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hauser5 · Feb 2, 2008, 01:22 PM

I am a driver for a small trucking company, and they are in need of a cheap way to track when drivers leave and return. A simple punch timeclock will not suffice because of "buddy punching", etc. I know what we need, but don't know if it is possible. The perfect set-up would be a biometric fingerprint reader/sensor (linked to a pc) that automatically prints the user id and the current time of the swipe. I know you can buy biometric timeclocks and software, but even the office workers might have trouble with it, and I don't want to become an office worker, unless they want to pay me for it. Also, someone may break it, or otherwise rip it off the wall and steal it! Therefore, we need something simple that just prints the info to a secured printer inside the office, while the reader is routed outside of the locked room. This will be best because if the PC is in the open, someone may turn it off, or otherwise mess it up, and that would become a hassle too. Someone please help me determine if it is possible to link a fingerprint reader to a printer that will do this. It would have to have a way to know that the swipe was successful as well (perhaps a red or green light?) If they successfully swiped more than once, that wouldn't matter, because on the printout, they would see that it was just a duplicate. As far as a successful swipe indicator, it would be possible to have a screen mounted inside the office in view if needed, but that would be costly on monitor usage and life.

One other thing I considered was some kind of system that can sense that a certain employee has arrived, but not track them otherwise, and maybe there is some way that a printer could be setup to print the employee info and the time when they enter the building. Any ideas or solutions will be appreciated! In case you wonder why I am so concerned, it is because we are dispatched in order, based on first returned driver basis. I have been accused of altering my paperwork to show that I arrived earlier. I want to end the accusations. What really happened was that I submitted paperwork at a later time that showed I had arrived earlier than the next person (which I did), but when he turned his in, he noticed that mine was not there, and later saw it before his, so he assumed that I came in after him and changed my paperwork to put it in before him.

twinkiedooter · Feb 6, 2008, 07:45 PM

Small trucking companies are hard pressed to outlay that kind of cash for a system you are describing. Even some of the larger trucking firms don't have something like what you seek. One solution could be a sign in sheet that someone must sign in before they are dispatched. Also just having a regular time clock there to stamp the sign in paperwork would be a start. They are not that expensive and can be locked to stop anyone from changing the times on it. I've worked for small and larger trucking companies and this has been a problem like you've stated. There is no easy fix for this one.

When you are a driver you get used to waiting.

Fr_Chuck · Feb 6, 2008, 07:53 PM

video security camera showing the time clock. Firing anyone clocking someone else in or out, only takes one nomally to make the point

hauser5 · Feb 7, 2008, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

Small trucking companies are hard pressed to outlay that kind of cash for a system you are describing. Even some of the larger trucking firms don't have something like what you seek. One solution could be a sign in sheet that someone must sign in before they are dispatched. Also just having a regular time clock there to stamp the sign in paperwork would be a start. They are not that expensive and can be locked to stop anyone from changing the times on it. I've worked for small and larger trucking companies and this has been a problem like you've stated. There is no easy fix for this one.

When you are a driver you get used to waiting.

I have actually found some biometric time clocks that are like 260-399 dollars, but retrieving the data might be complicated. The sign in sheet is simple but good, but if some of the buddy punchers are around, they could tell someone else to sign them back in before they get back, and no one at the company are handwriting experts (forgery). A regular time clock does not solve the "buddy punching" problem either, which means that a friend is called and told to punch their card early or late. Thanks though!

hauser5 · Feb 7, 2008, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

video security camera showing the time clock. firing anyone clocking someone else in or out, only takes one nomally to make the point

Yeah, the only problem with that idea is that it is very dark in the office upon return at night, and a nightvision camera would be the only one that might be able to identify who it is that has returned. I will have to research this. And in the daytime, there are people there to verify departure and arrival times. I have been thinking about this, and a biometric driver entrance door lock would be great, because each person would have to use this to get in and submit their other paperwork, but unfortunately, they don't record user information upon use, just simply let them in. Maybe this would be a good invention/patent? Here's another idea, a time clock that has a flash camera on it that takes a picture upon each punch! That would be great!

twinkiedooter · Feb 7, 2008, 06:06 PM

I was thinking more of having your paperwork that you are turning in be time clocked in - not you punching a time clock. This way YOUR paperwork has the timeclock date and time on it. I'd like to see someone try and monkey around with this. How do you turn in your paperwork to be billed out and get paid? I used to do this at the larger trucking company I worked for that's why I'm asking. The paperwork could have the time and date clocked in on the back of the paperwork.

