We specialise in advanced time & attendance, access control, and security management systems

News

Workforce pay made more efficient with clocking system

There may be a move towards another strike ballot at British Airways as cabin crew have rejected by a ratio of two-to-one the airline's latest pay offer. The number of votes cast, just over 5,000, represented less than half of the unionised cabin crew and was well below previous ballots that saw more than 70% of them express their views. The no vote raises the prospect of more strikes, as union leaders plan their next move in a dispute which stretches back to before Christmas. BA shares stood 1.4% lower at 199p shortly after the announcement. You can keep up morale at your workforce with an efficient Time and Attendance clocking system – it is so comfortable working with patterns, rosters and shifts that disputes are less likely to arise. Additional features are available, which can be implemented on your smart card-based time and attendance system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations. Secondary Pay Bands, for example, means that certain pay bands pay into other bands either on a 1:1 basis or by using a multiplier. Installation support and training is available.
News

Turnstiles increase social inclusion for the aged

The lack of a public toilet in many town centres and leisure areas has a hidden social cost – it effectively makes older people a prisoner in their own homes. Age UK, who used to be called Help the Aged, published a paper entitled "Nowhere to Go", which highlights this matter. Twelve per cent of older people (1.2 million) feel trapped in their own home, it says. Furthermore, about 100,000 never go out. The organisation suggests that lack of public toilets is a major factor in this, and the situation will worsen as toilet provision continues to decline. In order to aid the increase in public toilets, Tensor plc’s toilet turnstiles enable public conveniences to be built in towns to a good standard by local councils and provide the finance for their upkeep – they do cost money to maintain and clean. The durable coin operated turnstiles are adaptable, so that the coin box can be positioned to the most accessible point. They then permit entry with a small charge. Tensor’s turnstiles can cope with high volumes of traffic, while causing minimal disruption. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, barrier or gate, please contact our sales team. Half height and full height versions are available.  
News

Smart cards meet security needs if police resources cut

Police spending cuts could hamper the fight against crime in England and Wales, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has warned. The Chief Inspector said a "total redesign" of how officers work, such as shift patterns, could save 12%. He said further cuts would hit police availability "unless it was prioritised over everything else". The analysis of the future of policing comes in a joint report from the Chief Inspector, Sir Denis O'Connor, the Audit Commission (which covers England) and the Wales Audit Office – just as spending on policing faces a drop by a quarter in national debt-busting measures. Tensor can provide your organisation with a sophisticated access control system guaranteed to improve your security requirements if police resources are cut. Access Lite is the entry-level package of our range of proven Windows™ based access control systems which bar entry to unauthorised personnel. It comprises a complete smart card access control system, and includes sophisticated software for monitoring access patterns, alarm status, and detecting forced entries. It is ideal for smaller companies with less than 250 employees or made up of many small sites, and comes with 50 smart cards.  
News

Keep property crime down with Tensor CCTV security

Official figures reveal that offending across England and Wales is at its lowest level since 1981 – in the last year it fell by 8 per cent. Home Office chief statistician David Blunt said improved security measures, including alarms, better door and window locks as well as vehicle immobilisers are responsible for falling property crime. He said the trend has been reflected in many other developed countries during the same period. Mr Blunt said: "There is no single definitive explanation and it seems likely that a number of different factors have contributed in different ways." Investing in a CCTV Surveillance camera and recording system will give you a better than even chance of avoiding being a victim of property crime at your home or business. Our digital CCTV evidence quality systems are custom-made, installed and looked after exactly to your requirements, whether you want one camera or a whole network, and are available for indoor and outdoor environments, or day and night shooting. We also offer technology from other members of the Tensor group of security companies dealing with smart card access control.  
News

Two access control options to deal with police job cuts

A senior officer said police jobs will go if forces are required to make 12 per cent savings. Ian Johnston, president of the Police Superintendents' Association, was reacting to the situation that the Home Office, which funds the police, could be facing cuts of a quarter. "I personally think it's inevitable [that we will lose officers from the beat]," Mr Johnston told BBC Radio: "You can't take 12% out of any equation when 83% of your budget is on personnel, I think that, yes, we will be losing police officers and the sooner the police service accepts it and we get on with limiting the damage the better." With this prediction in mind your security needs are in good hands with Tensor, as we can provide your organisation with a sophisticated access control system. We currently have two dedicated systems available, which are operated by our contactless smart cards and key fobs and accurately allow and deny access to specific areas of your site. These systems are fully customisable, and come complete with access report generating software allowing you to track activity around your site. Surveillance and biometric technology can be grafted on for extra security.  
News

Firms on reduced budgets would benefit from clocking system

The top tier of National Health Service management is being axed since the coalition wants NHS administrator costs to be slashed by almost half over the next four years. All primary care trusts (PCTs) will be gone in three years’ time in order to save billions from the NHS budget. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley refused to give any guarantee that PCT staff (including clinicians, managers and administrators) would find similar jobs in the new set-up, where managing care will be the responsibility of family doctors. Much of the work is expected to be contracted out by GPs. To make it easier for organisations with reduced budgets, Tensor plc provides and installs a comprehensive Time and Attendance clocking and recording system with Job Booking and Job Costing, to maximise productivity and efficiency in the workplace. The software holds many features, such as in the Employee screens an index tab system is used to hold different categories of information. Some of these are user definable fields, including user definable tables and arrays. Users can generate reports using a range of parameters.  
News

