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Reading up on T&A

Security today has gone so much further than just protecting against robberies, it has become more about assessing and understanding risk, offering insights and information on market trends and behaviour, and coming up with the most appropriate solution.

Cedric Greeves

In line with this, Cedric Greeves, sales leader: Tyco Integrated Fire & Security South Africa says his approach is generally to harden from the inside out by offering a fully integrated solution starting with access control into specific areas utilising sophisticated biometric verification backed by CCTV. This is supported by security guards, or loss prevention officers as they are now referred to, backed by a pro-active control room to manage the situation.

Using a comprehensive range of security products and services from leading edge electronic systems including EAS, CCTV, remote video monitoring, fire systems and gas detection and suppression through to manned guarding and access control, Tyco provides the platforms that allow customers to integrate all of these solutions into a single front-end for ease of monitoring and reaction. “All products are selected and designed for forward and backward compatibility to ensure that solutions can change as customers’ needs change or allows customers to sweat these assets for much longer in response to increased budgetary constraints. All programming and configuration of systems is managed by our team,” adds Greeves.

To complement its bouquet of business security solutions, Greeves says Tyco recently added time and attendance monitoring to its portfolio.

“In a business environment, manual and repetitive tasks take up a lot of time – time that could be greatly reduced if an automated system was introduced. One of the most time-intensive processes for many businesses is the tracking of staff attendance and coordinating payroll accordingly. Automated, web-based systems that integrate with human resources and payroll offer significant cost savings, increased productivity, accurate workforce reporting and easier access to attendance data.”

Tyco was recently appointed to supply the Astrow Time and Attendance system to a leading book retailer. “With over 40 stores in South Africa and Botswana, an automated time and attendance system made sense for this customer,” explains Greeves.

The Astrow Suite virtual terminal allows employees to clock in using a Web browser, which means the system can be centralised and is able to cater for remote workers too. The fingerprint biometrics can be connected to an existing network. All data is then processed centrally and accessed via AstrowWEB throughout the enterprise using a standard web browser.

“Automation of the time and attendance system enables users to accurately track staff hours, eliminating the costs and frustrations of a traditional payroll system. But over and above the payroll benefits, the system gives users the ability to monitor leave days, overtime and breaks, as well as offering better insights into an employee’s performance and time management skills,” he explains.

“This information is recorded and can be reported on, making it a useful tool for human resource management. Employees are able to access this information as well as any other messages easily, which empowers the employee and creates a mutually trusting relationship.”

Managers can be assigned specific rights that enable them to draw reports, track absenteeism, authorise overtime and also request leave on behalf of a staff member. Easy access to accurate data enables business owners to predict the number of hours and manpower required for a project. We need to mention integration with fingerprint biometrics that can be connected to an existing network. All data is then processed centrally and accessed via AstrowWEB throughout the enterprise using a standard Web browser.

“The Astrow Time and Attendance system gives business owners a good grasp on some of the workforce trends in their organisation, giving them insights into labour expenses and project costs,” says Greeves. “The return on investment is quickly realised, owing to the cost savings related to reduction in human errors and increased productivity.”

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