Here you can learn more about staff time recording in manufacturing. Get to know the definition and the benefits.
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Staff time recording in manufacturing – definition & advantages
What is time recording all about?
Time recording, or personnel time recording, means that a company systematically records the working hours of its employees. At a minimum, the start and end of work are recorded. A variety of methods does this. Today, electronic time recording systems predominantly take over the task of the good old time clock in production.
Why do companies need digital time recording?
In the past, working hours were recorded primarily to control employees. Today, time recording is a duty and an essential component of corporate management. Modern technology is indispensable here. Electronic time recording systems are accurate, efficient, and cost-effective. They make it easy to determine overtime, document actual working hours, and monitor compliance with agreed working hours. Working time can be recorded to the minute without much effort in a manufacturing company. An interface to payroll accounting facilitates accounting. Employee attendance is stored in a database. This allows relevant vital figures to be analyzed and evaluated. In this way, statements can be made about the business’s productivity. The results, in turn, allow conclusions to be drawn about which measures are possible or necessary to improve work processes.
Personnel time recording today: How it works
Modern methods that replace the time clock today include fingerprints, electronic personnel time recording, and software-based time management. The analysis possibilities of time recording are almost unlimited. Most personnel time recording systems also have integrated interfaces to other leading systems, such as ERP. Software-based time recording is perfect for small and medium-sized companies, as it is less cost-intensive than time recording terminals. It is straightforward to use, so no training is needed for employees. They log into the program when they start work, and the working time is recorded. In addition, the programs also offer the option of assigning the operating hours to individual projects or clients. This can significantly facilitate accounting and make it possible to check the effectiveness of the work. In addition, staff time recording offers a little bit more justice. All employees’ working hours are automatically tracked and stored. This allows companies and employees to arrange working hours and overtime reduction more flexibly. Employees can choose the times they work within defined limits. They can accumulate hours in phases with a lot of work to reduce them again later – in times with less work.
Staff time recording in production – document working time without gaps.
The complete recording of working hours of all employees in production is the primary task of personnel time recording. Various functions such as wage & salary accounting based on the recorded working times, online holiday applications, and attendance tables facilitate administration.
How are the times recorded in the factory?
At a so-called shop floor terminal or PDA terminal, the worker books his attendance times via a chip card or a transponder. At the same time, the access authorizations for the respective workplace are checked, and the chronological order of the bookings. These are offset and totaled in the corresponding time accounts. Absence days such as holidays, illness, or vocational school are displayed in a clear calendar.
In addition, access management can be realized via the ERP system, whereby it determines which employees or groups of employees have access to which areas or workplaces with which orders. In addition, the use of personnel time recording in production offers the possibility of synchronizing the data with a production planning or detailed planning system and thus realizing optimal shift planning with the appropriately qualified employees for the respective workplace & order.
- EXAMPLE SHIFT PLANNING: Shift planning is part of the production but works closely with staff time recording. Here, the attendances and absences of the individual employees and the allocation to the shift models are scheduled. The personnel times of the scheduled employees are thus managed per shift. At the same time, a skills matrix ensures that certain employees with relevant qualifications are present in each change.
- EXAMPLE ORDER TIME RECORDING: The order time recording is almost a part of the shop floor data collection because it not only books the coming/going/break times but can also assign them to a project simultaneously. The corresponding project times from the time recording software can then be used, for example, for cost control of the project or at the same time serve as a timesheet for the customer.
Advantages of personnel time recording
The above already shows the advantages of personnel time recording. A survey of various companies showed that certain functions of electronic time recording systems are essential to users: About 40% find it advantageous to evaluate working times more efficiently than is possible with mechanical personnel time recording. Another 30% have stated that detailed information about their employees’ sick leave and overtime is essential. For 14% of those surveyed, the most crucial argument favoring personnel time recording is the saved personnel and administrative costs, and 12% are particularly pleased about the time savings. 4% report increased employee motivation through personnel time recording.
With digital personnel time recording, you have an optimal overview of the hours worked and thus fair and equitable accounting, a summary of holidays as well as attendances and absences of employees, recording of target times and actual times to the second, precise control of compliance with work-related and also legal requirements, high transparency about holiday and time accounts and efficient planning of personnel deployment. Small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing benefit from this.
The advantages of personnel time recording for each role at a glance
Why is personnel time recording particularly interesting for manufacturing?
Many companies already have an electronic time recording system and are very satisfied. Because such personnel time recording systems mean an enormous gain in efficiency for them, not only can the working hours worked by the employees be recorded, but project bookings can also be made with it. This allows for efficient production management. A high degree of flexibility in time use is significant for production. This is the only way for companies to assert themselves in competition sustainably.
However, there are still reservations about digital systems. In particular, the skilled trades still use conventional methods for personnel time recording, and some companies still have some catching up to do here. Digital techniques are now standard in most companies, and they generally take every opportunity to improve their performance and thus their competitiveness. Electronic systems are a stylish way to increase productivity and save time simultaneously. Many examples from the manufacturing sector show this. What holds some companies back is the belief that the subject is too complicated and requires a high investment. As a result, they are often reluctant to abandon tried and tested operating processes. Therefore, it is important to have easily accessible and understandable information about digital time recording and, in addition, the willingness of a company to deal with it. Thus, the following benefits result from personnel time recording:
- Increased efficiency
- High flexibility
- Competitiveness
Chambers of skilled crafts and the corresponding trade associations can provide companies with advice and support, point out innovative technologies, and accompany their introduction. If you want to be prepared for the future, you cannot do without electronic time recording. Discover the personnel time recording with the FORCAM solution.
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