Tensor Personnel helps forces manage on decreasing budgets

Issues such as public sector pay and pensions, and 25 per cent budget cuts across all governmental departments, mean the police are under scrutiny in terms of their performance and by how much the Home Office will trim their resources. North of the border, Chief Constable Colin McKerracher said 1,600 officers served the north east Grampian region, the highest number in the force's history. Mr McKerracher also highlighted his force continued to outstrip targets, including a year-on-year drop in anti-social behaviour by 12 per cent. To manage on an ever-decreasing budget companies with under 250 personnel to large multinational corporations, how about enlisting Tensor’s Time and Attendance smart card technology. The customised reports allow you to get the information you need to make on the spot personnel decisions. Among the many features included in the system are: Job Booking and Job Costing; All-In-One Time and Attendance recording; extensive European Working Time Directive checking and reporting; and customised patterns, rosters and shifts. We have Time and Attendance regional offices serving, England, Scotland and Wales to give you 24 hour support when and where you need it.  
News

Tensor Access protects your premises from unauthorised personnel

Police tracked down a criminal gang who moved from region to region in order to evade capture. The group roamed the west, north-west and Wales to rob cash machines, shops and homes. Officers are convinced their success in the Merseyside region preventing cash-in-transit robberies persuaded the two gang leaders to try their luck in Wales. Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Erasmus, of Gwent police, said: “They were clearly very surprised the high level of our investigation here compared with what they were used to in Liverpool.” Protect your site or premises from unauthorised personnel with Tensor Access – a simple to use, highly secure way of tackling the problem of keeping access to areas or buildings under control, as well as monitoring who is present. Among the benefits are photographic recognition and checking of employees, visitors and contractors; fingerprint scanners for high security areas; and seamless interfacing to our other systems of Attendance Monitoring, Visitor Control and Personnel. Tensor’s expertise extends to installing surveillance cameras are available for single or multiple use in homes or for integration with the Access Control smart card technology.  
News

Barrier access control will tackle unauthorised parking

Under a radical overhaul, Cardiff council has taken over the enforcement of most of the parking laws from South Wales Police as part of a wider transport strategy. To issue tickets on parking restrictions like yellow lines, a new team will consist of 35 on-street civil parking enforcement officers (CEOs) and four off-street CEOs, who will deal with council-run car parks. It will be headed by four senior CEOs and one team leader. There will be four response teams, who will be able to act immediately upon reports from the public about illegal parking. Tensor plc is quite happy with the responsibility of handling unauthorised parking on private property. The company deals in many methods of access control and barrier technology. You can control access to your site’s entrance with our automatic barriers, bollards, gates, turnstiles and parking posts. All posts come with a two-year warranty and can be produced in your company colours for total branding. A complete and easy to use employee and barrier access control smart card system will handle access for both individuals and their vehicles.
News

Smart cards are the clocking solution to win your vote

Police had to be called in at least four places and voters staged sit-ins in protest at being denied their right to vote in the spring general election. In some cases local polling stations were said to have run out of ballot papers, while in others they were unable to get all those who wanted to vote into booths in time. There were reports of voters being turned away in many towns and cities (including Sheffield, Birmingham and Liverpool). According to the Electoral Commission, at least 1,200 people lost their votes on May 6. This is probably an underestimate because it is based on figures provided by returning officers and does not include Liverpool. Tensor company Time and Attendance UK's state of the art smart card and biometric systems and software are guaranteed to meet your time and attendance requirements. Up to 15 times faster than equivalent swipe card technology, smart cards are the clocking solution to win your vote. The inbuilt report generator makes it simple to get both real-time and archived information. Fingerprint recognition systems, which provide irrefutable identification of an employee or visitor, are also available to compliment the smart cards.
News

Thwart drive off fuel crime with Tensor security network

Petrol station crime in the UK costs nearly £50 million a year and could lead to an increase in the cost of fuel to motorists. A good proportion of this crime wave sweeping the country's forecourts includes drive offs – people driving away without paying for fuel, which makes up nearly a quarter of money lost to the industry via crime. The penalties for this offence include a fine, a possible prison sentence, and the likelihood of having to pay compensation to the garage and the costs of the court. To prevent petrol stations from becoming easy targets for drive offs, Tensor can aid forecourts step up their security with our extensive knowledge. We install, maintain, and service digital CCTV camera and recording surveillance systems, whether a single camera or an entire network, manufactured by the leading specialists. Our cameras are among the best and are evidence quality. Or how about integrating CCTV with a total security set-up? We also stock a range of bollards, gates and other physical barriers to thwart the criminals. Electronic devices such as automatic bollards can be controlled by the garage attendant and come with a warranty and in a variety of colours.
News

Tensor can keep your home secure in the heat wave

As we currently bask in a hot summer spell it is tempting to leave windows open to cool the house down. But this is leading to a spate of burglaries. For example, thieves fled in a green Golf after stealing the keys from a home in Drayton, Hampshire, overnight. The car was later found abandoned with a punctured tyre on the nearby M275. Seventeen break-ins happened in one area in two days when temperatures peaked. Police warn that homes with alleyways at the side or back are particularly vulnerable. Residents are being urged to make sure windows and doors are properly locked every time they leave the house, go into the garden or to bed. Tensor plc can help residents with a range of security devices. We are the top UK installer and maintenance service provider of digital CCTV camera and recording surveillance systems, using the right equipment for your requirements and needs, manufactured by Panasonic, Wavestore and many more. Our camera lenses are high quality construction for smooth adjustment and long service life. We also install contactless smart card access control systems which power any electronic door, barrier or gate you choose – these systems are especially effective for larger buildings or sites.