October 2018 - Wifi Attendance

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

If you think, WiFi is just a bunch of radio waves exclusively meant for providing internet access, you are wrong.

If they have the power to retrieve information from another corner of the world, imagine what they could achieve in the residing premises.

If wireless media transfer was the dawn of the space age technology, IoT was the sun that brightened our day. All what made all this possible? WiFi indeed!

So would you still consider it a pompous conjecture that WiFi has more tricks up it’s sleeve?

If so, we have something that might clear the air!

A study co-authored by professor Yingying (Jennifer) Chen from the Rutger’s university claims to have prototyped a detection system which uses WiFi to sense bombs and weapons.

How does it work?

Rutger’s university researchers recently claimed the use of WiFi in detection of bombs and weapons. The existing WiFi networks instead of being used for browsing internet can be used to detect bombs, chemical explosives and guns in a large area.

People passing through the receptors will be scanned and any suspicious objects detected will be shown on the system in the form of an alert.

So what exactly is the knack of this technology?

We are aware that weapons and bombs are mainly made of materials like metal and liquid. The meddling of WiFi specifically with these materials is what does the trick.

The baggage used to carry these materials are usually made of materials like fibre, cloth etc which the WiFi can easily penetrate.

WiFi signals pierce into sealed packages and items scanning the vitals of the metal objects. In addition it can also retrieve the volume of liquid.

Researchers have tested the method using 15 kinds of objects and 6 types of bags which has led them to accomplish a result with 99% accuracy in distinguishing dangerous materials from non dangerous. Accuracy with metals was found to be 98 percent and that of liquids was 95.

So far the method has assured 95% accuracy. But the accuracy rates have been found to drop to upto 90% when the objects inside the bags are wrapped. But the drop can be compensated for by doing some tweaks to the existing implement.

Required infrastructure and mode of working

The system typically requires a WiFi network integrated with transmitting and receiving antennas. The signal enters the interiors of the sealed object, scans the entire containment and bounces of giving an exact picture of what comprises the bag or package.

Advantage

Usual checking procedures follow hardened methods of going through people’s baggage and needs them to concede to physical detector scans. The novel improvement in the detection system will not invade public privacy in any way.

The checking procedure is less demanding and evokes absolutely no panic. We can call it a low-key way of checking. No need to physically open bags and check them. No extra man power required for the purpose of ensuring safety

As compared to individual screening, WiFi can scan more packages than usual detecting systems and that too in a smaller window of time.

We know for a fact that in places with tight security a special expensive infrastructure is required to be erected to ensure protection. It is not always possible to implement it in public places. WiFi routers are easy to set up and occupy a significantly lesser space.

Now that we know the technology uses off-the-shelf WiFi devices to function, the system would naturally lead to Lowering the cost of the entire cost set-up. The researchers have estimated the technology will cost, not more than a $100.

Applications

This is definitely a cost effective solution to the entryway check up procedures which otherwise uses x-ray and other expensive implements.

When the crowd is huge, this technology can be attached to motorized cars and scan the area as it moves.

Conclusions

The researchers are sure that the WiFi based weapon detection technology will replace much manpower from areas like airports, stadiums, malls and other public places.

It is not one hundred percent sure as of yet if the technology could be a promising substitute for the intensive radio wave powered detection instruments. But it will definitely enhance the security at places which demand high protection and alert.

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

We are talking about technical evolutions taking man to space, but are skeptical to take a step towards the cloud.

Well here we only mean the cloud computing services – to be precise!

Given the complexity of the current attendance and productivity profiling methods, it is definitely a setback for the ninjas of the business who haven’t opted for a virtual and a self upgrading database yet.

A large number of businesses which have switched to cloud are already experiencing ramped up revenue in comparison to the competitors who haven’t.

If all the rant you have been hearing about how the service helps enhance efficiency and accuracy is not enough to convince you, we’ll break it down for you a little more in detail.

1. No Software installation required

It comes as no surprise that cloud based programs can be directly accessed through any authorized desktop devices.

The purpose of saying “authorized” here is to highlight the fact that employers can restrict the attendance activities to certain PCs inside the office premises.

No loop holes that lead to fraudulent activities!

Also, a rather new approach to disaster proofing your records! Being web applications they naturally do not demand any room on the system of the user. There is absolutely no need to go through the process of download and installation to clock in and out.

