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Eight fire crews are today (Thursday, May 19) attending a massive blaze at a scrapyard on Tyneside. Tyne and Wear Fire Brigade confirmed that surrounding buildings were evacuated after the fire was reported at lunchtime. Smoke from the incident at Byker could be seen as far away as Hartlepool, about 30 miles away. Experts were still trying to ascertain if there are any dangerous chemicals involved, or likely to be reached by the flames. Contactless smart cards are used to operate Tensor’s time and attendance, access control and visitor monitoring systems which ensure safety at your premises with a range of fire and emergency options. The T3510 is the ultimate Smart Card Access Control system for doors and barriers. It enables one to four-door access control; and linked together it can control up to 128 doors from one PC. The T3510 has a volt-free input that can be wired directly into your fire alarm system. When the alarm is activated, all doors immediately open for a quick and safe evacuation of personnel.  

Ongoing talks are being held between London Underground and the unions over pay covering next summer’s Olympic Games, and a deal similar to one previously agreed with railway workers is set to be struck. Underground representatives are likely to ask for at least £500 for workers during the event. London Mayor Boris Johnson said Tube strikes during the games will be “very unlikely,” adding: "We are having our pay rounds now which are progressing well and we need to get that right.” The time and attendance software for all Tensor systems gives your organisation total control over pay, hours and clocking issues. Many daily working patterns (shifts) can be created, with either fixed or flexitime rules. These can run past midnight, making night shifts simple to define. Overtime is easily monitored, as our software has lots of standard analysis and viewing screens which enable you to approve and audit clocking transaction made by employees. Hours worked by employee, shift or department can be instantly checked; as can core-time violations.  

The Police Federation has claimed officers feel they are being "hit from all sides" by spending cuts. The body, which represents all police constables, sergeants and inspectors, has published its own survey of 42,000 police officers in England and Wales. It showed 85 per cent of respondents felt cutting police numbers would have an impact on crime levels. The recent coalition Spending Review slashed central government funding to police in England and Wales by 20% over five years. Tensor Access Control technology serves companies worried about crime impacting upon their site. Our Tensor Access Enterprise system can operate up to 31 T32xx clocking stations. Door access can be limited depending on the person's roll call status. Sensitive or dangerous areas can easily be denied to those who do not have the appropriate security clearance. Your clocking station network can consist of one or more clocks, and is connected to a main server PC either via the PC's standard serial port or an ethernet network adapter.  

A new report says public sector wages have been rising while many in the private sector were seeing wage cuts. The Policy Exchange said the gap between equivalent workers in both sectors was more than 30 per cent when based on hourly pay. The report said the gap, or pay premium, between what a typical public sector worker earns above their equivalent in the private sector has increased to 16.5% over the past two years for salaried workers. A Tensor time and attendance system allows your firm to create a myriad of different wage bands and shifts for your payroll. Among the numerous extra features that can be implemented on your system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations is Secondary Pay Bands. With this function certain pay bands pay into other bands either on a 1:1 basis or by using a multiplier. Using Shift Premiums, complex payment schemes can be used, based on factors such as the time of working to the grade of employee.  

Home Secretary Teresa May told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that the findings of a review on police pay were going through the negotiating process. The review of pay and conditions has recommended a range of allowances and special payments be scrapped to save £485 million over three years. Mrs May said when pay made up 80% of police expenditure, and cuts were being made to tackle the deficit, it was "right to look at pay, terms and conditions". Comprehensive user-definable working patterns and rosters are featured in Tensor’s all-in-one Time and Attendance WinTA clocking system. From simple determination of overtime by the number of daily hours worked to the more complex payment of overtime hours adjusted when periodic targets are not met, WinTAnet can supply working rules to calculate the correct result. It contains special rules to accommodate the formal flexitime contracts worked by many public sector employees. Night shifts are simple to define, and both paid and unpaid breaks are easy to define and calculate.  

A seaside building which in a former life was a public toilet has been sold for more than twice the guide price. The block at Norfolk resort Sheringham is more than 100 years old and was sold this week with planning permission to be used as a holiday home. The building, which had a guide price of between £30,000 and £50,000, had its value improved due to coverage in the national media that drew interest from around the country. Tensor's turnstiles fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems giving you full jurisdiction over movement and access in and around your site. Included in this array are coin operated toilet turnstiles which help pay for the upkeep of the toilet block via the revenue streams the turnstiles create. Available as single or double half height turnstiles, the turnstiles cope with high traffic volumes and prestige access points. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, barrier or gate, please contact our sales team.

