science

Time and attendance

Time and attendance is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Time and attendance rather than just read about it. In short: Time and attendance systems (also known as T&A systems) are used to track and monitor when employees start and stop work. A time and attendance system enables an employer to monitor their employees' working hours and late arrivals, early departures, time taken on breaks and absenteeism.

Key takeaways

Time and attendance belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Time and attendance to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Time and attendance from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Time and attendance systems (also known as T&A systems) are used to track and monitor when employees start and stop work. A time and attendance system enables an employer to monitor their employees' working hours and late arrivals, early departures, time taken on breaks and absenteeism. It also helps to control labor costs by reducing over-payments, which are often caused by paying employees for time that are not working, and eliminates transcription error, interpretation error and intentional error. T&A systems can also be used to ensure compliance with labor regulations regarding proof of attendance.

Manual systems Traditionally manual systems were used that rely on paper cards which have times stamped onto them using a time stamping machine. Such machines were used for over a century but have since been phased out and replaced with cheaper automated systems which eliminate the need for payroll staff to manually input employee hours.

Automated systems Modern automated time and attendance systems require employees to touch or swipe to identify themselves and record their working hours as they enter or leave the work area. Originally this consisted of using a RFID electronic tag, a barcode or a QR Code badge but these have been replaced by biometrics (vein reader, hand geometry, fingerprint, or facial recognition), and touch screens devices.

Application and systems-based clocking The latest technology enables employees to clock in from all devices such as PCs, tablets and mobiles using an App or a QR code Clocking using a mobile phone enables geofencing which allows an employee to clock in & out only when they are within an internet geolocation. Facial recognition systems are also available with these app-based software technologies, eliminating the need of fingerprint scanners.

See also Comparison of time-tracking software Time tracking software Workforce management

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Time and attendance

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Time and attendance claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Time and attendance before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Time and attendance ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Time and attendance

In research: Time and attendance appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Time and attendance in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Time and attendance is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human resource management, Working time, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Time and attendance outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Time and attendance in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Time and attendance means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Time and attendance out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Time and attendance in simple terms?

Why does Time and attendance matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Time and attendance?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Time and attendance.