by Mohammed Murad

Accuracy, speed and the ability to seamlessly integrate with payroll software has made Iris ID technology a favorite for time and attendance solutions around the world.

Hand-written time sheets and mechanical time clocks are prone to many fraudulent practices. One is known as buddy punching in which an employee clocks in or out for an absent friend. A 2017 survey estimated this widespread fraud annually costs U.S. employers $373 million. Those losses can be virtually eliminated by using each employee’s unique iris pattern to clock in and out daily.

Iris-based recognition systems are widely recognized as the most accurate of all biometric technologies. Speed is also important, as employers can’t tolerate long lines during shift changes. It takes only a second for Iris ID to authenticate a person’s identity.

Iris ID technology integrates with leading payroll software, keeping track of hours worked, job codes and breaks. That can save time and money in the human resources department. And since iris readers are contactless, there’s no chance of passing bacteria or viruses between employees.

Here’s a brief look at how several different organizations are using Iris ID for time and attendance.

  • Turkey’s Anadolu Etap, one of Europe’s largest fruit and vegetable juice providers, has a very fluid workforce. Employees may work on any one of multiple farms for a few days or weeks before leaving for an extended time. But once registered in the Iris ID database, they are immediately recognized upon their return.
  • Bluffton Self Help, a South Carolina (USA) non-profit organization providing food, clothing and financial assistance to low-income residents, tracks the time of staff and more than 250 volunteers. The iris-based solution paid for itself in five months by eliminating the cost of printing new and replacement ID cards required for the previous time and attendance system.
  • The Dangote Group, an African industrial conglomerate, tracks the hours of more than 35,000 employees at its cement manufacturing plants in five countries. An Iris ID solution replaced fingerprint and facial recognition systems that had problems with accuracy. Using the corporate network, all time and attendance activity is transmitted in real time to Dangote headquarters in Nigeria.

The simplicity and success of Iris ID readers also caught the attention of two leading time management solution providers – Paychex and SimplyWork. These companies now offer time clocks with embedded Iris ID readers.