Manufacturer DS Smith installs Tensor Workforce Management Systems

DS Smith is an international group focused on two major activities, packaging and office products; a leading manufacturer of corrugated packaging in the UK and France, a leading producer of recycled paper board, a worldwide supplier of bag-in-box, the largest UK manufacturer of envelopes, books and pads and a European wholesaler of office supplies. DS Smith employ 12,000 people of whom 7,600 work in the UK.

In 1996 Factory Manager, Chris Stearne, and HR Manager, Maggie Harris were in search of a comprehensive Time & Attendance system that would be a lot easier to use than their existing manual Blick punch card system and could provide an automated Fire Roll Call facility. They naturally considered upgrading their Blick system but decided to purchase a WinTA system from Tensor because "The system was much easier to use than the Blick system and the price was competitive."

A WinTA Time & Attendance system was installed in November 1998 with no problems during the installation of the hardware or software. Both Chris and Maggie were trained at Tensor's Training Centre at Hail Weston. "The training was very good", remarked Chris.

The WinTA system was extended in 2001 to include Access Control and the latest Tensor Fire Roll Call system. The current installation is used for Time and Attendance, Access Control & Fire Roll Call.

When asked what he likes most about the system, Chris said "It's very easy to maintain and the backup from Tensor is superb. Essentially the system is simple to use, especially the Tensor Smart Cards."

The Fire Roll Call system is tested once a month, but fortunately they have never had to use it!

"We have used the Tensor Help Desk on a number of occasions", explained Chris to the Tensor reporter. He went on to say he found the service "very helpful indeed."

Apart from a visit about one month ago from Tensor engineers to replace a motherboard, the clocking stations and Access Control hardware has had no failures. "Very good, with a very quick response" was Chris's observations of the service from Tensor.

When asked if he would recommend Tensor to other companies, Chris said "Yes, I have done so on several occasions", and summing up Tensor in a few words he concluded: "Fulfilled all the promises - Tensor did exactly what we wanted and system does exactly what Tensor said it would do."

DS Smith Plc

4-16 Artillery Row

London SW1P 1RZ

Website: https://www.dssmith.com/