Manual attendance is inefficient, time-consuming and has a negative impact on employees.
Oh yes, the question that popped into your head just now is absolutely right and obvious
You might be thinking that manual attendance is at the brink of extinction and what’s the relevancy in pointing it out.
To justify,
Manual attendance need not be always paper-based. Logging in to a computer to mark your attendance is also manual.
The point here is, despite the technology manual attendance is always boring and is vulnerable to errors.
Since manual attendance was ineffective, the quest for alternate method began and it led to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).
However, It’s strange that years have passed along with technology and till now there are a lot of companies which rely on them. To understand better, let’s dig deep into the technology.
RFID Attendance for Employees, how do they work?
RFID system mainly consists of two parts
- A tag or a label
- A card reader
Tags are embedded with a transmitter or a receiver. RFID part of the tag will have a microchip to store information and an antenna that can receive as well as store information.
The reader will continuously emit signals in its range. When a RFID tag comes in contact with its spectrum, a small voltage will develop inside the coils of the tag. The voltage formed in turn will activate the transmitter part of the tag.
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The tags will send signals to the reader through serial communication. Once the reader receives the signal it will match with the information stored in the database. If it’s a match the system will mark it as an attendance.
Benefits of using RFID attendance for Employees
- Real-time attendance tracking
- Automated report generation
- High-end security and role-based access and permissions
- Provides ultimate transparency
- Can also be used as a smart card for transaction
- Increases security
- Cost effective and Time effective
How does RFID system work inside an organization?
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A RFID card is given to all the employee mostly in the form of their ID card
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Readers can be placed in multiple places including the transportation vehicles for employees to mark their attendance.
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Data from the reader will be transferred to the server within seconds
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Attendance will be updated to the server of the management system accordingly and those who have access to it can view the attendance
Different types of RFID tags
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Key Fob: Inexpensive and easy to handle. They are very small in size, a bit larger than your currency coin.
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RFID Cards: Special ID card with an embedded RFID tag mainly used in companies for attendance marking and for access control.
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RFID Wristbands: Silicon wrists bands are waterproof and highly durable compared to other tags
Other Uses OF RFID System Besides Marking Attendance
Access Control: The same principle behind marking attendance can also be used as a way to grant access to authorized personals.
Contactless Payment System: RFID card can carry payment information so that it can be used as a payment method. Mostly this sort of payment methods is suitable for toll systems as RFID card information can be used to deduct money from the wallet of the passenger who passes by the toll.
Inventory Control: RFID tags or chips can be attached to a product which makes it easy to track them. These kinds of tags are often used in libraries and showrooms as a precautionary measure against theft.