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Employee Tracking With RFID
Employees are the most important resource for a business. RFID gives you the visibility tools you need to maximize your business' potential.
Why is employee tracking important?
Businesses rely on their employees to succeed in the competitive marketplace. Having dedicated hard working employees can elevate an organization to the next level. How can tracking your employees help your business?
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Ensure that employees are putting in a full days work
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Providing location tracking provides accountability to the employees
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Confirms that labor laws are being followed.
What is RFID?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology utilizes radio waves for contactless data transfer and identification of objects, animals, or humans. A standard RFID system consists of a reader, RFID tags, and antennas. This versatile technology sees widespread use in sectors such as healthcare, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. RFID has proven to be particularly useful with employee tracking as it allows for full automation for common employee tracking requirements.
How Does RFID work for personnel tracking?
RFID is especially useful for personnel tracking. The movement of personnel is a highly dynamic process. RFID allows companies to track employees automatically using a combination of RFID tags and RFID scanners. Combing this with a comprehensive RFID employee tracking software system provides real cost savings.
Employee RFID badges
In order for RFID tracking to work, every employee must be equipped with an RFID tag so that they can automatically be read at strategic locations.
group of employees with badges
RFID Sticker Tags for employee badges
Some organizations already have prox card badges for every employee. These are short range (6 inch range) badges that are used for access control systems. Organizations like these may not want to replace every user badge. In this scenario, a common approach is to attach an RFID sticker to the back of every employee badge.
RFID sticker on employee badge
RFID Cards in badge holders
Some organizations that already have prox card badges for every employee also have a standard badge holder that can accommodate an extra RFID card. The advantage of using an RFID card rather than a smaller sticker is that an RFID card offers superior range. In this scenario, the employee badge sleeve must have room for the prox card and the RFID badge.
RFID card slotted behind employee badge
RFID Card Printers for employee badges
Some organizations don't need prox cards for access control. These organizations have the option of printing RFID badges for every employee. The big avantage of this is that the employee badge has useful information printed on it such as employee name and photo. RFID is fully integrated into the card and can't be removed without destroying the badge.
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For this approach, companies rely on an RFID badge printer. Printing is then integrated directly with the employee RFID tracking software system and offers the most streamlined approach to RFID tracking with employees.
The Zebra ZXP Series 7 card printer
RFID Scanners for employee tracking
Fixed RFID Readers and RFID antennas are mounted at a strategic location to automatically read employee RFID badges as they move by. These types of readers provide real-time data and offer some of the most comprehensive functionality.
RFID Scanner used for tracking employees
Common Strategies With RFID Employee Tracking
There are many different approaches to employee RFID tracking. Companies must carefully consider what level of tracking is desired when scoping out their project requirements.
Employee Total Hours Worked
Companies that only care about monitoring total employee hours worked is one of the most common tracking scenarios. This approach offers the simplest hardware setup. All you need to do is have one reader at each building entrance or exit point. When employees pass by, their location history is timestamped and employee total work hours are easily calculated and provided via reports.
RFID Antenna at Work Entrance
Break Times
State laws most often require employees to have regularly scheduled breaks. Monitoring and enforcing proper break times is important for many companies. Failure to provide timely break times can result in expensive lawsuits. RFID employee tracking can provide the proof you need to show that your employees are getting the breaks required by the law.
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Set up break time rules for employees
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Monitor employee work hours
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Managers receive notifications detailing who needs to go on break
Employee Location Tracking
Placing RFID scanners in important areas can provide useful information about where your employees go in your organization. This is in addition to tracking hours worked and break times.
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Do you have areas that certain employee types shouldn't access?
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RFID employee tracking allows for automated notification when employee access permissions are violated.
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Employee Emergency Tracking
Employee mustering is a safety procedure where employees, visitors, and contractors are gathered at a designated location (muster point) after an emergency evacuation to ensure everyone is accounted for and safe. T
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Has every employee arrived at the mustering site?
Where are missing employees at right now?