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Smart attendance device monitors personnel in remote regions

KEEPING TABS ON STAFF
The aim of using the new system is to create efficient time acquisition, administration and payroll functions in remote areas

KEEPING TABS ON STAFF The aim of using the new system is to create efficient time acquisition, administration and payroll functions in remote areas

5th September 2014

  

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A time and attendance monitoring system that works with satellite communication can assist in the monitoring of staff in remote locations, such as those on sea-based oil rigs, according to workforce management and business process outsourcing company Adcorp Operations Shared Services.

The company developed the customised solution to address the challenges of monitoring worker time shifts and payroll in the remote environment of offshore oilfields in Angola.

The system provides real-time collection of information through time and attendance connectivity to a satellite modem, as conventional communication channels are nonexistent with no cellular phone reception in these remote regions.

Angola is Africa’s second- largest producer of crude-oil, with the richest sources found off the northern-most province of Cabinda. The Angolan gas exploration and production area is split into 35 blocks, which are worked by major oil companies. These blocks are divided into three bands that include shallow water at depths up to 500 m, deep water up to 1 500 m and ultradeep water up to 2 500 m.

Capital Outsourcing Group, a division of Adcorp Holdings, is involved in the outsourcing of staffing, recruitment and human resources solutions for about 26 000 temporary staff, both skilled and unskilled, throughout Africa.

Currently, Capital Outsourcing Group is contracted to supply 2 000 personnel through their local operations based in Cabinda to a major offshore oil works logistics company that operates vessels and crew boats from shore to rigs in Angolan waters.

Capital Outsourcing Group strategic projects GM Nigel Ritson says, once the business need was identified – about a year ago – he engaged with a US-based satellite communications company, which could manipulate their satellites device to communicate with local bio- metrics company ERS Biometrics’ time and attendance devices.

ERS Biometrics has been involved with Adcorp for the past six years – primarily with its capacity and capital outsourcing divisions – in the supply of biometric access control and time and attendance solutions, with over 300 sites currently active.

The system went live in June, after the client was provided with proof of concept. The active devices include two based on sea vessels and one on land, substantiating that the system has the capability to pull clocks off the ocean. Subsequently, the system will be implemented on 65 ships, with the potential of a total of 300 ships worldwide.

Further, Capital Outsourcing Group is also exposing the solution to other oil companies.

Prior to using the new system, the oil company experienced serious challenges with people-tracking and correct vessel costing by using timesheets, which resulted in payroll consolidation delays. All staff, including on-shore permanent and hourly-paid workers, are registered on the biometric fingerprint device. Oil-rig crew clock in on arrival at base on Monday mornings before departing to their offshore rigs for a 28-day shift.

The aim of using the new system is to create efficient time acquisition, administration and payroll functions in remote areas. “To this end, we developed a solution where time could be acquired from anywhere in the world, processed and consolidated in real time in South Africa, and then posted to the payroll hub in India,” he says.

“This would mean that we are leveraging technology and the strength of the rand against the dollar to take advantage of the most cost-effective method to perform administration functions,” says Ritson, adding that the average payroll clerk in Angola earns around $4 000 a month, compared with $1 000 a month in South Africa and India.

“The solution also provides real-time management reports, previously unavailable owing to area remoteness. This allows management to make quick decisions based on actual information which ultimately improves productivity,” he says.

The satellite communication development is Adcorp’s intellectual property, but an agreement is in place with ERS Biometrics to buy the technology for use on its other remote time and attendance installations.

The satellite solution works by observing workers on arrival at the shore base, and on ship embarkation. In real time, the attendance register, daily exception report and dispatch report are uploaded and relayed from Angola to Adcorp South Africa and the oil company’s payroll administration.

Ritson notes that, since inception, only once was there an incident where the satellite communication failed. “On inspection, we found that the satellite device had moved and was pointing downwards. A monkey was using the device as a perch (which resulted in the fault),” he concludes.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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