CAMPBELL, CALIF. - October
31, 2006 - Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies today announced that O'Neal
Steel, a full-line metal service center headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is
using 46 of its biometric HandPunch terminals in 35 locations across the United
States to input time and attendance. O'Neal Steel is the largest family-owned
metals service center in the United States, employing 2500 workers and operating
multiple locations across the nation.
Instead of re-implementing a new system of badge readers, O'Neal Steel wanted
to avoid past experiences of employees losing their badges or buddy-punching,
in which one employee punches in or out for another. As a result, O'Neal Steel
selected the HandPunch, which automatically takes a three-dimensional reading
of the size and shape of a hand and verifies the user's identity in less than
one second. These biometric readers eliminate the need for employees to carry
a badge, thus purging the problem of lost or forgotten badges. HandPunches provide
more accurate information about who, where and when employees are working and
eliminate buddy-punching.
"People lose their badges. Fingerprint does not function well in the dirt
and dust so the HandPunch was the answer for us. We find hand geometry to be
less intrusive and the best functioning biometric in a harsh environment,"
said Bill Burks, network specialist with O'Neal Steel. "The best thing
of all is that there are no badges involved and employees simply can't lose
their hands. Most of the 46 original biometric handreaders are still in service
seven years later and need very little maintenance."
The HandPunch readers operate in a warehouse setting where there is an abundance
of dust and oftentimes water leaks from the corrugated metal roofs. The units
are installed in enclosures at the entrance to the buildings and at the break
rooms. In order to clock-in, employees plug in their employee number and then
present their hand.
O'Neal Steel is using Attendance Enterprise software for time and attendance.
Being online, O'Neal Steel can monitor who is at different locations throughout
the day. In addition, employees can transfer from one cost center to another,
using the HandPunch to record the time it takes to complete a project or make
repairs. When needed, payroll can be done from a home office on the weekend
because all data is transferable and accessible via the Internet.
O'Neal Steel's time and attendance solution was implemented by Gorrie Regan
& Associates of Birmingham, Ala.
Ingersoll Rand Recognition Systems was named a recent recipient of the Application
Market Penetration Leadership Award for access control and time and attendance
applications in Frost & Sullivan's study, World Biometrics Market. Website
is www.recognitionsystems.ingersollrand.com.