Replacing an existing time management system? A challenge met by IDtech
IDtech has been developing and marketing access control, time management and alarm centralisation and monitoring systems for nearly 30 years.
Many companies and institutions have already experienced the benefits of an appropriate protection solution thanks to the excellent service and superior-quality products offered by the company, whose impressive list of references is growing steadily.
Today, the honour goes to CER Groupe.
A non-profit foundation created in 1980, CER Groupe has developed substantial expertise in thefields of biomedical research, the food industry and agricultural services. CER Groupe called on IDtech to replace an existing time management solution.
Installed in January 2014, Unitime and its web-based counterpart, Uniwebtime, serve CER Groupe’s 160 employees.
A time management solution was already in place
IDtech’s initial mission was to replace an existing system, as CER Groupe had to modify its infrastructure for monitoring working time. Mr Bernard, the Human Resources and Legal Affairs Director, explains that choosing IDtech was an attractive solution in terms of hardware. As we knew we would be moving to a new building, we wanted the imeclocks to be easy to reinstall in a new location. Of course we already had the migration of our time management software in the back of our minds, which is why we decided to work with IDtech.
Some of the staff were a little hesitant about changing software, but this reluctance was quickly forgotten. The employees quickly realised that all the same features were still available: requesting leave and holidays, viewing clocking- in times etc.
Varied profiles
The staff profiles within the company are very varied – manual workers, administration, veterinarians, chemists, bioengineers etc. – but this diversity, vital to the company, does not make time management any more complex. To maintain a degree of standardisation, CER Groupe decided that staff would only be able to clock in with their access cards.
As Mr Bernard explains, “not all our staff necessarily have access to a computer where they can clock in. Manual workers, technicians and researchers do not have daily access to computers. We thus wanted to retain a certain consistency across the whole staff.” In addition, an access control system was already in place. IDtech therefore proposed a new card that would be compatible with both solutions. A single card for two uses.
Familiarity with the tool
To ensure commissioning took place as smoothly as possible, testing was carried out two months before the launch date. “An IDtech employee came to configure the system and make sure our specific needs were accounted for. We have not received training as such, but we were present for the configuration process,” adds Mr Bernard. A good way of getting to know the tool...
He emphasises the after-sales aspect: “IDtech makes all the difference. Lots of questions arise after the deployment, and it is important to have responsive people to answer them.”