2. No proprietary hardware or infrastructure required

Many clocking devices as you know them are a hardware installed at office entry points. They run on principles ranging anywhere between biometric scans to proximal contact RFID cards.

Such devices not only call for installation costs but also demand constant maintenance. But when you switch them with a network based attendance system, it not only saves you the financial investment but also raises the productivity metrics.

How is that true?

Hardware based systems can only keep you updated on the in and out time of the employee, while most cloud based systems have a comprehensive roster of features making them more reliable and efficient.

3. System administration

You can’t afford to not think of having a task force in place for managing and maintaining all you technical implements.

But with all your data now resting in cloud architecture, it is rest assured that the role of an IT department is peacefully ruled out when it comes to managing employee attendance information.

4. Security

For starters this is a network administered storage space undergoing overnight backup and hardening, and is least vulnerable to system failures.

When it comes to cybercrime threats like ransom-ware, data theft and computer hacking, the argument definitely goes in the favor of cloud computing. The reason being highly robust counteractive protocols put in place to fight potential breach detection.

Cloud computing systems prioritize on analyzing business risks rather than scanning susceptible systems for identifying intrusion point.

Data loss in case of system failure or crash is the last thing you need to worry about as the data is redundantly backed up on multiple servers. And of course these are virtual servers, not prone to the mishaps of internal crisis.

5. Auto updates

Cloud service providers manage the backend infrastructure all by themselves leaving you with ample amount of time to focus on other priorities.

Software and UI updates occur by itself on cloud with you not having to spend a single penny on it. You would rather concentrate your IT resources over a more innovative production appliance rather than exhausting them over petty issues of system updates. At least not in the era when you have a full proof solution to avoid these obstacles!

6. Ubiquitous and On-demand access

As it stands, all you need to access data of a cloud based system is internet connection. In the face of overwhelming odds that might cause you to be away and not in premises, there could be a situation where in accessing certain clocking records may arise.

Having round the clock accessibility to records might prove to be a blessing in such cases.

7. Zero servers cost

Speaking of a server based data storage, you can expect zero expenses which rise as a result of technical issues. We know for a fact that cloud computing services deploy remote resources for the purpose of data storage.

That means a complete annulment of server cost. Unlike physical servers which could give you a run for the money, cloud computing uses virtual servers. These are cost effective and save a lot on business capital.

8. Rise in productivity

Presuming your current attendance system is a contemporary mode involving manual interpretations for payroll calculations, the outcome is bound to suffer delays due to the human factor.

On the other hand, think about a system with real time analytical capabilities. It would downright reduce the burden of all clerical tasks and speed up the process.

Conclusion

Attendance management generically is a tedious task.

With the integrated functions of man-hour estimation and operational efficiency parameters, it definitely calls for a more flexible and a judicious mechanism.

Unlike other records which involve major availability and security issues, businesses can count on cloud to for a more faithful and unassailable data keeping.

In the words of Evgeny Morozov( author and technology skeptic)- “Cloud computing is a great euphemism for centralization of computer services under one server.”

More so, the people who have already embraced the tech have claimed a better functioning of business, enhanced services for their clients and ultimately higher profit margins.

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

What if you could see through walls? We are not talking about a sci-fi technology in future but a reality that is possible today.Scientists in MIT have figured out a way to photograph a room without entering it and even detect movement behind solid walls. This is made possible using radio waves that are used by WiFi. This technology is also called WiVi Technology.

How does WiVi Work?

We are always immersed in a sea of radio waves around us. These are transmitted by network towers, WiFi routers and our own mobile devices.

The team of scientist at CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) have used these radio waves to detect human movement behind walls.

The antennae receive radio waves that bounce back from objects and humans in a room. Since radio waves can pass through walls, the receiver can pick up reflections from another room too.

The way these WiFi signals bounce off a moving target are different and hence it was possible to detect human movement.

Next the scientist taught a computer to learn what each kind of radio signal meant. For this they had to train a neural network how the radio signals bounced off different parts of the the body and translate it into 14 key points like the head, elbow , shoulders, knees etc. This way the computer was able to display a skeletal animation of a person moving behind a wall.

This only allows 2D imaging with movements currently. The technology is expected to get better as AI is trained on better data sets and radio signal detection improves.

Currently scientists were able to detect not just the movements but also the people who were moving behind walls. This was done by mapping the postures and walking styles to each person. The computer was able to identify the persons correctly 83% of the time with wivi-technology.

