AXLR8 time and attendance integrated with Almas Industries biometric access control and Check-in/out systems


AXLR8 now have a fully developed interface using the leading Almas Industries systems and devices for biometric attendance and access control. Not only does it record attendance but also proves identity.
It allows you to use physical Almas Industries fingerprint and other biometric devices to check that the correct staff have arrived for their shifts on time and can record check in time, check out time, break time and other times such as tour locations and breaks. It also controls access into restricted areas.

Who does it help?
The systems are being deployed to check staff in and out and to record security and other tour paths in:

  • building sites
  • football stadia
  • large secure residences and estates
  • shopping arcades
  • factories
  • warehouses
  • hospitals
    and other large sites where staff attendance needs to be recorded. The physical Almas Industries hardware is installed at critical places on site This could be for, e.g. a fingerprint or facial recognition scan.

Please click to enlarge images

It is important to perform proof of identity for access control and T&A on site where your requirements include:

  • Only qualified staff
  • Only vetted staff
  • Only the staff who have understood the brief or done the induction training for that site
  • Only specific people may enter certain restricted rooms and areas

This is popular with staffing agencies and full time employed staff in:

  • security
  • stewarding
  • inspection
  • cleaning
  • medical
  • and many other areas.

How does this compare with the AXLR8 Proof of Location smartphone app?
Where you have staff attending sites just once or on an occasional basis – e.g. field marketing or once-off experiential or other services, naturally, you will still require the AXLR8 Proof of Location system using the staff’s BYOD smartphone and or web apps. This is based upon a selfie on site and the satellite geo data proving that:

  • the specific employee you booked and trained for that job
  • was actually there at or before the shift time and, if necessary
  • standing in a prescribed uniform
  • with (e.g.) their demonstration kit set up.

As they may be in any town, at another site on any day, you cannot install hardware for a fingerprint or RFID scan. Many of our clients have staff rotas at locations where they cannot or may not install or use T&M hardware for other reasons.

So the AXLR8 BYOD PoL solution for dynamic staffing locations is complementary to the Biometric T&M solution for permanent work places.

De Lage Landen integration

Great project with the De Laga Landen developer support team last month.

AXLR8 now have a direct proposal introduction system in test and hope to have the first clients using it within a month.  Fantastic development  job by all concerned.

Great to work with such a forward-looking financial company.

AXLR8 time and attendance and Paxton attendance recording systems

AXLR8 now have a fully developed Paxton interface using the Net2 architecture.  It allows you to use physical Paxton scanning devices to check that staff have arrived for their shifts on time and can record check in time, check out time and other times such as tour locations and breaks.   This is popular with agency staff and permanent staffing in:

  • security
  • stewarding
  • inspection
  • cleaning

and many other areas.

The systems are being deployed to check staff in and out and to record security and other tour paths in football stadia, building sites, shopping arcades, factories, warehouses, hospitals and other large organisations where staff attendance needs to be recorded.  This involves physical Paxton hardware installed at critcal places on site  This could be for, e.g. a fingerprint or RFID card scan.

How does this compare with the AXLR8 Proof of Location smart phone app?

Where you have staff attending sites just once or on an oocasional basis – e.g. field marketing or once-off experiential or other services, naturally, you will still require the AXLR8 Proof of Location system using the staff’s BYOD smartphone and or web apps.  This is based upon a selfie on site and the satelite geo data proving that:

  • the specific employee you booked and trained for that job
  • was actually there at or before the shift time and, if necessary
  • standing in a prescribed uniform
  • with e.g. a demonstration kit set up.

As they may be in any town, at another site on any day, you cannot install hardware for a fingerprint or RFID scan. Many of our clients have staff rotas at locations where they cannot or may not install or use T&M hardware for other reasons.

So the AXLR8 BYOD PoL solution is complementary to the T&M solution for permanent work places.

AXLR8 BT telephone maintenance 17th August 2017

BT Openreach are expanding capacity in our area.  This will affect our telephone and internet connectivity, the last few yards of which come overhead.

We have spoken with the contractor and agreed that this will not happen till after your Helpdesk Support hours.

It seems we need a new telephone pole as part of the process.  Nine metres is just not enough these days.  The new one will be ten metres high.

We are so proud.  Obviously, this growth is another great achievement for AXLR8.  I am not sure what effect this post (see what I did there!) will have on our SEO.

