As Easy As 1 2

Mar 1, 2003 12:00 PM

An important goal for school districts is keeping track of all the people coming and going. Security, of course, is the paramount concern, while accurate record-keeping for payroll and attendance systems is essential to trimming budgets and maximizing efficiency of existing staff and contract workers.

When the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) sought to upgrade its aging time clock system for its facilities maintenance personnel, it took the progressive step of adding biometric technology (two-finger imaging). This functionality allows supervisors to keep a constant window open on its 3,000 employees and a cadre of temporary workers as they move among the district's 400 facilities.

First Bell

It started with the district's simple desire to replace aging time clocks. According to COO Tom McGlinchy, the old system was “more than 30 years old, more than 50 percent of the devices were inoperable, and the manufacturer was no longer supplying parts.” Even worse, adds McGlinchy, “employees were routinely beating the system either through vandalism, tampering or outright fraud.”

Employees include both full-time school staff and an ever-shifting number of contract workers at various facilities including fields, pools or warehouses as well as schools.

Rather than simply replacing the time clock system, Rich DiCaprio, then administrator of facilities management and services, saw a different answer. A project team of one, DiCaprio determinedly took the project from idea to inception in five years, suggesting biometric technology — specifically finger geometry scanning — to revolutionize the system.

“My boss wanted a system that wouldn't allow ‘buddy punching,’” DiCaprio says. “That pointed to biometrics.” DiCaprio felt biometrics added credibility to the time-and-attendance reporting, and offered an added benefit to employees who had problems with their paychecks. There could be no misinterpretation of data, as with the old time clocks, where sometimes there would be indecipherable writing all over the cards.

DiCaprio evaluated various biometric products, and TimeTrak Systems, Glen Mills, Pa., offered to install a demonstration system. TimeTrak set up the demo in a large administrative office for three months. Afterward, the company won the job.

“They were very price-conscious,” says Chris Biddle, TimeTrak sales manager. “They didn't believe that we could install the biometric system for only 30 percent more than the cost of a standard time clock system. We set up the demo system to prove we could.”

Second Bell

The contract began in March of 1999. It took four months to acquire and set up a server, during which time the district set out to streamline its time-and-attendance procedures. “The system forced us to gather all the time and attendance rules and organize them,” DiCaprio says. “It was needed anyway.”

For this project, a portion (3,000-plus) of district personnel — the facilities management staff — would be converted to the new system. The facilities management staff is comprised of transportation, purchasing, human resources, custodial, food service, building maintenance, security, distribution and printing personnel. In addition to the full-time workers, a fluctuating number of hourly, contracted temporary facilities management workers would also participate.

The installation phase began in June 1999, in three high schools. Today, the project is still ongoing, a fact not surprising given the size and scope of the implementation. “Our greatest challenge has been the geographic scope of the project, rolling out each piece of equipment,” Biddle says. “It's been such a logistical challenge to coordinate among all the buildings and personnel.”

Biddle says that when completed, the system will be the largest biometric installation in a school district. About 300 of the 425 necessary biometric time clocks are currently installed throughout the district.

The district has decided to use the existing wide area network (WAN) that connects all schools to the headquarters instead of phone lines for data communication. “It is a faster technology,” DiCaprio says, “but it does put us at the mercy of the network installer.”

Learning How It Works

Though the installation process has been a challenge, using the system is not. When workers get to a facility, they punch a function key on the C-programmable time clock integrated with Digi 2 fingerprint readers from Ellington, Conn.-based Accu-Time Systems Inc., to begin the log-in process. The system prompts workers to enter their ID number using the keypad, then they place two fingers onto a pad, where a three-dimensional (3D) image of the fingers is used to verify their identity. The procedure takes seconds.

The system records all comings and goings with a time/date stamp, and also extrapolates travel time between facilities. The collected data travels via the WAN to a server in the facilities management building. When the interface is turned on, the data will automatically enter the payroll system's server, where it is edited for correctness and then put through to payroll. The completed payroll reports are electronically signed by supervisors.