Another remarkable work with WiFi imaging was done by a student at Technical University of Munich. Philipp Holl came up with a way to make a 3D representation of a room and all the objects inside of it, all from outside of the room!

This is done by detecting the WiFi transmission in a room. Routers emit WiFi signal and some of which bounces off objects in our house.

The technology uses these scattered waves to map the room. Two antennas – one static (also known as reference antennae) and another moving (called the scanning antennae) pick up the intensity and phase of WiFi signal. By stacking the 2D images received from these two antennas, computers are able to build a 3D picture of a room.

Remember that this technology does not require you to emit any WiFi signals. It can work very well with the radio waves already bouncing off the objects in a room. And since radio waves penetrate most objects it is possible to see a room even if you are outside of it.

With advancement of technology it will be even possible to map out a whole building using drones. Currently the resolution of picture is not very clear and the computers have problem photographing any object less than 4cm.

Applications

So what are the applications of this technology? An obvious use is in security and crime prevention. With the help of wivi-technology, police and law enforcement could see through walls in a critical situation like hostage and hijack.

Commercial buildings like offices and malls can also monitor the movements throughout the building using this technology.

Emergency services like fire fighters could see persons trapped in a building on fire. Victims of earthquake can also be found under the rubble with the help of WiFi signals.

Perhaps the most commercially profitable application could be in healthcare. Data on daily movements and activities of patients is important information for caretakers.

This will give doctors more data to treat patients of neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Unlike a visual camera, wivi-technology will only capture required movements and leave out the private details of the patient’s life.

Privacy concerns

Of course anything that can see through the walls of your home will spark privacy concerns. Governments and big corporations have been caught spying on the daily lives of common people far too often in the past few years.

The worrying thing is that this method of spying does not even require the spying party to install any device in your home. They can simply pick up on the scattered radio waves of your own WiFI and map your entire house.

Of course right now the technology is in its early development and a lot of advancement is required before it can spy on people for any practical purposes.

The onus remains on the companies and governments to use this technology ethically. Unfortunately, they have given us little reason to trust them with our privacy.

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Tracking time during a project is probably the most important aspect of project management. Time aligns productivity, efficiency, and quality of your project.

If you have been confused about the importance of time tracking in project management, this article will resolve those confusions for good.

Here are all the reasons you should utilize time tracking in your project management.

1. Differentiation of essential and non-essential tasks

During a project, time becomes a limited asset. You need to track and plan a systematic expense of time to ensure the desired productivity. It will help you differentiate essential and non-essential tasks.

2. Successful goal achievement

Tracking time keeps you aware of the deadlines of a project. You can increase the pace from time to time and ensure the successful achievement of desired goals.

At the same time, you can re-define your estimated time of completion in accordance with the desired goals. In many situations, goals are modified to match the project’s time frame. It all helps in balancing a project to its maximum success.

3. Estimation of upcoming tasks

Tracked time reports become a collection of insights for future work. A project manager can use the time-related reports from the previous task to estimate a suitable completion time for an upcoming task. Constant practice improves the efficiency of the team members, and they promise and deliver their work on time.

4. Smooth daily routines

Without time tracking, every day starts with confusions. Team members begin each day, trying to figure out how to start their work and what goals to achieve. This also presents the issues of procrastination in the team members.

On the other hand, time tracking helps in designing set routines. The project manager doesn’t have to communicate the tasks every day, Team members know what to do and know in how much time they have to do it. Hence, no chances of procrastination occur in your team.

5. Making projects profitable for the company

Some companies charge for whole projects, while others charge with hourly basis. For both types, tracking the time is extremely important to ensure profits.

If a team works on an hourly basis, time tracking helps in adjusting the rate of work. This way, your team can ensure fair payments for the quality and amount of work delivered.

At the same time, complete project completion also requires time tracking. If you get paid for the whole project, time tracking helps in deciding the overall profitable time period of project completion.

You can compare the payments given to employees for a particular time period with the payments received for the project. Hence, you can track time to ensure the profitability at the end of the project.

6. To obtain help when necessary

Time tracking data helps in presenting evidence that you require more resources. If the project seems to require more resources, the project manager can show the tracked time data and ask for help.

This way, business leaders see the challenges and become compelled to increase the resources as per the requirement.

7. Client satisfaction

In any industry or business model, client satisfaction matters the most. And your client feels satisfied when you deliver quality product without delaying the delivery time.

