#timedynamo

In the business world today, time translates to money.

The amount of time a person spends working for a particular business is equivalent to how much that person gets paid. It, therefore, has become extremely important to track the time every employee spends working on the tasksgiven to them. This is where the biometric time clock and attendance software comes into play.

The biometric attendance system is a great upgrade over the existing online time and attendance tracking systems in the market today.

The previous systems weren’t foolproof as there were a lot of cases where the employees could log in for one another or in other words show a proxy attendance of a person who hasn’t entered the office.

To overcome these fundamental flaws the biometric attendance system came into action.

With a biometric scan, each biometric fingerprint becomes a unique entry code that can only be entered by one person. This means that a person who wants to proxy for another employee will not be able to do so as their biometric details won’t match.

How does a biometric system work?

A biometric attendance system as mentioned before makes use of an employees’ fingerprint to allow clocking in and clocking out of their workplace. Every employee’s fingerprint is first scanned and mapped out based on various coordinates defined within the system.

These coordinates are then plotted against a graph and stored in the system.Every time an employee places his or her finger, the coordinates are mapped and checked with the previous image and only if there is a match the entry is clocked.

It is almost impossible to duplicate a fingertip as several different coordinates can be mapped from a single finger and the most amazing thing is that each of these coordinates is unique and cannot be replicated from another fingerprint. This is the most significant advantage of using a biometric attendance system.

Biometric systems are secure

Because biometrics collect data from employees' retinas, fingerprints, faces, and other unique identification details, some businesses are hesitant to utilize biometrics for fear that the information will be misused or hacked, or in the worst-case scenario, the company will sell the information, as some of the social chat apps do. However, solutions like Time Dynamo are so safe that no hacker can get into them, which has inspired many businesses, large and small, to use it, and it proves that the data isn't sold. So, you can use the Biometric Attendance System without hesitation.

Things to keep in mind when using a biometric attendance system

Like any other system which is being introduced to the workplace, the biometric attendance system too has its own set of considerations that need to be taken care. There have been several questions that people have raised regarding a biometric attendance system, and it is essential that these are given its due importance. Here are some important considerations while using a biometric attendance system.

1. Safety of data

Fingerprints are unique to people and when someone needs to keep the storage of their fingerprints within a system naturally, there will be a lot of questions about the safety of it. If this data falls in the hand of miscreants, they can take a lot of advantage of it. Hence when looking for a good biometric attendance machine, it is of paramount importance to understand how the data is protected and kept safe within its storage system.

With the age of computers, it has become straightforward to steal data from systems; it is, therefore, prudent to ensure that the latest anti-theft software are installed along with the biometric attendance system.

However, the biometric attendance system is a step ahead of the existing systems in that it does not store any immediately identifiable personal information. While fingerprint scanning requires a high level of technology dependency, the data is in most cases safe from most common forms of theft.

2. Usability of the system

Like any other system in the workplace, the people responsible for the data and the functioning of the biometric attendance system have to be able to access the software associated with it easily. User-friendliness of the system is key to ensuring that the workplace adopts this system as efficiently and as early as possible.

The dashboards and the UX of the software have to be friendly and shouldn’t require the employees to be trained in it for a long time for it to be familiar. The software of the biometric attendance system also allows workplaces to ensure access to data whenever and wherever required. Employees and non-employees can be identified separately, and this can give you an overall sense of how many people enter the office on a regular, timely basis.

3. The technology used in the biometric attendance system

There are two types of technology that is used in a biometric attendance system. The most common one is the image-based system that captures the image of the fingerprint and stores it the same way. The coordinates are mapped from the image of the finger.

While this is less accurate, the technology is simple, and hence the cost of this type of biometric attendance system is relatively lower. The second type of technology that is used in a biometric attendance system is the capacitor technology.

This is a much more accurate version of biometric scanning, and this type of biometric attendance systems are used in larger enterprise companies that handle much sensitive data. The capacitive technology map the pressure points of the finger and map coordinates based on that giving the mapping a lot more accuracy compared to the image that needs unique algorithms to process it.

4. Cloud accessibility

Biometric attendance system today come with a lot of integrations. The software also has a mobile application that allows employees to clock into work from anywhere in the world.

This is important especially when it comes to workplaces that have a lenient remote work option. Several startups today have come up with perks like remote jobs that don’t need an employee to be present physically in the office and these systems ensure that even these people can clock in and show their employers that they start working on time.

Why Biometric Attendance System is important?

Commercial applications began using biometric attendance system to control the physical accesses of the buildings. All these implementations are conducted to prevent the risks of fraudulent activities and offer a secure environment to the clients and employees.

The main motive to implement these technologies in companies was to physically and logically restrict the authorized access to valuable assets. There are several companies who came up with the fingerprint sensor technologies and used it in their offices to safeguard their assets and resources.

Control the Access of Employees and Non-Employee

This biometric attendance management system not only tracks employees' schedules but also offers the added benefit of controlling access to employees and non-employees. To elaborate, according to company policies, not every employee is permitted to visit every job area. As a result, such restricted employees will be denied access to the area while they provide their identification to the attendance machine, as compared to companies that use ID cards, which are prone to be stolen by outsiders or restricted employees who can take advantage of restricted work areas.

Which are the industries preferring biometric attendance system?

Biometric attendance system can be used in any industry where data validations, assets, resources, etc. are involved. These technologies can be used in government agencies for controlling borders, voter registrations, creating national identification documents, e-Passports, etc.

