Mitrefinch and Sage MicrOpay provide Eaton Electric with a complete Time and Attendance and Payroll Solution

Eaton Electric Systems are one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of power distribution equipment, electrical control products and advanced industrial automation solutions. The Company has 220 employees at its modern manufacturing plant at Mascot in Sydney.

The Problem

With a growing market and expanding workforce the decision was taken in early 2002 to look for a new time and attendance system which could accommodate the evolving needs of the company.

Eaton Group’s IT Manager, explains:

Although our old computerised system had previously met our needs it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was not being upgraded or updated to the extent of competing systems on the market. We also needed a solution that could readily integrate with our security system at some stage in the future.

The Solution

We invited Mitrefinch to demonstrate their Time and Attendance System (TMS) and following an extensive evaluation it became clear that their solution was as technically advanced as other products available yet provided good value for money.

Mitrefinch TMS system is also a vital tool for Eaton’s Payroll Department as it provides a wealth of information at the press of a button.

“Mitrefinch TMS is simple to use, requires minimal training and provides accurate information as and when I need it”.

Results

“We wanted a system that was really easy to use on a day-to-day basis, and Mitrefinch TMS has proved to be exactly that. The transition was smooth and within a few weeks the system was ‘live’, and had been delivered on time and within budget”.

“Our staff have also taken to the system as it is much easier to use than our previous setup and it provides them with access to their personal information at the clocking terminals”.

“Mitrefinch TMS has proved to be highly reliable and can interface with Sage MicrOpay with just a click of the mouse.”

“We recently required some configuration changes to the systems to meet our ever changing business needs and the flexibility of TMS is ever reassuring.”

For more information on Eaton Electrical Systems see: http://eatoncorp.com.au" target="_blank">http://eatoncorp.com.au

TDG benefit from improved scheduling with Mitrefinch Time and Attendance

TDG is one of Europe's leading supply chain solution providers. Founded in 1922, the Company has undergone continued growth and now employs over 8,000 people at more than 250 sites across Europe.

In the UK, the Company's various sites use the Mitrefinch Time Management System (TMS) to manage the time and attendance requirements of its 130 staff. The system was originally installed in the mid 1990s and has been upgraded several times since.

Accurate payroll processing

Mitrefinch TMS provides data and reports for TDG's payroll system, which ensures that wages can be more accurately and quickly calculated, taking into account basic hours, overtime and absences. 

Measure performance against KPIs

TDG's Facilities Manager explains:

"The Mitrefinch system has many benefits. We can produce detailed reports to measure performance against our key performance indicators. The custom reporting function also allows us to run reports on specific information that we are evaluating. It's a great management resource!"

Improved scheduling and skills management

"It is quick and easy for us to set up rosters for warehouse and office staff, and with a higher degree of accuracy. The is particularly important as it helps us to plan with specific skill sets in mind, such as ensuring a first aider is always on site."

On a daily basis Mitrefinch TMS is used to run anomalies, add holidays, monitor absences, change access clearance and produce detailed management reports.

"Mitrefinch TMS is a key part of our daily activity and with the recent upgrade the system is better than ever!"

For more information of TDG Logistics see: http://www.tdg.com" target="_blank">http://www.tdg.eu.com

Converso benefit from Mitrefinch's web based clocking and self service tools

Converso are a leading telemarketing service provider, providing outbound, inbound and reception services for companies across Europe. They operate from a state of the art 180 seat Customer Contact Centre in the UK.

Across all areas of their business Converso believe that investing in technology helps them provide the highest level of service to their customers and gives them an edge over their competitors. Following a review of their call centre operations, Converso’s Management team felt that their existing processes for monitoring work time was no-longer up to the job and it was time to look at a new system.

Biometrics replace old swipe card system

Converso selected the web enabled Mitrefinch Time and Attendance system, as they felt it fitted well with the high-tech nature of their operations. They also chose Mitrefinch’s biometric fingerprint terminals to replace their old card readers.

As Lisa Blinkhorne, HR and Payroll Manager explains:

“Our old time logging system was based on swipe cards which were not ideal as they were easy to lose or damage. We constantly had to issue new cards to staff who had forgotten theirs. More seriously, there was the danger that the system could be open to abuse by employees swiping in on behalf of their colleagues, allowing them to claim for time they had not worked"

Now when staff arrive for work they simply enter a pin number to identify themselves then place their finger on the reader. The number code generated from their finger ridges is automatically checked against the genuine code for that pin number. This pin and finger combination provides Converso with an excellent combination of security and fast processing speeds, without any cards to go missing.

