Biometrics

Fingerprint authentication has been used in the past for criminal background checks, FBI fingerprint matching with crime scene evidence, and even government agency security access. But now, with biometric technology becoming more advanced, more common, and more cost effective, fingerprint authentication is coming to the workplace. Are you unsure of what fingerprint authentication might do for your business? Here are some scenarios for you to consider.

Doug works in a factory on a busy production line, with a lazy line supervisor who does not pay enough attention to the coming and going of employees. Doug is supposed to be at work at one, but does not want to miss the Nicks game.

The Old Way: Doug calls Carl, another employee at the factory. Carl uses a weekly time card to punch the time clock for Doug, who does not arrive until two-thirty. Still, Doug has been paid for the time that he was not there, because no one noticed.

The New Way: Doug calls Carl, who reminds him that the company has switched to a new fingerprint authentication system. Carl offers to record the game, and Doug arrives for work on time, and clocks in using the fingerprint authentication system.

Here is another story that will show you just how much fingerprint authentication can help improve workplace ethics. Katie works in a retail outlet store at the mall. The store recently got in the cutest shoes, but Katie cannot afford to buy them.

The Old Way: She uses her employee access key to get into the inventory storeroom for a customer, and carefully sneaks the shoes past the camera and into hiding. At the end of her shift, she slides the shoes into her backpack and takes them home. When physical inventory is checked, it is discovered that the shoes are missing but have not been sold. Since no evidence exists, the matter is dropped and the shoes are written off as a company loss.

The New Way: She uses the fingerprint authentication system to access the inventory storeroom for a customer, and carefully sneaks the shoes past the camera and into hiding. At the end of her shift, she slides the shoes into her backpack and takes them home. When physical inventory is checked, it is discovered that the shoes are missing but have not been sold. Reports are printed from the fingerprint authentication system, which show that Katie was in the storeroom during the space of time in which the shoes disappeared.

One final note about how fingerprint authentication affects the workplace. Say you had an employee that left suddenly without notice, but did not turn in his key. You would spend at least one hundred dollars to change the locks for controlled access areas and provide remaining employees with new keys. But, thanks to fingerprint authentication, your company could incur no costs whatsoever in situations such as these. Within minutes, the employee could be deleted from the system, and no costs are incurred.