenticeships
• traineeships
• college students

Typical problems can include

• incorrect calculations
• lack of evidence of student attendance
• lost hours maintaining a manually calculated system.
• refusal of government payments without clear attendance records

There are a number of ways to collect student attendance automatically in the correct format for attendance records. Automatic calculation of minimum attendance requirements and tracking of this minimum requirement can be automated and made availablefor students to monitor and maintain attendance records.

• Electronic time clock
• web time sheets

To discuss your requirements please contact Peter on 1300 800 077

Companies who find they are still using a punch-style time clock are at a disadvantage in today’s fiercely competitive business environment. While these now antiquated time clocks have plenty of charm, their time is past and they are best relegated to antique shops along with the other technological relics of bygone eras. The world has changed dramatically in the last fifty years, so if your business is still using the time and attendance technologies of fifty years ago, it begs the question of why this one important piece of equipment hasn’t kept pace with the rest of your operations.

The fact is that if you’re using an older attendance tracking system, you and possibly your employees as well are almost certainly losing money. While thankfully not a serious problem for most businesses, time theft does happen and it can easily add up to significant losses over time.

Manage Your Money

Larger companies especially may be hemorrhaging money in the form of labor costs stemming from one dishonest employee here and another there. With the competition certainly doing everything they can to keep their overhead under control, time theft could be costing your business its edge over rivals.

Biometric technology and advanced time clock software provide something mission critical to any company with an eye on their bottom line: accountability. Biometric clocks are a traceable employee time and attendance solution which provides an accurate and reliable way to ensure that your labor costs reflect actual man hours. It’s a simple idea made possible by sophisticated technology.

A biometric time clock incorporates up to the minute security capabilities and accurate attendance tracking into a single attendance system which eliminates time theft entirely. The result is untold savings both in financial terms and time spent by accounting departments and management trying to trace what can often be a nearly invisible form of employee malfeasance.

Increased Security

Your business can also benefit from the use of biometric time clocks in terms of security. Biometric time clocks can be used to restrict access to areas where sensitive information or equipment is sited. Your company can know exactly who was where in your facility, as well as when and for how long! Data theft is a serious concern and biometric clocks can keep the personal or financial information of your customers and vendors protected. New technologies offer new possibilities – and with the labor cost reduction and security offered by biometric time and attendance systems, it’s time to put those punch card time clocks out to pasture and give your business an edge over the competition.