Tensor Time and Attendance System Drives Business Change at Euroclad

Euroclad is an UK-based independent supplier of metal roof and wall products which provide exceptional acoustic and thermal performance for the life of a building. Founded in 1981, the company has launched over the years in excess of 60 new products and systems with countless derivations of standard systems.

Euroclad employs around 200 members of staff working across three major sites. Two of the sites are situated on a self-managed corporate park on the outskirts of Cardiff, while a third one is located in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The partnership between Tensor and Euroclad started in 2000, when the latter's management team decided to replace their old clock system with a Tensor Smart Card based Time & Attendance and Access Control system.

Over the years, Tensor implemented various upgrades to the original system but in the second half of 2014, following a thorough review process, Euroclad decided that their existing system had reached its limitations and a complete overhaul was required.

"Our decision to undergo a complete hardware and software upgrade was based on a thorough review of all our business processes. We needed a system that would work for multiple sites, that would leverage our recently improved network infrastructure capabilities, and also enable us to make good use of biometric readers and clocks. WinTA.NET was all of that and much more." Mr. Paul Phillips, Business Systems Manager at Euroclad, explained.

Available in Lite, Small Business and Enterprise editions, WinTA.NET is cost-effective for those employing from 10 to 10,000+ staff; all containing the same core functionality but with differing staff numbers and remote locations supported. The flagship Enterprise edition allows a Group Headquarters to control each subsidiary business that in turn, may each be operating from different local or international locations. All editions are suitable for use with SQL or Oracle databases.

The upgrade was not completely trouble-free, but Tensor worked closed with Euroclad to make sure that the whole process has a minimal impact on the customer's daily operations. Paul commented: "Considering the scale of the upgrade, the process actually went surprisingly well. There were obviously challenges along the way (no roll out of this size is problem-free), but we've managed to work with Tensor and through them to achieved our goals".

Existing Tensor customers using previous software versions can easily upgrade to WinTA.NET. Many new application concepts have been incorporated and updated for use in the new system, but users of WinTA Enterprise and WinTA Lite will recognise many familiar menu options. A specially developed upgrade tool is used to migrate all information from legacy systems into the new system's databases.

A number of staff at Euroclad were trained on using the system right on their site. "We have booked multiple training sessions based on specific user types (administrators, operators, etc). The training was done on-site and the quality was very good", Paul revealed.

Queried by our reporter on whether the new Tensor Time and Attendance System is used at its full potential? Paul's answer was "We are using much more of the new system, but I think we haven't yet reached its full potential."

When asked what he likes most about the Tensor Time and Attendance system, Paul was hard-pressed to name his favourite feature, because, for Euroclad, the Tensor.NET platform is more than a comprehensive personnel management solution — it's an agent of change. In Paul's own words: "The Tensor system did more for the company than simply offering us the possibility to better monitor and manage employee attendance. It actually helped drive change throughout the business, improve operational processes and streamline our activity."

The option to export employee attendance data directly to the payroll system is one of the system's most important features, according to the Euroclad Business Systems Manager: "One thing we wanted to use the Tensor system for is to automate the process of transferring attendance data into Sage payroll. Before, we would use Excel spreadsheets and the process was extremely laborious and time consuming. The Tensor Time and Attendance software enables us to package the data and export it to the payroll software in an almost automatic manner, streamlining the payroll process and helping us save time and money."

A major requirement of any Time and Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll system and Tensor is the leader in this field. We have worked with all of the major payroll packages and, as a result, WinTA.NET has a wide range of configuration options to extract payroll information in exactly the correct format. It can share or receive information from 3rd party applications by using readily available interface modules. Data transfers can occur either on demand or more usually as an automated process.

Asked to further explain the changes brought about by the Tensor Time and Attendance System, Paul pointed out that, ever since the upgrade, "members of staff have started using the Self Service Module (SSM) a lot more for checking available holiday time and booking absences". Furthermore, "the possibility to view the employee's clocking activity in real-time is another major plus for all our managers."

The Tensor.NET platform in the Tensor Time and Attendance also enabled the implementation of various useful modifications, such as "hooters to mark the start and end times for shifts". Last, but certainly not least, it provides "traceability and validity of data, which is a major issue for business operations."

Although Euroclad still uses smart cards to a certain degree, the Tensor biometric readers are the real stars in their system. "We use both smart cards and biometrics, leaning heavily towards biometrics. Smart cards are certainly easy to use, but we are keen on using just the latest and most secure technology, and the Tensor biometric clocks and readers deliver just that" said Paul.

When asked to describe their experience of the Tensor after sales support and help desk services, Paul was keen to point out that "We have received fantastic support from the Tensor help desk and operations team. Sure, there were a few challenges, as it is to be expected when deploying a new technology, but Tensor helped us work through them every step of the way."

Always forward-looking, Euroclad is keen to adopt one of the latest technological innovations from Tensor, namely the Mobile Self Service Module (SSM). Paul explains: "We are looking forward to implementing the Tensor Mobile SSM. We have quite a large number of off-site workers, and the mobile SSM app would be extremely useful for monitoring and managing their hours."

When asked if he would recommend the Tensor Time and Attendance System to other companies, Paul replied: "Yes, I certainly would."

Summing up the Euroclad's long-standing business relationship with Tensor, Paul concluded: "Tensor is a very good partner company to work with in exploring solutions that could potentially drive change throughout the business and improve processes — helping us save time and money."

Customer Information

Euroclad Limited

Wentloog Corporate Park,

Wentloog Road,Cardiff CF3 2ER United Kindgom Phone: +44 (0)2922 010101 Fax: +44 (0)2922 010122 Web: http://www.euroclad.com/