Seriously, we are in 2017 and punch card system for attendance is so old school, even our grandpa knows with how it works. Undoubtedly with punch card  system the process of clocking is simple; you take a card assigned to you, slot it into a gigantic clock that shows your time and push the card inside the clock until the machine stamps the time on the card. There should be nothing wrong with that, should it? You’re definitely wrong. To punch the card is irrefutably simple, but the process that comes after the punching of the card that is going to cost you more money than you wish to admit.

Manual data collection from a stack of paper is a mundane task. Nobody is looking forward to doing this task especially not during crunch time at the end of each month. When one has to take a bunch of information from papers and transfers it into a file, mistakes tend to happen. And it’s hard to confirm the accuracy of the data until it’s being compared to the actual ones, and who has time to do that? The fraudulent and careless staff, at the end of the day, could cost companies a lot of money from attendance alone.

Buddy punching is also a never-ending case in conventional attendance system. The mantra for buddy puncher is, “You scratch my back and I scratch yours; I punch for you today and you punch for me next". Nobody is going to flag anything amiss if the time is punched at the appropriate times. It doesn’t matter who punches the card, what matter is; the card has been punched with a time stamp. The punch card system is absolutely simple, inexpensive and requires no technical know how but the truth is, manual attendance system always put employers and business owners on the losing side due human factors and errors.

Biometrics technology also is not exactly new; it has been around for more than a decade and it has done amazing jobs to businesses far and beyond expectations. The appeals of biometrics system are simply on its accuracy and automation. It’s not magic; the matching technology of fingerprint and facial recognition leaves no room for fraudulent behavior to seep into your organization. No proof of the correct employee, no attendance will be recorded. The world has been buzzing about artificial intelligence, data analysis, IoT appliances, cloud technology, block chain and etc, but if a business doesn’t start automating its process, it might not survive the next wave of change.

Biometrics like FingerTec system automates attendance’s and door access’s data collection and making it easier for the management software to generate, calculate and analyze the data for better assessment and remedial actions. The convenience of biometrics solution is second to none because it can accomplish data collection faster than you can punch a card. It takes less than 2 seconds to verify an identity accurately. Automation is important because it saves time; eliminate errors and opens up efficient collaboration with other relevant third party solution like payroll for better performance and cost effectiveness. And most importantly, when the data is correct, ready and uniform, migration to other technology like cloud solution would be breezy for the future.

So, what do you say we set a date to biometricize your business operation?  

Contact info@fingertec.com to find out how.

The intricacy of the modern world poses a lot of challenges in managing today’s workforce. Handling workforce and work time are not as straightforward as taking note when somebody comes to work at 9 and leaves at 6pm, for example. Work hour is not only limited to what an employer needs from their employees, it also has to fulfill employee rights according to the law. An employee can’t simply request to work overtime at anytime they please just to finish the job and earn more money but it has to adhere to the company’s budget, the labor law and overall ROI. An employer cannot demand an employee to work more than a certain hour daily to increase productivity, and the employee can’t work less than the agreed work time in the employment contract without consequences.

Managing workforce requires an application that can cater to compliances while keeping your company costs at its optimum level. 

Labor law of one’s country governs the work hours and the overtime imposed and taken by employer and employee. Malaysia for example, by law each employee is required to work 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Maximum total overtime allowed is 12 hours per day and 104 hours per month. Working overtime on a weekday entitles an employee to a 1.5 times wages calculation and 2 times if overtime happens on weekend rest days or holidays. Each employee should be given 1 day a week rest, 30 hours a week rest for shift workers, 30 minutes minimum break after 5 hours work and 45 minutes minimum break in 8 hours of work. While the rules sound simple to follow but without a proper application to monitor, abiding by these rules could pose a challenge to many companies. 

Mexico has different sets of labor law that limits only 3 hours per day overtime and a maximum of 9 hours overtime per week. The overtime is calculated twice the fixated wages in the first 9 hours and 3 times if it exceeds 9 hours. An employee should be given a one-day rest in a week and 30 minutes minimum break in 9 hours of work. Vietnam, on the other hand, allows a maximum overtime of 4 hours per day and 200 hours per year where the overtime will be paid 1.5% higher than the existing salary during weekdays and double during rest days.