Apart from government agencies, these systems can be implemented in workforce management companies, financial firms, software companies, consulting agencies, and so on.The primary focus in introducing these kinds of technologies would be to manage the time and attendance of employees, payroll management, managing human resources, customer identifications, account information controls, and employee identification.

Technologies

In terms of easing the work of companies, the online attendance system leaves no stone left. Image-based and capacitive technology is used in this biometric absence management software.

While software takes a photo of a fingerprint with a scanner to produce a biometric template for each employee, it is referred to as image-based technology.

Are you worried about the lingering status of Aadhaar?  

Has it been used for the purpose it was intended for

Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) is making use of Aadhaar to monitor employee attendance across various government organizations in the country. More and more government organizations are being brought under the umbrella of AEBAS thanks to the wonderful infrastructure built while implementing Aadhaar.

Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System known in short as AEBAS is a time and attendance marking system based on biometric technology linked with the verification of Aadhaar. The system is particularly aimed at recording employee attendance in various government offices and agencies.

This initiative of the Indian government forms part of the “Digital India” drive. AEBAS is a real- time monitoring system that makes use of Aadhaar generated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). This biometric system makes use of either fingerprint or iris.

Aadhaar number from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is useful in recording employee attendance. This cloud-based system otherwise known as Biometric Attendance System (BAS) takes care of employee attendance in real-time.

Need for AEBAS

Thousands of employees are working across various departments for the Government of India. Tracking the attendance of these employees is an arduous task. However, the presence of employees on time is critical for the success of various activities of the government.

During yesteryears the attendance of this workforce was recorded manually. But monitoring and maintaining the entire database was proving to be difficult. There was also the question of reliability as records were vulnerable to tampering or there could be an entry of faulty data.

Therefore biometric-enabled attendance system was introduced to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings. This has been proved to be the best real-time solution for marking reliable and accurate information.

Though various government offices have replaced manual entries with electronic attendance recording carried out through smartcards or biometric systems, there was a need for monitoring the attendance through a centralized system. As sharing of attendance data through various levels was cumbersome, the government has come up with an idea to make use of the existing Aadhaar infrastructure which enables to reduce cost while improving overall efficiency.

Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System or AEBAS formulated by the Government of India is a real-time monitoring system that helps in improving the punctuality and productivity of government employees at large. The Aadhaar number generated by UIDAI ( Unique Identification Authority of India) is utilized in the process of authentication carried out by AEBAS. Cloud-based BAS helps in monitoring the attendance of the employees in real-time.

Best form of authentication

Authentication of employees can be done in two ways. One is an android based (tablet device) while the other is embedded Linux based (biometric device). In the case of tablet-based authentication, the durability of the product is under question. It is not as good as biometric products. Generally built for a single application, in this particular case being attendance, biometric devices serve for a longer period of time.

Some of the other advantages of AEBAS are:

Supports various platforms

Supports centralized functions

Helps in real-time tracking of employee attendance

Time taken for marking the attendance is less

Ease of sending real-time notifications

Helps in accurately track both login and logout to know the exact working time

How it works

The system envisaged enables employees to mark their attendance by presenting his/her biometric credentials in the form of fingerprint/Iris. This will then be authenticated after matching with the biometric attributes that are stored in the database of UIDAI corresponding to the employee’s Aadhaar number.

The entire authentication process as it happens is given below sequentially:

Attendance request originates from the system aimed at the centralized attendance server with fingerprint or iris.

Aadhaar number mapped against the fingerprint is sent to the Aadhaar authentication server.

The authentication response is then received on the centralized attendance server. Following valid authentication, the attendance record is stored on the server.

Client response as to whether the transaction is a success or failure is then obtained from the attendance server.

Sectors influenced by the introduction of AEBAS

AEBAS also has a great impact on various sectors improving overall productivity. The following information provides the impact of AEBAS on critical sectors helping improve the quality of life.

EducationAEBAS has an important role to play to streamline the education system. As we know, without monitoring, the staff (including teachers) behave in a tardy manner. Attendance can be very lean without proper surveillance. It is here that AEBAS comes to our rescue in ensuring proper attendance and maintaining the relevant database. This will not only improve the attendance, but the end result is better education for the children.

HealthcareEven in hospitals, biometric attendance system (BAS) will help resolve the problem of poor attendance. This will have a great impact on the health care sector. Patients will also have better service with no unwarranted absenteeism of the hospital staff.

GovernmentVarious government sectors such as manufacturing, defense, law and order, and power can make good use of the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) in order to improve the overall productivity.

Some of the major developments with regards to AEBAS 

Aadhar based biometric attendance is being made mandatory for employees of aided colleges in the state of Haryana from April 1, 2020.

Biometric attendance system (BAS) to become compulsory at all government offices of Jammu &Kashmir by March 31, 2020, in order to guarantee punctuality and accountability.

The union government calls for punctuality in government offices while chiding habitual latecomers.

Centre to implement a biometric system based on Aadhaar, for attendance in all state-owned departments and government organizations in Delhi.

Introduction of biometric attendance at Nirman Bhawan which houses the ministries of (Urban Development and Housing) and (Urban Poverty Alleviation).

The Director of School Education has issued a circular for the implementation of Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) for teachers in government and government-aided schools in Chennai.

All government primary and middle schools in the state of Himachal Pradesh will now have Aadhaar-enabled bio-metric attendance (AEBAS) system for teachers as well as staff. The new system will help keep track of the attendance while ensuring punctuality and regularity.

Amidst the outbreak of coronavirus, all central government employees have been exempted from biometric attendance as a precautionary measure till March 31,2020.

Conclusion:

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