Oftenly, people confuse access controls with Time and attendance machines.
The Confusion
Judging by the various queries that we have faced from our clients, there is apparently lots of confusion amongst some people regarding these two very different industries. In a bid to clarify the differences and to help people who are confused between the two to determine exactly what they should be looking for.
Access Control
Access control refers specifically to the prevention of entry of undesired individuals into a controlled area. This initially involves fencing off, walling or otherwise securing the controlled area. Then having some form of controlled entry and exit to that area. In it’s simplest form this may involve a security guard at the entrance using face control or checking the credentials of potential visitors. In a more sophisticated form it may involve fingerprint readers attached to an electronic turnstile.Access control does not specifically imply any recording of entry or exit times of individuals but it is a natural addition to any automatic system. Some systems do as a matter of course record entry and exit times of the candidates but this does not necessarily imply that there is any form of calculation of the hours that the candidate was within the secured area. As soon as you start calculating hours from this data, you are entering the realm of a Time and Attendance system. However the data collection methodology of a system specifically designed for time and attendance recording will usually have built in facilities for error correction such as an employee entering twice without exiting. Believe it or not this can be a big problem.
Time and Attendance
Time and attendance relates to the recording of the start and stop times of employees specifically for the purpose of calculating
time-sheets showing hours worked and exceptions such as late arrivals. It is normally used for the purpose of calculating the wages of hourly paid employees. Sometimes companies want to keep track of salary earning employees to ensure that they are getting their fair share of their employees time and to reprimand tardiness and be made aware of any other exceptions. Time and attendance may be as simple as a book where employees write their arrival and departure times in, right up to a fingerprint time and attendance terminal linked directly to a payroll system.
time-sheets showing hours worked and exceptions such as late arrivals. It is normally used for the purpose of calculating the wages of hourly paid employees. Sometimes companies want to keep track of salary earning employees to ensure that they are getting their fair share of their employees time and to reprimand tardiness and be made aware of any other exceptions. Time and attendance may be as simple as a book where employees write their arrival and departure times in, right up to a fingerprint time and attendance terminal linked directly to a payroll system.Time and attendance does not imply any form of control regarding who is allowed to enter the premises but of course some Time and Attendance systems do offer an Access Control option which means that the Clocking terminal can be connected to an electronic lock and open the door simultaneously when an employee clocks in or out. These can be very effective if your access control requirement is a simple single entry point or two entry point system.
However,Biometrics machine technologies have evolved over time.
Authorized access has come a long way from using keys, pin codes, cards, and fingerprints. We now find ourselves stepping into the era of face recognition.
The use of face recognition in access control and time attendance has been an inevitable trend, which creates advantageous “touch-free” experience. With advanced deep learning technology and practical functions, Our HIK Face Recognition Terminals bring better security and improved efficiency to access control and time attendance tracking, making them easier than ever!