HPI 1

Wednesday 7th July 2010 saw the first ever installation of the HandPunch Interface 1 (HPI1) in a Master/Slave configuration.

Reynolds Catering Supplies have been using Focus with three HandPunch terminals at their main site in Waltham Cross for over two years.

Reynolds identified a requirement for the system to automatically print Fire Evacuation reports - triggered by the Fire Alarm panel.

Using the HPI1 terminals, all clocking transactions from each HandPunch terminal are stored in a single HPI1 master device.
The HPI1 not only accepts a trigger input from the Fire Alarm Panel which in turn triggers the software to generate a Fire Evacuation Report to any number of predefined network printers,
but will also generate the Report itself - directly to a serial laser printer (without any involvement from the software, server PC or network).

It was a busy two days work to install, however this was made up for when the Fire Alarm was triggered and the report automatically printed. Smiles all round!

Added functionality for Focus users!

Focus users and admin now have the ability to to override employee thresholds within the focus software. It is now also possible to assign a supervisor status to an employee straight from the software itself, allowing the employee additional access and user options such as enrolling new employees on the clock and changing clock settings. A very useful ability for instance if the only supervisor on your clock is not present on the day when new employees start, or if your supervisor leaves the company without a new supervisor first being enrolled onto the clock.

Blog Migration

The blog has been altered a bit because of bloggers insistance on discontinuing FTP support. Hopefully all things are still functional!

Job Vacancy

Software Support Officer

Egress Systems is a small family run business supplying time and attendance (clocking in) systems to a broad range of businesses including hotels, factories, construction sites, food manufacturers, care homes and recruitment agencies.

We are looking to recruit a Software Support Officer to provide software support, customer product training and advice, handle sales inquiries and deliver confident sales pitches and demonstrations.

Skills/abilities required:

• Strong computer literacy, written and verbal communication
• Proven analytical skills including a creative approach to problem solving
• A confident and friendly manner both on the telephone and in person
• Experience in a training or customer facing role would be an advantage
• Willingness to attend customer sites anywhere within the UK and to work alone at times

Salary Range: £ 18,000 to 20,000 depending on experience and qualifications
Location: Kirklington near Southwell, Nottinghamshire

A full UK driving license is essential and candidates require their own car.

On the job training will be given.

To apply for this vacancy, please send your CV and a covering letter identifying why you are suited to the position to Zoë Mouter at Egress Systems Ltd, The Old Wheelhouse, Hall Farm Yard, Main Street, Kirklington, Nottinghamshire, NG22 8NN. Tel 0115 931 4007, email zoe@egress-sys.co.uk by 5th March 2010.

The HandPunch Station

We can now offer the HandPunch biometric terminal as a portable solution. Everything required is on one board - all pre-wired and configured to just plug into a mains socket and start working and communicating via GPRS.

The board consists of:

• HandPunch1000 with 50, 100 or 512 employee capacity
• 2A PSU with 7Ah rechargable battery
• Low Voltage battery isolator - this prevents the battery from being fully discharged - maintaining its life expectancy. It also means the unit could be removed for storage / re-location without needing to open the PSU and remove the battery leads.
• Electric Key-switch to power off/on the HandPunch and GPRS modem
• GPRS Modem, preconfigured to work with the customers data sim card
  
• GPRS Antenna

Focus Users Page Update

For all Focus users, we have updated the users page to include the latest helptext file. The Help2599.zip file can be downloaded and uncompressed to the Focus 2 folder to replace the existing chm help file. Alternatively, it is supplied as a pdf file which can be obtained from the same place.

http://www.egress-sys.co.uk/focus/focususers.php

Focus Lite Additions

Previously it has not been possible to view a Calendar or Availablity screen from within Focus Lite. Guess what? Now you can!

However, it is a 'view only' function - to be able to fully appreciate the benefits of these components, you will still need Focus Pro.

Also, it is now possible to set an automated schedule for downloading clockings.

This can be set for up to 10 downloads within a 24 hour period per terminal.