Tracking your time keeps your delivery dates and product quality in check. You can change the pace of work and get more resources to match the delivery deadlines and required quality. Hence, your clients feel satisfied with the results you offer.

8. Ability to appreciate the performance of team members

Time tracking offers a great benefit of acknowledging the performance offered by employees. A project manager can identify the talents and working capacities of team members.

With that insight, the project manager can advocate a raise for deserving employees. Plus, the manager also knows which team members are suitable for upcoming tasks.

9. Convenient reporting

Project management reports become more compelling and useful with time tracking metrics. Company leaders get to see the growth of a project with time and its on-time completion.

Daily, weekly and monthly time tracking statistics also help in predicting the success rate of a project. At the same time, higher authorities become aware of the time frames required to complete a project. With that, they can promise suitable project completion time period to clients in future.

Thanks to advanced time tracking software and tools, project management has become extremely simple. All smart managers are utilizing time tracking software systems in project management.

Hopefully, these reasons have made time tracking importance clear to you. Find a reliable tool with effective features.

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Employee management impacts almost every function of an organization. Which is why there are thousands of time tracking software options available in the market.

A time tracking software is more than a simple assessment of employees’ time of coming and leaving the office. Modern-age time tracking software provides unique features with incredible benefits for a company.

When you find a software for your business, think about following essential features and their benefits:

1. Versatile Timesheets

Timesheets provide a centralized presentation of billable hours. You can call it attendance reports, as they include information related to holidays, time-offs and absence of employees.

Benefits: Not all software providers offer timesheets. But they are effective in managing the payroll and invoicing. With timesheet feature, you can export CSV, PDF and other formats of billable hours and prepare invoices conveniently.

2. Project Management

In companies, a project management system requires time tracking features as well. Which is why smart software providers include essential project management features in their time tracking software as well.

For instance, such a software can allow team leaders of a project to set deadlines, assign tasks to the present employees. Similarly, features include tracking the progress of a project in terms of daily tasks, weekly goals, and monthly achievements.

Benefits: Tracking time of a project saves from wasting too much money on the same project. Projects with restricted budgets require on-time completion, hence, such a software seems logical.

3. Time Tracking

This core feature is essential in all time tracking software tools. The tool should be able to capture worked hours accurately and create an easy-to-understand record of it.

Benefits: With time tracking, project managers and company leaders can monitor the project completion periods and track the performance capacity of employees at the same time.

In fact, the records of previous projects help in estimating the deadlines for an upcoming project as well. The records of worked hours help in deciding a project strategy.

4. Online Invoicing

Online invoicing allows you to bill clients as per hourly and minute basis. The accurate time tracking and automated bill generation become possible with this feature.

All the process of billing takes place transparently without any human errors. Employees simply enter their “in/out” time and the payroll system receives the date from the time tracking software.

Benefits: The automation of the process saves from time-taking efforts of bill generation. The transparency saves from unwanted disputes regarding the bills and payments.

5. User Management

User management feature involves the creation of teams, departments or working groups. Then, the management feature assists in managing those groups as users.

Team-focused reports get generated, which are shareable with other authoritative individuals. User types include admin, a manager or a staff, which defines the type of accessibility.

Benefits: With group management, each team leader can get the best-suited report associated with the performance of the team members.

Well-designated reports make quick analysis of teams easier for business leaders and help in modifying the productivity of the overall functionality.

6. Notifications

Notification feature assists in creating alerts in important situations. For instance, an employee can get a reminder whenever he or she misses to check in/out.

Team members can get regular notifications regarding the upcoming project deadlines. These notifications are automatically distributed to employee emails or mobile phone numbers.

Benefits: Keeping employees disciplined and helping them with the project deadlines become easier. Reminders allow employees to perform with the motivation to complete the tasks at hand as efficiently as possible.

7. Analytics and Reporting

The visibility and understanding of data are essential for any software. Hence, a time tracking tool has to provide a comprehensive analytics including all the relatable data.

The view of the data should be easy-to-understand. Plus, the managers should have the features to generate reports with graphs, charts, and other visualized elements. Reliable software and tools come with customizable analytics and reporting features.

Benefits: Reliable analytics and reporting features help attaining daily and weekly stats and generate visualized reports. Custom reports align the software with the company goals regarding time tracking and project management.

8. Ability to Integrate

As mentioned before, a time tracking software impacts almost every department of a company. Hence, the software should provide the ability to integrate with other systems utilized in a modern-age working environment.