However, it means all our telephones will not be connected from around 5 p.m. on 17th August for around three hours.  If super urgent, please call a director’s mobile.  If not, please email support or log one on the portal.  We will pick it up the following day.

All telephones and office landline based internet should be restored by Friday morning 18th.

Thanks for your patience.  Please plan a visit soon to discuss your systems requirements over a cuppa and see the new pole.

Crowthorne to Windsor Castle off-road Bike Ride 28th August 2017. 11th year!

August 28th Bank Holiday Monday:  come on our off-road bike ride from Crowthorne to Windsor Castle through woods and parklands.  11th year!

A lovely bike ride through woods and parklands from Wellington Sports Club to Windsor Castle and back. Just turn up on August Bank Holiday Monday at 9.30 at club reception. Book the day out as we let the slow ones catch up and stop at a couple of pubs. Return about 5pm.

Make sure your bike is up to it. We will also organise some short practice runs. You must have a number you can call if you need to drop out (bike problem, tired, etc.) and need someone to pick you and your bike up. Contact rick.marengo@axlr8.com if you have any questions.

No membership, money or RSVP required. No organisation involved. Involves pubs.  11th year and nobody died yet!

 

 

 

Count down to GDPR May 2018

AXLR8 have been busy preparing for May 2018 when General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) will be the main Data Protection legislation, updating DPA.

The penalties will be very high indeed for companies who do not take their Data Controller role seriously.  These fines will be in addition to any fines from professional bodies.
To help, we are launching the

  • AXLR8 GDPR positioning paper and
  • AXLR8 GDPR client starter kit with
  • AXLR8 GDPR check lists,
  • AXLR8 GDPR workshops and advice and guidance in September through December 2017.
Aspire Spinal Injury Care Charity swim

Aspire Spinal Injury Care Charity swim

About Aspire.

Every eight hours, someone in the UK is paralysed by a spinal cord injury. It can happen to anyone at any time. Without warning, someone’s life changes completely. Aspire exists to provide essential support, equipment and advice to people with spinal cord injuries in the UK and Ireland.  Charity Registration No. 1075317

Please sponsor me for June 25th Henley Classic https://www.justgiving.com/RickHenleyClassicSwim for Aspire spinal injuries.

Please donate to this worthwhile charity. The event happens tomorrow at 5 a.m. and I am swimming the 2.1k Henley Regatta route against the current of the Thames from Temple Island to the Leander Club.  Not bad for a wrinklie!

 

Streamlining staff organisation at football grounds

AXLR8 delivers award winning staffing systems to football grounds, tailoring each system to suit the scale of the job

The amount of care and attention to detail that goes into organising football matches in the UK is incredible. It sets a very high standard, regardless of the level, the size of the stadium, or the attendance numbers. Although the focus of visitors is on the pitch, there is a huge number of staff and administrative tasks going on in the background, helping everything to run properly and safely.

One aspect that has facilitated the world class standards is the use of cutting edge technology. With the right systems in place all of those tricky, time-consuming administrative tasks become much easier to deal with. The end result is better management, fewer delays, and even cost savings.
AXLR8 is perfectly placed to provide staffing systems to football grounds that will deliver the above benefits and many more, including an applicant tracking system (ATS). We are an award winning company and work hard to build fantastic partnerships with football clubs all around England. With our help the workload can be streamlined and you’ll see great advantages in terms of organisation on important match days.

All our systems are designed with the knowledge of just how many different people are involved on match days. They can be used to coordinate SIA security, stewards, bar staff, caterers, and a wide array of others. The system will ensure proof of presence and can even have features for vetting to the BS7858 standard. The entire process is generally a huge administrative task, but with the cutting edge technology it is much easier and will achieve the required standards.

As well as facilitating the effective deployment of staff, an AXLR8 system will ensure that each staff member is properly equipped to do their job. You can keep track of all equipment that is issued, from hi visibility clothing to radios and even key fobs for tills. That way each member of staff should be able to do their job to the best of their ability.

A final feature of the system, that will save a great deal of time and maximise accuracy, is to generate payroll. With the tracking and proof of presence features, the system knows when and where staff are on site. Data about the rate they earn can easily be set so that payroll can be completely automated.

An AXLR8 system can be scaled to suit any requirements, delivering a robust, reliable solution. If you would like to find out more please get in touch. We are happy to offer advice and work closely with clients to deliver the most valuable staffing systems to football grounds.

