Getting Started

When cleaning a clock, always, always, always power it off. This will prevent any damage to the circuit board should any cleaner find its way inside. This will also reboot the clock which is recommended on occasion.

Be sure to use a mild cleaner. Screen or CD/DVD cleaner is a great option. For some items, normal isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol can be useful. You will also want a source of compressed air, either in a can or from a compressor. A small bristled brush, such as a toothbrush or paint brush, can help you reach smaller spaces.

For Badge-swipe Clocks

1. Power it down and dampen a clean cloth or paper towel with your cleaner.
2. Wipe down the face of the clock and any areas that look dirty.
3. Dry these surfaces as needed.
4. Using a clean, dry brush, gently sweep out the slot reader and the ports on the back. Don’t forget the keypad, if present.
5. To clean the slot reader, soak a business card in rubbing alcohol or CD cleaner, and run it back and forth through the slot. This is particularly useful for magnetic-stripe readers and will help with the bar code readers as well.
6. Finally, blast some compressed air through the slot and the ports on the back.

For Biometric Clocks

Cleaning and maintaining biometric clocks can be a little more complicated due to the differing technologies and designs used by various manufacturers. However, some basic rules still apply.

1. Power down the clock.
2. Wipe it down with a clean cloth or paper towel dampened with cleaner. Be particularly careful not to scratch any lenses.
3. Use a brush to sweep away any dust/debris from the reader area, keypad, and ports.
4. Blast some compressed air through the openings in the case to help mitigate dust accumulation inside the unit.

Finally, it’s a good idea to know how to use your clock’s diagnostic modes. These will help you to test the slot reader and keypad or review the calibration values of your biometric units. Refer to your clock’s documentation for diagnostic instructions.

Jon Finkel - Data Terminal Technician

An employee can sue their boss, executives, and HR professional according to the Fair Labor Standards Act for altering their time cards. If an employee turns in their time sheet or signs off on their time clock punches for a specific amount of hours and changes are made to this time without documentation or notifying the employee, you can be held responsible and have to pay costly litigation charges.

For example: An employee turns in his/her hours for 9 hours each day. The manager reduces the time by 1 hour each day for the employee’s scheduled lunch. As a norm this employee leaves his/her desk for lunch but this week they had to answer phones during this time period. Next, the CEO signs off on it, then you pay these hours to the employee. At this point, the manager, the CEO and you have agreed to the 8 hours per day instead of 9, which is in violation of wage and hour.

To prevent this violation with penalties and court costs, set policies and procedures on any changes made to an employee’s time. If an employee is working, regardless of their schedule, it is considered worked time and cannot be docked from the employee’s time. If the manager notices a discrepancy, notify the employee and have the employee sign off on the change prior to sending to the Payroll or Human Resource department.

As they say, documentation is key to avoiding unnecessary costs!

Annette Griffin- Implementation Specialist

The time clock can usually read several different bar-code fonts, but the most common is called Code 3 of 9.  This is probably the best choice

for most, since you won’t have to worry about whether the clock is properly configured for Industrial 2 of 5, for example.  You also have a choice of bar-code density; go for

a medium-to-high density bar-code.  Swipe performance for low-density bar-codes is erratic at best.  The standard bar-code reader has no moving parts, so it will only require some light cleaning of the slot reader to give you consistent scanning performance.  Also, with an IR or visible light reader, there is no contact between the badge and the reader head.  Bar-code badges are pretty durable; with mediocre care, employees should be able to use one badge for a long time.  The ink in the bar-code can flake off sometimes, and this can cause some scanning problems, depending on where the damage occurs.  The biggest downside to bar-code badges is that they can be photo-copied, then used in buddy-punching.

Some badge vendors offer what’s called a “bar-guard” badge, which has a brown stripe overlaying the bar-code (it looks like a magnetic-stripe, actually), but these can be very difficult to work with.  Bar-guard badges are very particular about what kind of reader they’ll work with, and some clock platforms do not really support them.  In my opinion, I’d avoid them.  The ones that I’ve worked with have generally had very inconsistent swipe performance.

As for magnetic stripes, many manufacturers offer specific readers for track 1 or track 2, some even offer a combination reader that will read both tracks 1 and 2.  Track 2 magnetic stripes are much more popular than track 1.  Magnetic stripe badges cannot be photocopied, so they are a good option if buddy-punching is a problem.  Magnetic stripe cards and readers, though, are not as durable, especially in industrial environments.  There is direct contact between the card and the reader head, so all of the abrasive material that collects in the slot, on the cards, etc. will cause premature wear on the magnetic head and the card.  This combined with the natural tendency for magnetic stripes and heads to weaken over time, means that a clock with a magnetic reader will require more service over its lifetime, and employees will need more replacement cards. Magnetic stripe cards can also become demagnetized suddenly without definable reason.  Because of these issues, I think that magnetic stripe badges are best used when buddy-punching is a real concern, but that bar-codes are otherwise more cost effective.