Almost 20 tonnes of metal intended for the new grandstand for a top military display has been stolen. The girders were to be part of the stand at the Edinburgh Tattoo, and the theft took place between Sunday and Monday (May 29 and 30, 2011). Police have suggested the theft was made because steel prices have remained high, and the huge amount of that metal was why thieves targeted the two trailers carrying the girders. Using the latest .NET PC-based access control software, Tensor technology is the first step towards protecting your business premises from theft. From the control of a single internal door through to a fully computerised, multi-site network of control points, a Tensor Access system is the solution. It begins with low cost 1 to 4 door access control which linked together can control up to 128 doors from one PC. Tensor Access is modular in design, and so is able to be adapted and extended with extra features like visitor control and monitoring systems.  

Police have been swift to arrest four people following a robbery at a petrol station earlier in the week. The crime happened on Monday evening (May 30) at the filling station at Flintshire in North Wales. A minor amount of cash was taken in the incident and a cashier was taken to hospital with minor injuries. Police are urging witnesses to come forward. Tensor offers a top of the range access control system which gives protection to your site. When a person attempts to pass through an access point, the T32xx access control unit compares the individual’s security profile with that of the access point. Security profiles are based upon the day, time of day, and the security threat level of the attempted access. You can upgrade Tensor Access to include digital evidence quality CCTV technology. Further additions to your Tensor Access system may also include automatic number plate recognition – with the option to add a comprehensive visitor monitoring ID badge system – to enhance your security solution.  

Parachute Regiment soldiers returning from tours of Afghanistan face having a special bonus payment cut as defence bosses are looking to reduce costs. Paratroopers are most likely to be affected since the Army wants to decrease the number of soldiers fully trained to parachute. The Daily Telegraph newspaper says it could mean a pay cut of up to a tenth for the lowest paid private. The newspaper also claims as many as 4,000 individuals could be affected. Using Tensor’s comprehensive time and attendance software, including WinTA Lite, your firm’s payroll department can create a wide range of daily working patterns (shifts), with either fixed or flexitime rules. These can run past midnight, making night shifts simple to define. Bonuses and other payments are easily created. Overtime is easily monitored with up to four different pay bands in each shift. Bands are selected based on the time and the number of hours worked. Periodic Overtime is used to calculate overtime on weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.  

A convenience store was burgled twice in three days, with an employee saying he felt sure it had been targeted by professionals. Shift manager at the shop in Swindon, Wiltshire, Nathan Humphries, said: “They came through the back door and must have used a crowbar to prise open the shutter. I’m sure they were professionals.” He added: “We were worried about our payroll information but we’ve been told they shouldn’t be able to access it.” Whether it is a retail store, site or office, your business property can be protected by Tensor’s access control products. These range from simple door and registration point control, through to a fully computerised global networked Access Control System. Further options include a Visitor Management System, a low cost PC based visitor pass production system that controls, records and monitors the arrivals and departures of an organisation’s visitors and contractors. Reception and gatehouse staff can quickly check the identity or enter the details of visitors, and print their personalised ID pass, which includes a digital photo.  

Wetter walls and dry rot has resulted from a spate of thefts at a church in Lancashire. St John the Divine is riddled with the rot after damp has set in through areas where protective lead was stolen. The vicar, Father Keith Henshall, explained it is worse when thefts go unnoticed. He said: "We haven't realised the lead has gone and we've only become aware of it as the walls have got wetter and that has undoubtedly exacerbated our problems with dry rot." For security protection of your premises or site, a Tensor Access system is the solution. Tensor Access Lite is one of our proven range of Windows™ based Access Control products. With Tensor Access Lite and Tensor's T149x scanners, you can control most standard types of internal and external electronic and magnetic door releases. The scanner controller is the unit to which all Access Control equipment within your Tensor Access Lite network is connected. A Tensor T32xx clocking station can have up to twelve T8424 scanner controllers attached to it.  

Last month, Network Rail said passengers were delayed by 6,088 hours over the past year because of cable thefts along its routes. The rail operator’s figures showed the number of theft incidents in the 2010-11 financial year leaped by 52 per cent to 995 on the railways it controls. The crime causes significant disruption to rail services and places huge financial costs on the rail industry. The organisation blames the high cost of scrap copper for increased cable thefts. A Tensor Access system improves security at your depot or office, no matter how exposed or remote it is, thanks to our CCTV, barrier, Access Control and visitor management technology. Under Tensor Access Lite, each T8424 scanner controller can have combinations of up to two T149x access point scanners or fingerprint readers giving you full control over who is allowed access through any controlled point at any time of day. Sensitive or dangerous areas can easily be denied to those who do not have the appropriate security clearance.