Struggling with Attendance Issues: How Do You Handle Thumb Punching Machine Failures?

Issue with Employee Attendance Punching

We are facing a problem related to the punching of employees. We have a thumb punching machine for attendance. However, some employees are experiencing issues because, at times, the machine does not recognize their thumb impression. As a solution, we are providing attendance cards to everyone. Unfortunately, some employees are taking advantage of this situation by arriving late and filling out the card themselves, citing machine problems as the reason for no punch. This is starting to have a negative impact on punctual employees. What can I do now? Can anybody suggest a perfect solution?

Regards,
Sanika

Access Card Facilities for Accurate Attendance

In your office, you will have access card facilities. With the help of these, in and out times will be accurately recorded. You can use these details for attendance calculation.

Biometric Access Control Solutions

Thumb punching is called biometric access control. You can change your reader to card reader access control for in-out timings. Please revert if you need details.

Regards

Hi Sanika, any change, especially one that directly affects one's comfort zone, is automatically bound to be resisted. Initially, we were also facing the same problem in our company. What I would suggest from that experience is that you need to be a little strict in the implementation of the system. Apart from that, put the machine under a shed or inside a room to avoid overheating (which causes the non-recognition problem). Place some wet cloth near the machine and instruct everyone to wet their finger before punching; it will help. Instruct people to have clean hands and, above all, immediately stop all other means of employee punching and start discouraging people who give you excuses for not punching. Believe me, once we were also thinking that biometrics implementation was almost impossible, but now all is well, and we have completely stopped proxy punching.

Do tell me if it helps.

Regards,
Atul

Solution for Fingerprint Recognition Issues

Why don't you register all the fingers of the employees, especially the small ones? I faced such a problem, but registering all fingers solved the issue, and everything went right for more than 700 persons.

Biometric System and Attendance Management

A biometric system recognizes only the thumb impression saved against each name. If the employee's hands are not clean, then the system will not recognize his/her thumb impressions, and hence, his/her attendance will not be marked. As suggested by Atul, kindly stop all other means of marking attendance like issuing attendance cards, manual registers, etc., and instruct everyone to clean their hands before punching, as their attendance will be marked based on the report from the biometric system only. Strictly adhere to the system - all will fall into place. I did the same in my office too.

Regards

The above are good and practical solutions, especially the washing finger suggestion. If all else fails, contact your service provider. I have somehow found the Access ID card to be an effective method, but there is a chance of proxy punching. This issue does not exist with biometric punching.

Hi, we faced the same problem, and after discussing with our service provider, we found a solution by adding a service that includes finger punch, face reader, and card swipe. This additional tool comes with extra charges, but now we can gather data from three different sources, making it harder for anyone to manipulate the policy. I suggest you discuss this with your service provider as well.

Best Regards

Atul is right; washing hands and keeping the machine in a shaded area is a good option.

Regards,
Sarvesh Shukla

Dear Sanika,

Employee Attendance Solutions for Small Companies

How many employees do you have in your company? For a small company with a staff size between 1-100, it can be managed by a stamp in-out time validating machine, which is easily available in the Mumbai area. This solution is very cost-effective and highly reliable (similar to the punching machine used for railway coupons).

Alternatively, for a more modernized approach, you can consider using a swipe card machine. However, I don't recommend this option as the swipe card can be passed on to others.

If you need more details about the Punching Machine, feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Abhash
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Biometric Reader Options

The Biometric Reader also has an option for entering a password in case the fingerprint does not work. There is also another option for manual entry, which will only be controlled by the Centralized Attendance Software user or the HR. A weekly report of non-punchers can be taken and given to their respective HODs. We are using the Biometric system for more than 1,700 employees.

Hi Sanika, it happens when you use the biometric system. The best way is, if you have a security guard in place, to keep a manual attendance register there and instruct the security guard to note the timings of the employees who can't punch. With this, you will monitor those employees who are coming late and get an idea regarding latecomers.

Regards,
Derek Gomes

Sanika, could you provide information on the number of employees you have and their mode of transport to and from work? I believe I can assist you in solving this issue, drawing from my experience as the Logistics Transport Manager in Abu Dhabi, where I managed over 400 buses and 15,000 workers. We encountered similar problems but successfully resolved them on-site.

If you could answer the following questions, we could potentially work together on this:

- Are the workers based in a Labour Camp or private accommodation?
- What type of buses are being used?

These are just a couple of initial points to consider.

Regards,
Roger

Hi, if you are issuing the attendance card, please instruct them to have it signed by the Head of Department (HOD) so that cross-checking is possible.

Regards

We too are facing the same problem. However, we receive attendance in an Excel sheet from all the departments. Additionally, we have kept a register in Security for the individuals whose punching is not being accepted by the reader due to various reasons. They write their in/out timings and sign in the register in the presence of the Security Officer. We also cross-check the punching details with department attendance every day. Although it is a time-consuming process, we are achieving good results.

Regards,
Kumar Kodukulla

Hi, my best wishes to you in managing the people. The best way to recover from the attendance problem is to check whether the machine is branded, because nowadays most machines are imported from China. As we already know, Chinese products are not the best for long-term usage.

Consider Surveillance Cameras

Next, if possible, ask your management to arrange surveillance cameras for the entrance of the office. There are two benefits to this: firstly, catching those who misuse the operation, and secondly, for security reasons.

Immediate Reporting for Punch Issues

Please instruct employees to report immediately if their punch does not record. In the case of two or three instances, you can ask the employee to re-register another finger for the biometric punch. In our organization, we have 4,000 employees using it, and it is working fine.

Attendance Regularization Process

Alternatively, you can start attendance regularization by appointing one authorized person who will be responsible for regularizing one's In-Punches. Please monitor whether anyone is using regularization for In-Punches only, and then confront them if necessary. I think this will work.