Security advice from AXLR8

Following the ransomware cyber attack on Friday 12 May which affected the NHS and is now known to have affected other organisations globally, AXLR8 offer the following advice urging both individuals and businesses to follow protection advice immediately and into the future. It is to be expected that other scams will follow, typically ones that purport to offer a solution only for it to be another exploit and not a solution at all. If you are in any doubt please feel free to call AXLR8 and we can put you in touch with a cyber security specialist consultant.

Key messages to protect yourself from ransomware:

  • Install system and application updates on all devices as soon as they become available.
  • Install anti-virus software on all devices and keep it updated.
  • Ensure that passwords are 10 characters or longer, and include a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numerals, and special characters (e.g. !, &, *). Our suggestion is to think of 3 words that are meaningful to you, concatenate them, substitute an “S” with a “5”, and/or an “E” for a “3” etc, similarly change an “I” for a “!” maybe. Do not write passwords on post it notes – if you must record them, keep them in a file on an external device, such as a USB stick. Do not call the file “passwords”, but something else non-pertinent – “elephants” maybe.
  • Create regular backups of your important files to a device that isn’t left connected to your network as any malware infection could spread to that too. Customers using our CRM systems can rest assured that their databases are backed up on a daily basis. If you wish to discuss our backup procedure, please call us on 01344 776500 or email support@AXLR8.com.

Fraudsters may exploit the recent high profile incident and use it as part of phishing/smishing campaigns. That is to say that they may offer a solution that is in fact an attack. We urge people to be particularly cautious if they receive any unsolicited communications from the NHS.

Our advice is as follows:

  • An email address can be spoofed. Don’t open attachments or click on the links within any unsolicited emails you receive, and never respond to emails that ask for your personal or financial details.
  • The sender’s name and number in a text message can be spoofed, so even if the message appears to be from an organisation you know of, you should still exercise caution, particularly if the texts are asking you to click on a link or call a number.
  • Don’t disclose your personal or financial details during a cold call, and remember that the police and banks will never ring you and ask you to verify your PIN, withdraw your cash, or transfer your money to another “safe” account.

AXLR8 Commercial Asset Finance V4.0 launches

Version 4 of the AXLR8 Commercial Asset Finance offering is now available.

What’s new?  The system is GDPR compliant.

It now includes compatibility with:

  • AXLR8 Trigaware: which automates alerts and messages for end of funding period and other actions.
  • AXLR8 Exchange Vault: which automatically stores proposal and client email traffic in the correct places by using the client email address and, if relevant, to a quote or proposal, using the funding opportunity (also called “finance requirement” or “funding requirement”) reference in the email subject line.  This is an invaluable tool for both client service and relationship building as well as compliance audit transparency.  All the email correspondence for contacts from funders, suppliers, clients and others may be found in their file and likewise, all the correspondence for a quote or funding proposal may be found quickly with that funding requirement’s record.
  • AXLR8 Mailing Manager: this includes AXLR8 Newsletter Builder which is an effective tool for new business sales as well as keeping clients informed of news and developments at your company.  It also has extensive mail merge capability so that it can produce contracts for clients or employees and many other forms of correspondence.  In more advanced forms, the AXLR8 Mailmerge system can merge context specific information into one or more funding proposals documents including:
    • Funder Details
    • Client Details
    • Equipment Supplier Details
    • client bank, accountant, and other details from KYC and profiling (e.g. length of time at residence and home ownership  and unlimited other profiling information).
    • Equipment details
    • Background information and funding  business case.
    • Financial parameters such as equipment costs, advances and all the other data required for any funder’s decision.
  • AXLR8 Report Builder:  This allows the creation of reports on the fly and the creation of ad hoc operational data queries.  These may be combined and the data can be exported to other systems & tools.  Thus, the requirements for compliance reporting (e.g. Gabriel reporting) or funder reports, supplier reports, sales commission calculations are all avaialbe with a few clicks.

…..and many other AXLR8 modules.  The system parameters, vocabulary, labels, statuses, profiles and menus can be updated by the your superuser without expensive programmer intervention.

Cassiopae Freehand

AXLR8 have also been working with Cassiopae UK behind the scenes to integrate Cassiopae’s market leading Freehand quotation software in to our AXLR8 proposal management system for Commercial Asset Finance Intermediaries.

 

Is it compatible with my system and do I need to ugrade?  It is based on the AXLR8 CRM (Dragon release and above.  Those clients still using the previous version on Cobra releases have been contacted about options, dates and plans for upgrading.