In today’s competitive environment, vigilant cost control has become a critical business factor in manufacturing industries. While the modern manufacturing environment would not exist without the use of technology, continued business process improvements are a necessity to ensure the survival of many manufacturing sectors. In addition, improved efficiency and cost containment can be gained not only from improving manufacturing capabilities, but also through better management of human resource functions.

The use of paper-based time sheets to collect employee time attendance costs businesses dearly.
- Inaccurate time recording by fellow co-workers
- The time and effort to physically gather, and manually tally and audit time sheets
- Computation errors occurring from simple key entry errors, transposing of numbers, and misreading of handwritten records

The presence of a high-value inventory and valuable equipment.
- High value manufacturing equipment are vulnerable to tampering or theft by unauthorized individuals when not properly secured or monitored.
- Inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods must be accurately protected to ensure that they tampered with or stolen.


Solutions
iCrescendo offers systems that can solve challenges faced by manufacturing companies with the use of biometric technology.

Time and Attendance Automation
The smart2K/bio provides an affordable solution to organizations seeking to accurately automate their employee attendance data collection. By capturing 1,000 data points on each fingerprint, the biometric sensor authenticates an employee’s identity and presence at the workplace. Fingerprint verification further reduces operational costs by eliminating the need for cards and badges.

The smart2K/bio package contains the necessary components to easily automate attendance data collection “right out of the box”, including the SmartWeb software to configure the terminal and manage user records. Collected attendance data can be fed into an Excel spreadsheet or virtually any time and attendance software application.

Companies using paper-based timesheets can gain significant cost savings from data collection automation. The American Payroll Association estimates that it takes on average 5 to 6 minutes to manually add and audit one employee's time card each pay period. When discrepancies occur, that time can magnify significantly. In addition, manual computation errors cost an average of 1 to 8 percent of a company’s gross payroll expense annually.


Access Control Management
The smart2K/bio can also serve as an access control terminal to secure premises from unauthorized individuals. Equipped with the most accurate biometric fingerprint reader in the market today, the smart2K/bio is encased in die-cast aluminum with a footprint of just 6 x 9 inches. The device is space-efficient yet durable enough to protect a door when it matters. Within this rugged exterior is a highly versatile terminal designed to meet the access control needs of any size facility. Optional card readers are available for those facilities using identity badges or cards for their operations.


Biometric verification reduces administrative and material costs of keys and badge systems, and eliminates unauthorized access due to PIN sharing and lost badges or keys. The smart2K/bio package also includes the SmartWeb software to easily configure the terminal and manage user records. This browser-based administration software also allows for remote and multi-site deployment and management. Its open system design with XML support provides easy integration to run on Windows and non-Windows platforms.

Digital Surveillance
Digital surveillance cameras continuously monitor and record activity in sensitive areas. In addition to serving as a visible deterrent, surveillance systems provide the needed evidence to qualify and investigate incidents during and after they occur. Healthcare facilities can further reduce their liability and costs by more effectively managing incidents.