Hence, when buying time attendance system, the software needs to have all these compliances settings in place. At FingerTec, our software TimeTec V3 and TimeTec TA provide users with the compliance settings for work hours, breaks and overtime to protect your company from getting fines and penalties for breaking the labor law, intentionally or ignorantly.

Ask yourself this, have your staffs been taking more overtime hours than permitted by law or you are not in the know?

Have they been taking breaks as required or they just stay in the office without recording proofs of breaks?

Has your Human Resource department been calculating their overtime right according to the labor rate or they forgot?

Bury the loopholes and start having a system that complies with the law and frees yourself from worries. And best of all, stick to a system that gives you automation and cost-effectiveness at the same time. Try FingerTec at info@fingertec.com

Change in inevitable and for those who refused to change will be left behind. It’s true.

I just came back from my vacation and everything was done self-service at the comfort of our own home and our own pace. Flight tickets were booked and paid online, visa applications were settled and paid online, accommodation bookings were made and paid online, our car for hire were booked and paid online, theme parks ticket were purchased and paid online; okay you get the drift of the ‘doing things online’ bit.

My point is, nowadays people are so used to doing things on their own, online, without hesitation or worry. In fact, it’s becoming uncommon for people to engage with agencies in traveling related matters these days or they might be labeled as ‘old school’ should they continue to do so. Online stores have seeped into our lives, threatening the very existence of brick and mortar shops, and making all-day shopping dream a reality for many women. 

After 8 hours of flight, we arrived at midnight and there was no reception working overtime to wait for us; the cost of labor is too high to wait for a few customers who arrive at wee hours. We were instructed to open a safe and they left us a key to the apartment and a HID tag to enter the building. We did everything on our own without any problems, frustrations or arguments. A big plus point, imho. 

My point is, the world has become automated that we are tuned to be independent. Automation in our life and our workplace are unavoidable. In the office, all departments are using Google Drive to connect shared data with relevant team members. Skype has been one of the most important communication tools to connect us with other colleagues effectively, reducing noise and unnecessary awkwardness and waste of time. Many argued that the automation technology reduces human interactions and development, but believe me, in developing these solutions, user experience, and user interaction have been made priorities. 

When we first started with fingerprint technology, never have we thought that the solution will be available online and on mobile phones. Fast forward 15 years, the solution is on the Internet and mobile, making things easy(er) for everybody. FingerTec allows its data to be viewed online at the comfort of your own space and pace, and managers in charge can think of the effective remedy if any noncompliance and attendance anomalies occur to reduce cost and increase effectiveness of the operation. 

In keeping up with the pace of today's business, FingerTec is offering automation for workforce management with FingerTec biometrics devices and TimeTec TA cloud application. Use our fingerprint and face biometrics product to monitor your workforce and keep an eye on every activity in the paid times without being intrusive with TimeTec TA. 

The world is getting older but somehow, unlike us humans, the world doesn’t seem to slow down. The world doesn’t change in size but somehow; it feels smaller and connected than ever. You can now work from any location in the world and be connected to your office with TimeTec TA. 

We don’t stop there; we carry on with other workforce cloud solutions to serve our clients in the future. 

I know it's cliche but change is truly inevitable and those who resist change will be fixated in time and be left behind. 

Mrs Norana Johar

Group Chief Operating Officer

Question 1
“Can I use chopped fingers to report attendance?”
Dude, what are you doing with chopped fingers inside your pockets; FYI Acrotomophilia is a mental sickness and to carry it around for attendance is totally mental. FingerTec biometrics terminals do not accept dead fingers; we are always pro-life.

Question 2
“What happen when someone ugly-looking uses Face ID?”
(We swear at least three people asked this question) He/she might wish someone else’s name appeared on the screen. With 99.9% accuracy, FingerTec’s face recognition terminal will show his/her face and his/her name in a mere second. FingerTec system doesn’t discriminate.

Question 3
“My wife complains that she couldn’t get her fingers verified when using biometrics system.”
May we suggest that you hire a maid or help around the house, sir? Excessive use of fingers especially when doing house chores with chemicals would destroy the fingerprint ridges on the surface of the fingerprints, making identification of minutiae points difficult. Wash that bathroom yourself sometimes, we suggest.