Do you hand deliver each load's paperwork when completed or do you TripPak the paperwork or mail or Fedex? Just how many drivers are there where you wosk?

hauser5 · Feb 8, 2008, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

I was thinking more of having your paperwork that you are turning in be time clocked in - not you punching a time clock. This way YOUR paperwork has the timeclock date and time on it. I'd like to see someone try and monkey around with this. How do you turn in your paperwork to be billed out and get paid? I used to do this at the larger trucking company I worked for that's why I'm asking. The paperwork could have the time and date clocked in on the back of the paperwork.

Do you hand deliver each load's paperwork when completed or do you TripPak the paperwork or mail or Fedex? Just how many drivers are there where you wosk?

I actually considered this notion not long after posting my last responses the other day. We actually put our paperwork into a box at the completion of each trip. The company I work for is really unique in that we get paid loaded and empty, take one trip at a time (sometimes with a backhaul somewhere else on the way back). We then wait for another trip, usually calling upon return (according to what time it is), which doesn't really prove where someone is.

There are only about 15 road drivers. The small number of drivers and sometimes inconsistent flow of trips is what makes some employees tend to want to "beat the system". The idea of time stamping the paperwork is not completely foolproof because in cases where the driver passes the office before getting to the consignee, they could stamp the time before actually being done, on the then unsigned paperwork. A lot of times we will go out of town empty and pick up something to bring back, or like I said before, pick up a backhaul on the way back. It is also possible that someone could purchase the same time stamp that the company has, and stamp it with theirs whenever they want to. This might seem very unlikely, but then again, if everyone was honest, we wouldn't have this problem.

By the way, I showed the boss lady one of these biometric clocks online, and she likes the idea, but doesn't know how the employees will take it. The way I look at it, if they want to get paid, they will have to swipe their fingerprint in and out! I just wish there was a way to have a fingerprint reader hooked to a printer that would print out each user's swipe to a printer in the office. This would be ideal, but no one seems to have any insight on this. It would be very simple to just rip off the swipe record each morning.

twinkiedooter · Feb 8, 2008, 03:31 PM

Having only 15 drivers is a very small company indeed. I asked the question because at one job I had I was the payroll lady (paid 125+ drivers 2x a week) and at another job I was the billing lady (billed $1M a month) so I've been exposed to both ends of the paperwork trail and a dispatcher (40 drivers) for awhile also thrown in there for good measure.

It's very hard to get drivers to do their paperwork correctly in the first place (and the logs too) let alone turn it all in in a timely fashion. The fact that everyone is rushing their paperwork in I find rather interesting.

It seems that you need to address your concerns to the safety guy or to the head dispatcher. Depending upon what software the company is using the dispatchers could put a note in your screen just when you actually completed the run. This is just one of many such suggestions.

There are a lot of trucking companies out there for the drivers to chose from right now due to a dearth in drivers. Companies don't traditionally like to anger drivers any more than they have to and the fingerprint thing just could make some drivers up and quit. I've seen drivers quit for the dangdest things and this would really rile up a seasoned driver to no end.

If you are the one who was questioned about your paperwork, you need to remember that there are a lot of other good companies to drive for out there and if you don't like how you're treated there - find a different company. You will probably make more at the new company anyway in the end - unless you don't do regional or OTR work that is. Local companies are harder to find.

It's not easy to accommodate just one driver versus 15 others if the loads are just not there and the pickings are slim.

twinkiedooter · Feb 10, 2008, 09:22 AM

Hauser - I am sure you can find a different company to drive for very easily. You don't have to live right on top of the terminal either. You can work for a company that is in another state for that matter. There are lots and lots of very good companies out there that pay VERY well if you have several years driving under your belt. Don't know if you have a hazmat endorsement or know how to drive a tanker truck, but I know that I paid my tank drivers very well for hauling propane during the winter and asphalt during the summer and still got to go home for the weekends. Good luck and drive safe!