Going Digital for Employee Attendance

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S. Walsh
Going Digital for Employee Attendance
City of Chicago
Department of Water Management
By: Sean M. Walsh
Assistant Superintendent
Chicago Department of Water Management
September - 2016

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S. Walsh
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................2
Abstract......................................................................................................3
Importance of an Automated Attendance System ....................................3
Current Practice ......................................................................................3
Two places at once .................................................................................3
Problems with Kronos ............................................................................4
Why Go Automated?..............................................................................5
Canvas .......................................................................................................5
Examples.................................................................................................6
...................................................................................................................8
Beta Testing and Possible Results.............................................................8
What would be needed? ............................................................................9
Summation.................................................................................................9
Works Cited.............................................................................................10

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Abstract
For many years, the Department of Water Management (DWM), and other city departments have
relied on the Kronsos Time and Attendance System along with manually completed time sheets
to track employee attendance and record absences. A combination of automated and manual
record keeping is redundant and departments still have the challenge of employee accountability.
Streamlining a universal automated system for DWM, and possibly the City of Chicago, would
increase the accuracy of employee accountability, absentee recording, and in some cases increase
productivity. Using simple technology in the form of an app on a smart phone, or tablet, can
change the way our department accounts for its employees and their whereabouts. Using an app
called Canvas; I have created a user friendly program which can create a digital time stamp, gps
location, and photo recognition for all employees. The data taken from the app is streamlined to
department heads in the form of a time sheet, or exported into a spreadsheet. For the purposes of
this proposal, the author will focus on the importance of an automated attendance system
specifically for DWM. Other Chicago departments can review this proposal and apply the
methods used therein as they deem fit for their daily operations.
Importance of an Automated Attendance System
Current Practice
DWM has been using the Kronos system as an automated time keeping tool to determine
employee accountability on a daily basis. Once an employee swipes in using Kronos, they are
required to sign in and out with their immediate supervisor. Using the Kronos system and signing
in and out with a supervisor is effective in some areas of DWM, and ineffective in others. For
example, district personnel must use the Kronos as their only swipe location because the district
is where an employee begins and ends their work day. Construction personnel and other staff
also use the Kronos system, but do not begin or end their workday near a Kronos machine, yet
they are required to swipe in and out using Kronos. Now an employee must go to a designated
City of Chicago facility, swipe in using Kronos, and then travel to their job location to meet their
supervisors and sign in on the time sheet. The process is repeated in the afternoon when the
employee is required to swipe out using Kronos and sign out with a supervisor. The time lost in
the morning and afternoon could be described as lost productivity due to the current swipe
policy.
Two places at once
DWM construction operations are spread throughout the City of Chicago. Our current water
crews are assembled by one Foreman supervising three separate crews in different locations.

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With three crews in different locations, how can the Foreman be in two, or three, places at once?
With a Foreman having three separate swipe locations, it is impossible for the Foreman to
maintain 100% accountability in the morning, and afternoon. According to a report by Chicago’s
Absenteeism Task Force, manual employee time records are inaccurate and tend to have more
errors than automates systems (Page 9). The previous statement can be proven true by an
employee claiming to be at a swipe location and the Kronos machine was not functional. The
Foreman cannot verify the employees claim, because the Foreman is at a separate location and
has no way to verify the validity of the employee’s statement. Now, the employee can arrive late,
or leave early, without penalty. Obviously, a pattern of abuse can be determined if an employee
consistently makes claims of broken Kronsos machines, and disciplinary action can be taken,
however by then the employee already has cheated the system out of time and productivity.
Problems with Kronos
The Kronos system has its share of bugs and glitches, but for the majority it is a reliable system.
The problems DWM construction has with Kronos, and why it is ineffective for our daily
practices are:
 Kronos Machines are not on DWM construction locations.
 Not all employees are classified as “Super Swipers” and they are unable to swipe in and
out with the Kronos system until they are manually imputed.
 Hand calibration is often needed several times a year.
 Travel time between the swipe location, and the job location is lost time in productivity.
 Kronos machines are often “out of order”.
 The swipe location is not the same as the foreman location for signing in and out, losing
100% accountability for the Foreman.
 If a person misses a swipe, more manually filled out paperwork must be completed and
filed.
While the aforementioned problems with Kronos can seem minor, they are a daily issue and can
be simplified with an updated automated system.