Question 4
“Do you have any footprint verification machine?”
FootTec is taken and the machine’s price would be as large as Shaquille O’Niel’s shoe size. People would have to take their shoes and socks off, and it’d make foot fetishists very happy. Looking at the possibilities, we would say no.

Question 5
“Why can’t we register 10 faces for a person in Face ID when we can register 10 fingers in your fingerprint devices?”
We do not recommend the use of Face ID for selfies. Face ID is for time attendance and door access system; one face for one person should be sufficient to verify that person’s identity but we do provide a maximum of 2 face templates per ID to cater to people who wear glasses, like Clark Kent aka Superman. Register your face with and without glasses in one user ID and you are good to go. And just so you know, each of your finger is different and a system can cater up to 10 fingers as backup in case Question no. 1 happened.

Question 6
“Can these fingerprint data be used for other criminal purposes, like rob a bank?”
Refrain from watching too much Heist movies and Criminal Minds. FingerTec’s fingerprint templates have been engineered with a set of algorithm making it suitable for time attendance and door access purposes only and the reverse engineering is not an option.

Question 7
“Some claims that the use of fingerprint machines can cause itchiness. Does the device produce some kind of radiation from the fingerprint scanner?”
Keep Calamine lotion in your bathroom and carry on, even though we know scratching is satisfying. FingerTec’s fingerprint scanners do not emit any harmful radiation to humans or animals as it is just LED light and the products have been FCC and EC proved. A visit to a dermatologist is highly recommended.

Question 8
“People say that it’s easy to duplicate fingers using silicone and you can use these fingerprints on any device”
FingerTec is hiring. Access to this page: http://www.fingertec.com/career/
Unless someone has the access to a money vault, nobody is interested to duplicate his/her fingers. And if he/she has the access to a money vault, why do you think he/she needs to report attendance? FingerTec terminals do not accept silicone fingers, we stick to humans.

To get your hands on FingerTec biometrics technologies, contact us at 603-80709933 or email us info@fingertec.com and access our website at www.fingertec.com

FingerTec’s positioning is clear; we are in the mid-range market. The question is where are we positioned in the mid-range market? Do we place ourselves closer to the low-range market, or do we aim higher, securing a position near to the high-end corner? Consumers choose products from the low-range market largely due to price. The lower the better. In short, they least expect to receive great support and high quality products. As long as the price is right, they’ll buy the products, deal with the support and quality issues as and when they arise, and believe me they arose. The market is well aware that product quality and great support are positively correlated to the market positioning.

To be positioned near to the low-range, we need to pay more attention to providing slightly better quality product with more focus on support. If consumer could obtain answers to their technical support questions in the shortest amount possible and the answers settle their problems, then we have done a good job. Consumers would feel okay to pay slightly more for the slightly extra service.

FingerTec however, wants to aim a little bit higher. It’s imperative for us to be spotted higher on the grid and closer to the high-end products. We want our customer to feel that FingerTec is worth the money they spend. Nonetheless, there’s a lot to be done and dealt with and then some more!

FingerTec has ensured the product’s quality from the get go, providing sought after features, making sure that the clients get what they are paying for. With products come supporting resources such as manuals, video guides, warranty matters, support issues – and our objective is clear, we make things easy for our clients. Then, we move forward to the next step where we provide marketing support to our resellers through our online resources. As a FingerTec reseller, you can get all readily available materials just by downloading them online, and if you couldn’t find what you are looking for, we are always there to assist.

Moving along, FingerTec stops and looks at the areas where we can help resellers deal with customers. We engrave our support@fingertec.com on all FingerTec hardware, relaying a message that we are here should you have any problems, regardless from whom you bought this machine from. This does not discount the role of resellers in the whole process but subconsciously we lend a helping hand for the benefit of all parties. We’ve also made available the back-end system for resellers to trace and track their orders with us, to have history of purchases online through Cloudtrack, tweaking our system to benefit our resellers in the long run. Ultimately, we bend backwards for our resellers and customers.

