Carter Holt Harvey Overlay Panels
Product: Timekeeper Central for Windows
Payroll: CHRIS
Employees: 200 machine operators and process workers
Key Benefit: Carter Holt Harvey's Overlay Panels Division has shaved hours off payroll procedures, improved productivity and enhanced reporting capabilities by installing Kronos Timekeeper Central® for Windows to track employee attendance and streamline labour management.
The Challenge: Back in 1996, Carter Holt Harvey Panels Overlay was using a punch card system to manage the time and attendance of 200 machine operators and process workers located at manufacturing facilities in Christchurch and Auckland.
The punch in, punch out procedure meant that all time and attendance details had to be manually entered into the payroll system, with additional calculations for the various awards and pay rates.
The process of gathering information used to calculate wages was both time consuming and complicated by the risk of human error, as well as the fact that staff were split between two sites.
The Solution: Panels Overlay was one of two Carter Holt Harvey divisions which installed the DOS-based version of Timekeeper® in 1996. They have now upgraded to Timekeeper Central for Windows.
Payroll Manager, Val Insley, said the selection of Kronos as preferred supplier for a frontline labour management solution was specified by Carter Holt Harvey, but it's a choice she endorses.
"Timekeeper is great and I definitely recommend it. The system is powerful, yet easy to use, and it interfaces directly with our CHRIS payroll system, so it's a quick and simple task to download the attendance file each week and calculate the wages," she said.
Timekeeper saves time and effort
Ms Insley was working for the Cartons division when Timekeeper was first installed and remembers what a huge difference the automated system made to her workload.
"Not only did it save me hours every week by eliminating all the manual data entry from the punch cards, but the accuracy of the information also increased because the factor of human error was removed.
"In addition, Timekeeper's built-in rules capability means it automatically calculates the different awards and pay rates, providing accurate and reliable figures for each employee. While we're a fairly simple operation in terms of awards and conditions, the variance in rates is tremendous, and it would add several hours to my workload if I had to manually calculate the results for each individual," she said.
More recently, the division identified the need to enhance the level of functionality available both to the payroll office and to department managers on the factory floor.
Both the Panels Overlay and Cartons divisions upgraded to Timekeeper Central for Windows late last year, improving access to information and enabling floor managers to more accurately track the attendance and overtime of workers within their team.
The Benefits: "Timekeeper Central for Windows version is much quicker and even more user friendly than the DOS version, which has improved our ability to access information and develop reports on overtime, productivity and other labour cost issues for senior management," said Ms Insley.
"It's also very easy to define or change the rules for different job functions or specific individuals, which gives us enormous flexibility in the way we handle wages and conditions."
Improving efficiency in labour management
One of the most significant benefits has been on the factory floor, where managers have a powerful tool to help them track time and attendance.
"If one of our supervisors wants to know if someone is at work, they can simply tap into the computer and see if they've clocked in, rather than being forced to wander round the factory floor trying to locate them," said Ms Insley.
"This saves them considerable time and improves their ability to manage factory staff by enabling them to respond more quickly to work around absent employees or handle other staffing issues.
"They can also check on a day to day basis what their overtime costs are, or in the space of two minutes they can calculate how many doors have been produced and the associated man hours and labour costs, making it a useful tool to measure productivity."
Ms Insley said most of the division's supervisors had never used a computer before Timekeeper was installed and had to spend hours producing their management reports manually.
"Not only has this system helped them to gain valuable computer skills, but they're saving considerable time, and the quality and depth of their reporting is significantly enhanced. The upgrade to Timekeeper for Windows has given them even more functionality at their fingertips and made the system much easier to navigate," she said.
Third division moves to Timekeeper
Since the successful upgrades by the Panels Overlay and Cartons divisions, a third division has chosen to implement the Kronos frontline labour management solution. The Cases division completed its rollout of Timekeeper Central for Windows in February 1999 and has started to take advantage of the system's functionality.
Summary: For Panels Overlay, Timekeeper Central for Windows offers numerous benefits ranging from greater access to information, increased productivity and faster, more accurate payroll procedures.
"After just five months of operation, Timekeeper for Windows is performing beautifully and we're already seeing savings both in time and resources. Over time, as we continue to expand our use of the system and exploit its full potential, the benefits being realised will also increase."
– Val Insley, Payroll Manager