Benefits: Integration of time tracking with other software and tools offers better control over employee management and project.

Company leaders can obtain broad insights and look at a huge picture of performance and productivity. As a result, a company can align employee performance, payments, accounting, projects altogether.

Apart from all the above-mentioned features, you can also look for features such as lightweight design, free trial, and others.

Now, you know all the essential features of a time tracking software. Evaluate potential software providers with respect to these features and choose a reliable option.

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Ever introspected how much the outdated systems are costing you and your business?

If ever asked, any HR manager would invariably mention the payroll processing in the list of their most despised tasks.

In today’s era if we have not automated the task of time keeping we are undoubtedly lagging the race.

Employee attendance management is no less than a laborious form of computation. No doubt it is easy, but the results are affected by a lot of deviations in shifts and scheduling.

Having software in place for this process will not only maximize efficiency but also eliminate potential errors caused by distractions of humans.

If you are still not convinced by the gravity of the matter, have a look at the roster of benefits that can be enjoyed with a web based time clock app at your disposal.

1. Prevents time theft

Prevents the employees from committing unfair attendance practices like buddy punching. In a cloud based attendance system there is no room for time theft.

2. Easy and flexible

Web based time clock apps provide users the comfort of punching in using personal mobile devices. There is no need of a special hardware device to for attendance.

3. Lowers the strain on HR department

Every time an employee needs a leave or has any enquiry about the remaining number of compensatory offs, he would approach the HR for the details.

With the introduction of this software the HR is ruled out from the picture. Employees can have direct access to their time sheets and activity trackers. This will help them tweak their planning of work and vacation.

4. Exhaustive account of employee performance

Managers might need to access employee time cards for monitoring employee performances. This is a major parameter while employee productivity and contributions are assessed for the purpose of hikes and increments.

Using web based time clock apps, an elaborate account of activities can be generated. The report showing a breakdown of man hours for each task is created for the employer to carry out a rightful examination at the time of appraisals.

5. Integrated Functions and facilities

Not only attendance, but other a web based time keeping app is a collective interface enveloping other features like leave management, over time, yearly calendar, PTOs.

Many apps have a feature of sending customized alerts to the employees when their timings are not aligned with the shifts.

A major advantage of a cloud based system is it can store records from any number of facilities and warehouses that belong to a business. You need not have a separate time keeping implement for each premise.

6. Highly accurate

Accuracy is the main objective we look to accomplish when we resort to technology. Web based time tracking software turns out to be a boon during audits and payroll calculations. Imagine all the manual calculations with a paper based attendance record.

With the introduction of cloud based systems it becomes a breeze to manage all employee related data like productivity, overtime, man hour calculations etc.

The system is complicit to accurately measure the productivity and will save you the trouble of dealing with losses due to time theft and unproductive premise hours.

7. Easy maintenance

Cloud based time tracking systems do not face troubleshooting, upgrades and update issues. Hence it is much easier for the IT department to maintain the data and manage the system.

8. Profitable

No better implement that can give you a cost effective solution to the tedious process of managing employee information.

Considering the cost of installing and maintaining an employee attendance tracking hardware, this application seems very much viable and agile.

All you need to do is install the central management system and feed employee data. The information will be auto mapped once the subjective mobile devices are connected to the system over the network. Thus the need of employing a separate hardware is dropped.

9. Round the clock record retrieval

The HR, managers or any other authorized officer can access the details of employees for the purpose of payroll calculation, performance monitoring as and when they desire. The details of the monthly activity and daily working hours can be easily fetched once all data is saved on cloud.

10. Secure

Count on the cloud based server for data protection in case of crisis or any other natural disasters. The imminent issues of power failures and calamities are inevitable but we do have the power to disaster proof and secure our records from them.

Cloud based systems have a strong armor against all the odds including system crashes and hacking as they undergo nightly backup and hardening procedures.

11. Environment friendly

The amount of paper produced each year in the world is figure running at a lightning fast speed. The demand is said to double by the year 2030.

You can only imagine how much you could save the environment if you switched to paperless means of employee management. A web based time clock system could be your step one.

Would it really be worth choosing a manual time tracking methodology at the cost of the 10 practical parameters we just assessed?

Human operated systems are tedious, time consuming and prone to errors. While time clocks are flexible, secure and can be easily scaled up with growing employee numbers.