Bending backwards to satisfy our customers

Aiming a little bit higher, we want to be near to the high-end spectrum, as a company that provides quality products at an affordable price. In our effort to become better and to provide more information, we published Academia, pseudo-academic articles to present our technologies better, to present deployment of our solutions better, to tackle industry needs of our system better. Moving forward, there are many plans in the pipeline that’s going to provide our clients with value-added advantages going into the market with the FingerTec brand.

So when you ask yourself, are you paying a good price for FingerTec solution? The answer is a definite one. 

By Norana Johar, COO, FingerTec HQ

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” might hold true to some cases but to continue with a less viable system when the new and powerful system is readily available at NO COST to you is definitely not a good business decision anytime.

Over a decade ago, FingerTec introduced TCMS V2 as Time Control Management System for all FingerTec products and over the years this software has gained attention and trust of the markets for its comprehensive time attendance and its simple door access features. But change is always inevitable.

Alongside this move, the company has geared up to strengthen its position in the access control and security industry, moving towards the vertical market share. The company develops access controllers and its management software to match the standards of the access security industry. Extensive research and development were carried out and as a result, we initiated a solution loaded with extensive features of door access solutions.

This perfect solution for FingerTec door access system was introduced by the name INGRESS.

INGRESS indeed is monumental to the brand's image as it will be our main software that spearheads FingerTec’s door access solutions. The TCMS V2's ratio of 8:2 in terms of Time Attendance and Door Access feature is not suitable anymore for our customers who are targeting door access segment of the market and as so, many great access features are wasted by those who choose to stay put with TCMS V2. 

Ingress should be THE solution, hands down, for it has 3 times or even more door access features compared to TCMS V2  and it has ALL the Time Attendance features of TCMS V2 plus 10% more, making it a superior software for your door access system. If your business focus is on access market, choosing Ingress over TCMS V2 is second to none, it's no longer an option that you could make. 

At this opportunity, I’m urging you, our esteemed resellers and customers to make the switch to Ingress to experience its superiority. To ease the transition, we have prepared migration tool that would help you in your data migration process  from TCMS V2 to Ingress smoothly. We don't have it in reverse though for we want to encourage you to experience and stay with Ingress software. We also encourage those who are using time attendance model to switch to Ingress because Ingress has all the features that TCMS V2 have and we will continue  adding features on Ingress while TCMS V2's  development will only be limited on bug fixes.

I couldn’t discount the fact that you are more familiar with TCMS V2 and to change that would mean that you have to take baby steps to learn and train your customers to follow. Nevertheless, the change is inevitable for the growth and the goal that we are aiming for in this segment of the market.  

I also would like to stress that come October 2014, it’ll no longer be an option for you to select either TCMS or Ingress for your door access solutions. We’ll impose a policy whereby all door access products will be bundled with Ingress and a fee will be charged to obtain TCMSv2 software for your door access products. Though there is still time before the policy is activated, I strongly recommend that you start the switch now, learn about Ingress, know its features and benefits, learn its tips and tricks, and start pushing it to your door access customers. If you are not confident, the trial version is available to give you that boost. While you are there, learn also about our powerful Ingressus series controllers that will bring access control to another level. 

We have worked hard to present you the best solution for access control and it's time for us to give you that nudge to switch. 

Below is the recap of the reasons why you need to choose INGRESS:

• INGRESS is loaded with 3 times or more features of door access in TCMS V2 while having 110% features of TCMS V2's time attendance, hence it's only logical for those who are in security access business to use INGRESS.
• The data Migration Tool  from TCMS V2 is available for smooth transfer to INGRESS without any hiccup.
• The TRIAL version is available for you to test and familiarize yourself before you switch
• Manuals, videos, guides, etc are readily available for your to train your staff and resellers. 
• The R&D efforts are continuous and more features will be added while TCMS V2's will only be on bug fixes
• Starting October, we will be charging those who purchase door access products but require TCMS V2 software
• And last but certainly not least, it is FREE of CHARGE. 

So, you have no reason to hesitate. Our only assurance to you is, INGRESS will IMPRESS. 

 By Norana Johar, COO, FingerTec HQ