The Exciting Evolution Of Time Clock Technology

In this present era of control and security, it's interesting to go back in time and see how such things were handled. A hundred and fifty years ago, a business owner with employees would have no technology to monitor the ebb and flow of his employees. He, or someone in management, would need to physically stand outside the company's entrance, clip board in hand, and tick off each worker as they entered the building.

They'd have to do the same thing when the whistle blew at the end of the day. In between, who was keeping track of lunch and bathroom beaks? Scenes in such movies as "Norma Jean" come to mind, where a surly shop foreman would rule the workers with an iron hand. Then again, films from the twenties and thirties, also show less oppressive working conditions. Corporate women, dressed for success, sing out a cheery good morning as they file past their boss.

Just think of all the time spent dipping pens in ink, methodically filling in charts, and keeping stacks of ledger books safe and accessible. Everything to do with employee management was done by hand including payroll, absences, and government data. Imagine the labor involved adding up those endless columns and the enormous potential for error.

A less labor intensive method of managing the comings and goings of workers was sorely needed, and in 1888 it happened. A jeweler named William Bundy, from Auburn, New York, designed and manufactured the very first employee time recorder.

His employee time clock was a success, and William teamed up with his brother Harlow to form the Bundy Manufacturing Company. They began churning out time clocks for a rapidly expanding market. Eventually they joined forces with two other time equipment companies to form International Time Recorders (ITR). ITR was the selling agent for Bundy Manufacturing.

The time clock would stamp data onto a time card. The time cards were printed with boxes indicating time in and time out. An employee would simply line up the markings in the proper spot, insert the time card, and press down on a lever. A hammer mechanism would strike an inked ribbon, imprinting the date and time onto the clock card. This way a timekeeper had an official record of the hours an employee worked in order to calculate the proper pay.

In 1911, ITR and two other companies merged into Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR), which would later become IBM. In 1958, the Time Equipment Division of IBM was sold to the Simplex Time Recorder Company.

In the late 1970's, Kronos Incorporated developed a way for a punch card system to be linked to a microprocessor. Then in the 1990's, the real move to computer based electronic time tracking began. These systems enabled an employee to enter an ID number, or swipe a magnetic stripe card, which identified the employee to the system. Then the worker could enter whatever information that needed to be recorded, such as punch in, punch out, lunch break, or leaving early. There was even room to insert a reason for skipping out early.

These days, Biometric time clocks are the industry standard, using technology that seems right out of Star Trek. A person's biological attributes are used to identify them to the system, using a hand print, fingerprint, or even a retina scan. Biometrics make it impossible for a worker to sign in for a friend who is late or absent.

There are three basic access methods that an employee can use to enter the workplace that has a biometric time clock in place. The Identification method utilizes a person's fingerprint that is stored as an algorithm. When the finger is pressed, the system searches to find the stored fingerprint template that matches the pressing. In the Verification method, a person swipes a card or enters a PIN as identification. Information is then scanned and checked against the stored data. This method is faster than the Identification method. Finally,there is the Smart Card which contains the individual's fingerprint template within an electronic chip on the card. In this way personal data is not stored in the company's computer system, only on the card.

The Biometric time clock system makes it possible to completely control access to buildings as well as simply monitoring employees. No one gets in unless they are recognized by the system. Records are retained showing all entries granted and even any that are rejected. Multiple entry points can be integrated as well. In the event of a fire, a report can be printed out, accessed on a computer, or sent to a remote site. Imagine being able to verify that all persons have exited the premises. What a boon to the fire fighting officials.

It's been quite a ride from the handwritten ledgers of yesteryear to the amazing space age biometric clock technology of today. Big brother is definitely watching.

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Comments

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 at 5:56 AM, by jad smith
A time attendance clock relieves your business from being at the mercy of creative timesheet documentation by unscrupulous employees.
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http://www.thebioshop.com.au

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 at 6:04 AM, by jad smith
Time attendance clocks include standard punch card time clocks, magnetic strip swipe card systems, badge reader time clock, mobile time clocks, proximity time clocks, and biometric time clocks.
_____________________
http://www.thebioshop.com.au

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