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Irish company Softworks Computing has rolled out a new biometrics product that could lead to the end of the long-standing tradition of cheating time clocks.
Since the time clock was invented almost 100 years ago, lesser-principled workers have sought ways to thwart the efforts of management to closely monitor when staff arrive and leave the workplace. The practice of "buddy punching" has long been a staple in such schemes, whereby employees ask co-workers to punch their timecard or scan their ID badge if they are going to be late to work or plan to leave early.
Now, however, a new device being sold by Bray-based Softworks could put an end to such schemes once and for all. The firm's new product, part of its Clockwise suite of employee time management tools, uses a biometric scanner to verify not only when a worker arrives and leaves but also the identity of the employee.
The type of biometric scan used in the process is a fingerprint scan, which among biometric devices is considered relatively secure and is quick and easy for workers to interface with.
According to Softworks managing director Andrew Ferguson, the company has already rolled out the product to two firms in Ireland, one a retail chain with multiple outlets, the other a manufacturer with two facilities and hundreds of workers.
Ferguson noted that security concerns might be one of the primary reasons why companies would hesitate to implement such a solution, but he tried to allay those concerns by pointing out that the scanner does not keep any records of the prints. Instead, the scanner measures points on the fingertip and converts that information into mathematical points.
"If the local Garda station came to the employer and demanded its database of fingerprints, it wouldn't matter because the company would only have mathematical algorithms on file which would be meaningless," said Ferguson. Such a system would also prevent cyber-thieves from using the database.
Custom Micro is the maker of the scanners, and Softworks makes the suite of software that is sold with the EUR2,000 devices. Softworks' software automatically converts employee attendance statistics into payroll information and can provide other metrics that detail the work habits of staff members.
Ferguson said the firm is looking into the possibility of selling other kinds of biometrics scanners with its software, but as yet the technology for facial recognition devices is not sophisticated enough, and he claimed iris scans are too intrusive for everyday use. Ferguson said Softworks is considering other uses of the fingerprint scanners, such as for secure access.
Softworks employs around 48 staff in its offices in England and Ireland and is looking to expand into the US market in the coming months. With a 254 percent growth rate over the past three years, the 12-year-old company is a Deliotte & Touche All-Ireland Fast 50 award winner, as well as a European Fast 500 company.
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