Another important part of the system is the visibility of its data to supervisors. Using any PC, district personnel with the proper clearance can view the time-and-attendance data and make decisions regarding individual or multiple employees. “We are finally able to know instantly where and when our mobile employees have reported for work,” McGlinchy says. “It is easy to track our labor distribution, including travel time, from facility to facility. We can finally do anticipated projections of overtime, based on real-time data. A few clicks of the mouse allow us to make sweeping seasonal changes for thousands of employees.”

Training a Snap, Acceptance a Challenge

Once the system was ready for its first users, training and enrollment became the priorities. Facility Area Coordinators (FACs) were responsible for enrollment, a simple process in which each employee would put his/her ID number into a time unit and then hold two fingers on the pad for three seconds. The entire procedure took two minutes per person. The enrollment data then formed the database against which workers' identities would be validated each time they logged in or out of a facility.

Trainers from TimeTrak met with the building engineers to instruct them on the new system. They, in turn, trained their personnel, both full-time and temporary workers, in groups of about 35 people. Approximately 15 classes were held, which gave employees a chance to ask questions and voice concerns about the system and its underlying technology.

“We tried to garner a partnership,” DiCaprio says. “We alerted the unions prior to training. We had question-and-answer sessions. We wanted to make them understand that more accurate reporting helps them.”

Reactions to the new system ranged from the expected to truly surprising. “Some people were offended by the technology. Of course, the biggest complainers were the ones with the worst time-and-attendance problems,” DiCaprio says.

“Many people were afraid of contracting diseases from touching the unit. That was brought up at every class,” he adds. “So I pulled out money from my pocket and said, ‘There are no more germs on that unit than on this.’ That convinced them.”

Process Proves Its Value

The $1.2 million system, while still not completely installed, has already begun to pay dividends to the district.

Supervisors always know where every employee is located. In the event of an emergency, the district would be able to account instantly for all its people based on the real-time data availability and the system's ability to extrapolate travel times between facilities.

“You could have a situation where a wife calls the central office at 5 p.m. on Friday and asks, ‘Did my husband leave? He hasn't come home.’ They can answer he punched out of X place at Y time,” DiCaprio says.

Imperviousness to fraud is a huge benefit. “Using biometric technology eliminates buddy punching and guarantees the integrity of our data,” McGlinchy says.

This is especially important for the mobile temporary workers billing by the hour, DiCaprio adds. “We had no verification [for temporary employee's hours worked]. With this system, we put the outsiders on the system, had verification, and we have saved a lot of money.”

Data accuracy and integrity streamline the payroll process, reducing the number of people needed for all aspects of the process from general data input to absence and lateness recording. The system automatically notifies management when employees exceed allowable absences or lateness, so disciplinary letters go out on a timely basis.

“People were made much more aware of their absences, and it made them less likely to be absent,” DiCaprio says. “People get involved in their lives, and they're not always aware of how much they're out. We now have the ability to show them their absences, and that has improved attendance.”

Continued Installation

While the district and TimeTrak are still working to complete the initial project, the district is already looking ahead to expanding the system to include all of its 27,000 employees, including teachers and administrators.

Parts of the current system not in use may be used at a later date, such as a messaging function. Then, when worker A logs in at his/her next facility, the four-line display screen could relay information ranging from “Please call your supervisor” to “Happy Birthday.” Also, additional function keys may be programmed to handle more transactions as the need arises.

A bit about biometrics and 3D imaging

Biometric technology verifies a person's identity through comparing unique physical characteristics such as fingerprints, hands, voice, eye retinas and irises, and facial patterns. The most prevalent methods used today are fingerprint scanning and hand geometry, often replacing PINs and ID cards.

Fingerprint scanning and hand/finger geometry reading are two different methods of identity verification.

A typical automatic fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) system requires a user to place a finger or two on the machine for as little as one-half second to two seconds. Many devices analyze the position of the end points and junctions of print ridges (minutiae) of the fingerprint. Others count the number of ridges between points, while some approach the fingerprint from an image processing perspective.

Hand and finger geometry readers use three-dimensional (3D) images of these features for comparison and verification.

For The Record

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, circle the Reader Service number (listed below) or visit securitysolutions.com

Accu-Time Systems Inc.	5
TimeTrack Systems	6

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue