Time clock

A time clock, also control clock or time clock is a working timepiece that records the work beginning and the end of work of employees.

Description

A time clock automatically prints the time on a card made ​​of cardboard. In this case, the printer is moved so that another line of the card is printed on each day of the month. With the stamps at the coming of the work begins with the punches when walking it ends. Mostly, the time clock is located in the entrance area of the job. It is used in industry and the service sector alike.

In order not to become too long, the stamp card, she is wearing on the front most row for the 1st to 15th day and on the back the rest A common operator error is the omission of turning the card to the 16th of the month. The leadership of the time card in the time clock can be tilted sideways. At a time clock set for day shift the lead by 12 clock is automatically set to the column "Go " and by 24 clock back to " Come ". For a work stoppage for example, a physician or agency appointment, the guide before stamping spring loaded on the column "break away" and "disconnection coming" to be moved. In a fifth column of the timecard, the manager can approve the work interruption as well as blank lines due to holidays or illness over the payroll by signature.

For the punch cards are available next to the clock own pockets for storage. For some companies this is organized so that the cards in the coming and going of the one are put on the other side, which is an overview of the current presence is given.

Measurement interval

Register depending on the system old watches not every single minute but jump at defined intervals on. So there are watches that bill in 6- Miuten intervals, as these are tenths of an hour, which can be expected comfortable. However, this means that employees at the coming of an average of three minutes, " given to " get, but wait when walking so long before the clock until it jumps to the next interval. In modern watches this falls away.

History

The time clock was invented in the second half of the 19th century at the time of industrialization. Meanwhile expected time clocks independently and print the time sums directly on the stamp card. In modern versions, however, the time recording is usually done electronically at a kiosk system by pressing a key or smart card. This allows the timing to be extended by an access control to secure areas. The data is stored centrally in a database and later analyzed by the payroll. This allows also that the operation to enter different ports and can be left often has the staff and even the ability to add manual entries to a PC.

Larger collections of historical working timepieces are in Technoseum Mannheim and in Uhrenindustriemuseum Villingen -Schwenningen.

Curiosities

In December 1998, the Stuttgarter Zeitung reported that in the IBM punch clocks are abolished. IBM, itself a manufacturer of time clocks, time clocks used historically on all levels of hierarchy for measuring time. Even Thomas J. Watson himself as CEO stamped his daily working hours, as IBM was the largest corporation in the world.