Lastly, there is the proximity card.There is a lot to like in the proximity card, but there are a number of issues as well. There are a number of vendors offering different card formats; there are no standard types, yet. That said, HID-compatible is, by far, the most popular. Many time clocks have built-in support for HID-compatible cards (as well as Indala and Casi-Rusco, which are not nearly as popular), but the external version of a proximity reader will often require an external power source. Though the up-front per-card cost for proximity is higher than either bar-code or magnetic stripe, the cards themselves are quite durable. With a minimal care, an employee should be able to use the same card for quite some time. Proximity badges are also available in non-card form factors. The key-fob type is quite popular. If your facility already has a proximity-based access control system, it’s a no-brainer to explore using your existing proximity badges with the clocks.
Well, I hope that helps you cut through all the badge type clutter. There are a lot of options out there, but my experiences have led me to these observations.

Jon Finkel- Data Terminal Technician

HOLLERITH - A plastic or paper card that has holes punched in it and is read optically.  This is one of the earliest technologies and is mostly used as an encoded room key in hotels.  They are not secure but are inexpensive to make.

BAR CODE - The use of bar codes is limited.  There is no security, unless used with a bar guard (dark film affixed over the bar code can be read only with visible light reader). The bar code strip can be easily damaged but like Hollerith, are inexpensive to make.

MAGNETIC STRIPE - Used mostly by credit card companies, they have three tracks with two that are usable.  Readers come either as track one or track two, or a combination reader reads all.  More secure than barcode but easily damaged.

PROXIMITY - Hands-free operation is the primary selling point of this card.  Although several different circuit designs are used, all proximity cards permit the transmission of a code simply by bringing the card near the reader (6-12”).  Older cards are thick; up to 0.15” (the ABA standard is 0.030”) with newer cards thinner than normal bar code cards.

WIEGAND -  Named after its inventor, this technology uses a series of small diameter wires that, when subjected to a changing magnetic field, induce a discrete voltage output in a sensing coil.  Two rows of wires are embedded in a coded strip.  When the wires move past the read head, a series of pulses is read and interpreted as binary code.  This technology produces cards that are VERY hard to copy or alter, and they are moderately expensive to make.  Card readers based on this technology are epoxy filled, making them immune to weather conditions, and neither the cards or the readers are affected by external magnetic fields.

D. David Waters - Clock Data Manager

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Portal-to-Portal Act (FLSA amendment), regular travel from home to work and work to home does not count as worked time. This is true even if the work location is not fixed. However, if you require the employees to report to a central location and then travel to the work site, the time between the central site and work site would be considered worked time and subject to compensation. If the reason the employee must report first to a central site is to clock in…provide them a way to clock in via phone or the internet when they arrive at the work site. Some Time & Attendance software systems provide remote clocking as an option.

Travel time that IS considered compensable for hours worked, is travel that is a regular part of the worker’s daily duties. This includes travel to different job sites during the workday or driving from customer to customer. Time spent by an employee writing a report is considered work time, even if it happens to occur while the employee is riding on public transportation to and from home.

What about travel away from home whether it’s drivable distance to be able to return to the employee’s home after work is completed or if it results in an overnight trip? Typically, all travel time during day trips would be compensable, except meal periods. But travel between the employee’s home and a bus, train or airport would not be considered work time because that is considered work-to-home time. If the employee uses his or her own automobile rather than public transportation for travel away from home, the employer can count as hours worked either the time spent driving or the time that would have been spent on public transportation during regular working hours. If the trip is an out of town trip and requires an overnight stay, then you count all travel time during the employee’s normal working hours, even if it occurs on a non-working day.  Travel outside of regular working hours as a passenger on public transportation is not hours worked.

Deena Russell - Windows Software Support

Some companies have a cafeteria where the employee can purchase their meals.  Some companies have products the employee may want to purchase for personal use.  There are also products the company requires the employee to purchase as part of their job requirements like uniforms or safety equipment.

All of these purchases can be gathered and managed by Time and Attendance software.  When it is payroll time the purchases can be transferred directly to the payroll software where they will be deducted from the employee’s pay.

Software vendors providing a complete suite of employee management software (payroll, human resources, time and attendance) may have the processes already in place to gather employee purchases.  If your time and attendance software is from a different vendor than your PR/HR you may need to contact all of them to see if they can implement an employee purchases interface between your HRIS software systems.

Mike Hayes
VP Software Development

When you have been completely immersed in a time keeping software system for a long time, you begin to believe that you know everything there is to know about it.  It’s that proverbial rut we all get stuck in.  There are so many clichés to describe it because it is such a common malady.  It’s extremely rare to find someone who always has an innovative, fresh approach to every situation, but no one would argue that this should always be the object of the game.

For example, I had a customer present a request to me that I don’t think I have ever heard before:  In their Time and Attendance Software, they wanted leave pay types to count towards overtime EXCEPT ON FRIDAYS.  They had already looked at all the policies set in the Time and Attendance software, and, of course, there is not a specific one for Days When You Don’t Want Leave to Count Towards Overtime.  Predictably, the first thing they asked was, “How much would it cost to write a custom program to do this for us?”

Trying to think outside the box (TOSTB) to avoid the cost of a custom program,  I came up with an idea for them to set up new leave pay type codes for Friday Vacation, Friday Holiday, etc. While everyone’s needs are different and this particular idea NOT works in your specific Time and Attendance situation, it is a good example of the power of TOSTB, especially related to Time and Attendance software solutions.

Sometimes the best solution is not the obvious but requires some Thinking Outisde the Box.  Happy Thinking!

TOSTB,

Susan Warren - Implementation Specialist

Candace Price- Account Executive