TimePilot Best Practices

Using TimePilot 'Outside the Box'

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TimePilot’s timeclocks work great as basic timekeeping systems. But they can be used in other, more innovative ways, too. Here are some fictional examples of how you could add our Tap+ clocks and iPhone App to your current TimePilot system to make your organization more efficient:

Example 1

The Challenge

Phil Gallagher’s eight employees clock in and out daily at a TimePilot Vetro at his workshop. They use five types of portable power tools in his workshop, and each tool is used at a different step in the manufacturing process. When they need to use a power tool, each employee retrieves it from a storage closet in the shop. Phil would like to see how much time each employee takes with each tool.

The Solution

Phil buys a 5-pack of TimePilot Tap+ clocks for $649. (He doesn’t need a Tap+ Starter Kit because he received the TimePilot Central software when he bought his Vetro and his employees already use iButtons.)

When he sets up the Tap+ clocks, he assigns each of the five Tap+ clocks the name of one of the power tools. Then he labels each of the clocks with the name of that power tool. To make it easier for his workers, he covers the “In” that’s printed on the front of the clock with a label reading “Taking” and covers the “Out” on the clock with a label reading “Returning.” Finally, he uses Velcro tape to attach each battery-powered clock to the shelf next to the appropriate tools.

When an employee removes a tool from the closet, he taps his iButton to the “Taking” probe on that tool’s Tap+ clock. When he returns it, he taps the “Returning” probe.

At the end of the week, Phil collects the five clocks and downloads the data they collected. In TimePilot Central, each transactions is labeled with the name of the clock, so he can quickly see when a particular employee “checked out” a tool and when he checked it back in.

Phil found an additional benefit to this system: When a power tool is missing, he can tell who used it last.

Example 2

The Challenge

Mary Tiant runs a home health care business. Her 12 home health aides visit 20 clients a week. For her office employees, Mary uses TimePilot Vetro. She’d like to verify how much time her home health aides are spending at each home.

The Solution

Mary will place a battery-powered TimePilot Tap+ clock in each client’s home. An aide will clock in at the client’s Tap+ clock when he or she arrives and clock out when they leave.

Mary buys 20 TimePilot Tap+ clocks for less than $2,500 and iButtons for each aide. (She received a discount from the list price; if you’re buying that many clocks, just ask us!)

When she sets up each clock in her TimePilot Central software, she assigns it the last name of a client. As clients change, she can change the clock’s name with just a few clicks. iButtons can also be reassigned as employees leave the company and new ones are hired.

Aides clock in and clock out during the week. Once a week an aide brings the clock back to the office, where it takes just seconds to download the data into TimePilot Central. Alternatively, a supervisor can visit the client periodically and download the data straight to a laptop.

With all the data now in TimePilot Central, Mary can see exactly how much time each aide is spending at each client and adjust their schedules accordingly.

Example 3

Our iPhone App—just $3.99 at iTunes—is a great addition to your system, too. Here’s an example of how it can be used. (For more examples check out this page on our web site.)

The Challenge

Joe Smith owns a small company, Riverville Software. Dana Lawson, one of his best technical support people, recently had a baby, so for the next few months she will work from home. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday she will answer e-mailed questions from customers. Joe uses TimePilot Vetro at his headquarters. Dana is paid by the hour and owns an iPhone. How can Joe keep track of the hours that Dana works?

The Solution

Dana downloads the TimePilot iPhone App from the iTunes App Store and links it to Riverville Software’s free Dropbox.com account. (Joe reimburses her for the $3.99 cost of the App.) At the start of the workday Dana uses the App to clock in and when the workday is done she clocks out. At the end of the week, she simply taps a button on the iPhone screen to send Joe her clock-in and clock-out data.

Within seconds, the data appears in TimePilot Central on the PC at Joe’s office, joining the clock-in and clock-out data collected by Joe’s other TimePilot products. Joe prepares the data for payroll and Dana gets her paycheck.

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