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S. Walsh
Why Go Automated?
According to the report by Chicago’s Absenteeism Task Force, automated timekeeping systems
provide enhanced monitoring and minimize errors (Page 9). The previous statement alone should
be more than enough of a reason to go automated, but here are more reasons why:
 Allows the time keeping system to go completely paperless.
 Provides 100% accountability of all employees.
 Increases productivity by having employees on the jobsite longer.
 Eliminates error in manual time sheets.
 Eliminates lost time sheets.
 Eliminates edit sheets for missed swipes.
 Provides employee accountability to supervisors faster.
Canvas
Since the spring of 2016, I have been creating a program which is used in the form of an app on
tablet or smartphone. The app uses base software from a company named Canvas. Canvas’
platform allowed me to encompass employee accountability using time and date stamp software,
gps tracking, signature approval, and photo recognition. Quite simply, and employee arrives on
the job location in the morning, checks in with the Foreman, and by using the Foreman’s iPad or
smartphone can create a digital sign in sheet with verification in less than 30 seconds. The digital
time sheet can be sent to all supervisors related with the crew, and can be exported into a
spreadsheet for payroll purposes. When an employee is not on the job location, or takes a day
off, the Foreman can input the appropriate pay/non pay code on the sheet to reflect the
employee’s status, thus creating 100% accountability.
If you review the example on page 6, you will see the employee fills in their name and title, then
the software automatically inputs the time and date for the employee. The employee cannot
change the time or the date set within the program. Once the time and date has been plugged in,
the employee is required to sign the document. After the document has been signed, a photo is
taken of the employee to verify identity. Finally, a gps snapshot is taken and sent on the
timesheet to ensure the employee was at the proper job location.

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Examples

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When we review the issues with the Kronos, Canvas provides solutions to those issues.
Beta Testing and Possible Results
Upon approval, I would like to administer a beta test with 1 or 2 water management construction
crews. The beta test will provide information on the server data, crash potential, and reliability of
the software. It is important to administer these tests prior to launch to avoid complex problems
and system crashes. I would like to develop more user friendly read files to ensure the data
spreadsheets are easy to follow and can be deciphered by time clerks with ease. I also need to
oversee any errors in the field, should any arise. More importantly, user feedback is the best
information to obtain while perfecting a computer program or application.
 Kronos Machines are not on DWM
construction locations.
 Not all employees are classified as
“Super Swipers” and they are
unable to swipe in and out with the
Kronos system until they are
manually imputed.
 Hand calibration is often needed
several times a year.
 Travel time between the swipe
location, and the job location is lost
time in productivity.
 Kronos machines are often “out of
order”.
 The swipe location is not the same
as the foreman location for signing
in and out, losing 100%
accountability for the Foreman.
 If a person misses a swipe, more
manually filled out paperwork must
be completed and filed.
 Canvas can be on any location.
 All employees can use Canvas
regardless of status.
 No hand calibration is needed.
 No travel time wasted to and from
a swipe location.
 Canvas can be utilized on an iPad
or smartphone by anyone.
 Provides 100% accountability for
supervisors and time keepers.
 Completely paperless system.
 Eliminates the redundant system
of swiping and signing in/out on
paper.
PROBLEMS WITH KRONOS SOLUTIONS WITH CANVAS

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Another important factor of the beta test which I expect to monitor is the daily productivity. I
assume with time not being utilized traveling between the jobsite and swipe locations,
productivity can increase slightly. It will be the beta test phase completion which can answer
these important questions:
 Is there more employee accountability with Canvas?
 Can productivity increase with Canvas?
 Can Canvas be adopted across all DWM timesheet platforms?
 Possibly, can Canvas eliminate Kronos?
It is difficult to evaluate the time needed to answer such important questions. My beta test over
two Foreman, or six construction crews would need 1-3 months to evaluate in order to move on
to the next phase of testing. The next phase would encompass an entire zone of construction
crews totaling 4-6 Foreman and 18 construction crews.
While it may be too much to expand on using Canvas over Kronos at the current time, at the very
least Canvas should be considered as a reasonable substitute for time sheets within DWM post
testing.
What would be needed?
Quite simply, the only hardware needed would be an iPad or smartphone on the jobsite operated
by the Plumber and/or Foreman. A computer platform to run the software for the beta testing
would also be necessary. Finally, Canvas software licensing agreement if the program is
approved for use on a larger scale of more than 15 users accounts (not needed for phase 1 beta
test).
Summation
I have provided the groundwork and software platform for the idea of a new automated time
keeping system within the construction division of Chicago’s Department of Water Management.
Given the time and resources available to me, I can perform testing to ensure it can be
compatible with our operations. Furthermore, I can conclude if productivity can increase by
using Canvas to obtain 100% accountability on jobsites for construction crews.

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Works Cited
"Canvas: Mobile Business Apps and Forms." Canvas: Mobile Business Apps and Forms. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.
Recommendations Report, The City Of Chicago, and Absenteeism Task Force. APRIL
2016 (n.d.): n. pag. City of Chicago. Apr. 2016. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

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