Personnel time recording

Time is money: in the world of work, employees’ working hours form the basis for wage payments, project calculations and ultimately the success of a company. Precise and efficient personnel time recording is therefore crucial to success.

The workforce should be involved as much as possible. After all, staff time recording is a sensitive issue. There is a suspicion of employee control. A good compass is the formula “value creation through appreciation”, which should be practiced and communicated.

Digital personnel time recording as a key factor in the production process

Digitalized personnel time recording not only forms the basis for fair and correct remuneration. It also provides transparency regarding the organization of working hours.

In addition, the evaluation of personnel times provides valuable insights into the efficiency of processes, employee utilization and actual personnel requirements.

Flexible working time models, working from home, field service activities and project structures require flexible yet reliable digital personnel time recording systems.

They should also make it possible, for example, to regulate access to the personnel time recording system: which employees or groups have access to which areas or workstations with which orders?

Objectives of personnel time recording

• Correct payroll accounting: the recorded working hours can form the basis for calculating wages, overtime, bonuses, etc.

• Compliance with legal requirements: Personnel time recording ensures that international and national laws and regulations are followed, e.g. the Working Hours Act in Germany. It serves as proof in the event of an inspection.

• Planning and control of projects: The recorded working times provide important data for planning and controlling projects. For example, the time required for individual tasks and projects can be determined and bottlenecks identified at an early stage.

• Optimization of personnel deployment: By analyzing the recorded working times, companies can optimize their personnel deployment and, for example, identify over- or understaffing in certain areas.

• Increasing transparency and employee motivation: Transparent time recording creates clarity about the hours worked and can increase employee motivation.

Personnel time recording methods

There are various methods of personnel time recording that differ in terms of accuracy, flexibility and cost:

• Manual time recording: employees record their working hours independently, e.g. by filling in timesheets or Excel spreadsheets. This method is inexpensive but prone to errors.

• Time card: Working hours are recorded on a time recording device with a time card. This method is also relatively inexpensive. However, there is also a risk of inaccuracies, for example due to manipulation.

• Electronic time recording: Working times are recorded electronically, e.g. using chip cards, transponders or biometric procedures. This method is very accurate and secure.

• Mobile time recording: Employees record their working times on the move, e.g. via an app on their smartphone or tablet. This method is particularly flexible and is also suitable for employees working in the field.

• Software-based time recording: Working times are recorded via a software solution – for example MES FLEX with the FORCAM ENISCO personnel time recording app or certain modules in SAP or other ERP or CRM systems. This method offers extensive evaluation options and supports the automation of processes.

Which working times must be recorded?

Basically, all working times must be recorded. This means that both the total working time and the duration of rest breaks must be systematically documented. This obligation arises from the Working Hours Act in Germany and serves to protect employees.

• Start and end of daily working hours: The start and end of each working day must be recorded. This also applies to flexible working time models.
• Overtime: Any work performed in excess of the agreed working hours must be recorded. This also includes short-term overruns of the working day.
• Working on Sundays and public holidays is generally prohibited. Exceptions must be documented by the employer and the hours worked recorded.
• Night work: The hours worked at night must also be recorded separately.
• Rest breaks and rest periods: Compliance with the legally prescribed rest breaks and rest periods must be ensured and documented by the working time recording system.

Legal aspects of personnel time recording

In many countries, there are legal requirements for recording working time. In Germany, the most important regulations are laid down in the Working Hours Act in Germany. Among other things, it stipulates that the working hours of certain groups of employees (e.g. marginally employed persons, part-time employees) must be systematically recorded.

Personnel time recording:
Appreciation instead of control

Recording staff time is a sensitive issue, as it can quickly give the impression that employees are being controlled and less appreciated. To avoid this and at the same time comply with legal requirements, you should consider the following points:

Transparency and communication

• Open communication: before introducing a time recording system, inform employees fully about the reasons, how it works and the exact regulations. Involve them in the selection of the system and address their concerns.

• Transparent use of data: Let the workforce know what the recorded data will be used for. For example, for payroll accounting, project planning or working time optimization.

• Ensure data protection: Raise awareness of data protection and ensure that data processing complies with legal requirements, in particular the GDPR.

• Grant access: Allow colleagues to view their recorded data at any time and offer them the opportunity to make corrections.

Trust and flexibility

• Trust-based working hours: enable trust-based working hours if the processes allow it. This means that you refrain from recording working hours and instead rely on employees’ personal responsibility.

• Flexible working time models: Offer flexible working time models such as flexitime or working from home to meet the needs of the workforce.

• Focus on results: Concentrate on the results achieved by the team and not exclusively on working hours. Conduct regular feedback meetings and performance reviews.

Advantages of employee time recording

More effective deployment of employees

• Optimized work processes and personnel costs (higher productivity)
• Simpler planning & control
• Working hours adapted to the actual workload
• Increased transparency and employee motivation

Transparent working time overviews & evaluations

• Less administrative work
• Legally compliant working time documentation
• Reliable personnel deployment planning
• Automatic calculation of tariff and non-tariff regulations
• Recalculation of individual personnel costs
• Fair basis for dialog
• Up-to-date information on working time accounts
• Access control, seamless attendance recording

MES FLEX- App Personnel Time Recording from FORCAM ENISCO

The modular MES solution MES FLEX from FORCAM ENISCO supports companies in digitalizing, networking and optimizing production processes. With the MES FLEX personnel time recording app, you have unit costs perfectly under control!

In addition to machine data, personnel time data is the decisive factor for precise plans: the ERP system can only calculate unit costs accurately if it knows all the production parameters.

MES FLEX provides the answers to:

• What are the exact personnel costs per product?
• How many employees worked on a product and for how long?
• Was work scheduled or unscheduled?

With the Personnel Time Recording app, employees can be assigned precise production orders, work processes, internal orders or cost centers. This data is available for analysis and optimization in the integrated reporting solution from MES FLEX as well as condensed in the ERP system.

Flexible

• Record attendance directly at the workplace via the standard MES FLEX terminal.
• Integrate external time recording systems via the web interface (API).

Record personnel times on:

• Order/operation/material
• Internal orders
• Cost centers
• Attendance
• Workstation/machine

Advantages with the personnel time recording app in the MES FLEX solution

• Full transparency of personnel deployment
• Precise personnel cost shares in controlling (unit costs)
• Optimized personnel deployment planning
• Greater planning accuracy
• Greater efficiency and competitiveness

Personnel time recording with SAP solutions

SAP offers time recording solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into SAP Digital Manufacturing (SAP DM):

• SAP ERP Human Capital Management (HCM): Includes modules for time recording, planning and payroll.
• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central: A cloud-based solution for HR management that also offers time recording functions.
• SAP Fieldglass: A cloud-based solution for managing external employees that also offers time recording and payroll functions.

 The benefits of integrating SAP DM with a time and attendance solution

• Accurate labor cost calculation: by linking labor hours to production orders, labor costs can be accurately calculated for each product.
• Improved personnel planning: By analyzing the recorded working times, personnel bottlenecks can be identified at an early stage and personnel planning can be adjusted accordingly.
• Simplified payroll accounting: The recorded working times can be transferred directly to payroll accounting, reducing errors and speeding up the process.