Self service tools improve employee engagement

In addition, when staff log on at their PC and are ready to begin work they can clock in using Mitrefinch web-based application. From here they can also view their entitlements and request leave (subject to supervisor approval).

Mitrefinch TMS has really improved efficiency within the HR and Payroll department: "Administration has been reduced as it is no longer necessary to manually check off anomalies in hours worked. The supervisors are now responsible for ensuring all their absence hours are signed off for their own team, which is ideal as they are better placed to know why a team member's hours do not match their roster. Payroll data is now much more accurate and produced more quickly”.

Identify potential absence trends and issues

She adds, “supervisors have access to a visual attendance planner which allows them to easily spot patterns or problem absence in their team and address it appropriately. It also allows them to commend good performers."

HR can now run numerous reports for the contact centre management team allowing them to make comparisons, identify trends in absence and act accordingly. They can generate bespoke reports on request with the easy to use built in Report Writer.

"Staff have taken to the new technology very well. They appreciate the improved accuracy of the attendance recording facility as it translates into an accurate record for them each month”.

For more information on Converso see: http://www.converso.co.uk" target="_blank">http://www.converso.co.uk

Prime Laundry utilise employee working time more effectively with Mitrefinch Time and Attendance

Prime Laundry & Dry Cleaning is the largest independent, privately owned laundry and linen provider in Western Australia. Operating from Belmont, with a satellite distribution warehouse in Bunbury, they have a workforce of over 150 and a fleet of 15 trucks and vans enabling them to operate 7 days per week.

Faced with inefficiencies that resulted from manual time recording and payroll calculation, Prime required a centralised workforce management system that would enable them to utilise their employees’ working time more effectively and gain greater operational control.

Different pay rules had to be applied for the payment of different categories of workers, creating challenges in the consistent application of pay rules.

In addition, Prime had also experienced some issues with “Buddy Punching”, whereby employees inappropriately enter time and labour data for each other.

This in turn led to lower productivity levels and inaccuracies in payroll calculation.

Prime’s Chief Financial Officer explains:

“We required an employee management system that was more dependable, efficient and flexible, capable of capturing accurate employee data in a quick and easy manner.”

Managing different pay rates, shifts and work rules

Prime decided to implement Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance solution (TMS) upon recommendation from one of their industry peers, Aarons Linen, who had previously implemented the system at their Queensland operation.

Now, when Prime staff arrive for work, they clock in via a Mitrefinch Biometric Clocking Terminal, which uses a finger scan to identify the employee and a combination of swipe card or personal ID number to verify.

This eliminates “buddy punching”, ensuring management that they are getting work for the hours they are paying.

Mitrefinch TMS also has the capability to deal with Prime’s varying shifts.

“With staff on a variety of different contracts and shifts, it is crucial to have the ability to easily and accurately draw together all of the information required to run our payroll".

Importing employee time data directly from TMS to their Sybiz Visipay payroll application is now an automated process that takes only a couple of minutes.

Improved reporting for better planning and forecasting

Where once it was difficult to generate reports about time and costs, now managers can run reports directly from TMS. This allows Prime to efficiently monitor, plan, forecast and budget for its personnel resources with greater control, taking into account absentees, cost per employee and employee specific skill sets.

The information captured gives management an easily-accessed overview of staff attendance which enables them to target resources more effectively through improved shift planning and greater budgetary control.

“We find Mitrefinch TMS very easy to use, in addition reports such as Clocked versus Planned Hours are easily generated. They can also pull reports on hours worked for each team, total number of hours clocked, and track employees by department.”

“In addition, BIC reporting developed through Sybiz Visipay assists with planning and creates better reporting in the payroll department. The transparency to see what is happening with staff is paramount to the successful running of the company.”

Cost savings and improved efficiency

“We are already benefiting in terms of cost savings, improved data integrity and increased efficiency”.

It is projected that Prime will save at least $10,000 per year and more as the company grows and employee numbers increase.

“We’ve achieved what we hoped for from our new system we would recommend Mitrefinch and Sybiz Visipay to any company wishing to install a Time and Attendance and Payroll solution”.

“We are very happy with the level of service and support that we have received. The support team gets things done, the priorities we outlined prior to implementing the new system were met, and any day-to-day issues we encounter are always resolved in a timely manner."

For more information on Prime Laundry see: http://www.primelaundry.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.primelaundry.com.au