I spoke with Graham, IT Manager for Euroglaze. Based near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, they manufacture unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) products. These products include windows, conservatories, and composite doors. Euroglaze have been Tensor customers since 2012, handling a fluctuating headcount between 30 and 50 staff members. Initially this was due to seasonal work which meant the workforce was changed as needed. Currently this number has settled around the 40 mark, with no remote workers.
Tensor was implemented to replace an inefficient manual process. They currently have a Facestation, a facial authentication device, which was chosen during the Covid pandemic as a non-touch tool. They use it for time keeping, and a custom script links the information they get from their Tensor system with their payroll system. They also have a few job roles that use the Self-Service Module (SSM), Tensor's web-based application and app. These give users the ability to manage their time and attendance records, make holiday requests, and clock in or out of shifts from a desktop or smartphone.
When the system was first installed, Graham had training during the installation process. For the first year he was able to keep on top of all the onboarding and troubleshooting because of this training but eventually found that he had a lot of extra tasks to complete as the sole administrator. However, he found it easy to teach other members of staff to use the system. The conversation naturally went to our support and helpdesk service and he joked: "We don't have a support contract with you anymore because we never called you out! It just works!"
We went into how easy the system was to use for other users. "The employees find it very simple, they just look at the station, it bings and they go. They love it. There's no touching, no fingerprints." Employees were positive about the Self Service Module: "The lads really like it. They can just book their holiday without having to come into the office and ask." It's then approved or denied by managers. Graham himself rarely needs to interact with the system; he was only involved with it once in the last 12 months for a minor issue.
One of the main benefits that Euroglaze see from their Tensor system was the automated payroll process. "Tensor works out all the hours for the employees, so when it goes to accounts it puts the pay bands in. All the information goes to the pay system to pay them. The manager goes through it just before we upload it and makes sure any exceptions are cleared. He finds it really easy. He also creates reports for when people are off sick or looks for patterns."
We also discussed how much of the system Euroglaze used. Graham listed several features and options that they were aware of, which while he could see how beneficial they could be, their business didn't have a need for them currently. This included implementing the Fire Roll Call app (FRC) and potentially adding another Facestation.
As we were finishing up, Graham summed up his favourite part of their Tensor system "It's out of my mind, it just works. That's my favourite part of the system; there's no heavy maintenance." Finally, we asked if Graham would recommend Tensor to other companies, his reply was "I would yes. It's a lovely system".
Thank you to Graham and Euroglaze for the pleasant and informative catch up. If you want to know more about our facial recognition and biometric solutions, visit the link below:
https://www.tensor.co.uk/access-control/biometric-access-control