science

Time clock

Time clock 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 clock rather than just read about it. In short: A time clock, sometimes known as a clock card machine, punch clock, or time recorder, is a device that records start and end times for hourly employees (or those on flexi-time) at a place of business. In mechanical time clocks, this was accomplished by inserting a heavy paper card, called a time card, into a slot on the time clock.

Key takeaways

Time clock 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 clock to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Time clock from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A time clock, sometimes known as a clock card machine, punch clock, or time recorder, is a device that records start and end times for hourly employees (or those on flexi-time) at a place of business. In mechanical time clocks, this was accomplished by inserting a heavy paper card, called a time card, into a slot on the time clock. When the time card hit a contact at the rear of the slot, the machine would print day and time information (a timestamp) on the card. One or more time cards could serve as a timesheet or provide the data to fill one. This allowed a timekeeper to have an official record of the hours an employee worked to calculate the pay owed an employee. The terms bundy clock and bundy have been used in Australian English for time clocks. The term comes from brothers Willard and Harlow Bundy.

History

Origins An early type of time clock, the autograph recorder, was patented in Chicago USA by Charles E, Van Voorhis in 1888, and manufactured by the Chicago Time Register Company. In this design, the employee signs his name on roll and operates a lever to obtain an automatic time stamp from an associated clock mechanism. An improved version of the system was developed by Dr Alexander Shiels of "Kosmoid" associations (patent issued 1904) and later re-manufactured, again under the "Kosmoid" brand, by the Rusmoid Company of London, in around 1920.

An early and influential time clock, sometimes described as the first, was invented on November 20, 1888, by Willard Le Grand Bundy, a jeweler in Auburn, New York. His patent of 1890 speaks of mechanical time recorders for workers in terms that suggest that earlier recorders already existed, but Bundy's had various improvements; for example, each worker had his own key. A year later his brother, Harlow Bundy, organized the Bundy Manufacturing Company, and began mass-producing time clocks. In 1900, the time recording business of Bundy Manufacturing, along with two other time equipment businesses, was consolidated into the International Time Recording Company (ITR). In 1911, ITR, Bundy Mfg., and two other companies were amalgamated (via stock acquisition), forming a fifth company, Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), which would later change its name to IBM. The Bundy clock (see image) was used by Birmingham City Transport to ensure that bus drivers did not depart from outlying termini before the due time; now preserved at Walsall Arboretum. In 1909, Halbert P. Gillette explained about the state of the art around time clocks in those days:

Time clocks.—Such an appliance which may not, in general, be used in the field, but which is of immense value in the office and particularly in a shop, is the time clock. Various forms of time clocks are in common use, two types of which are illustrated. [The first] is a time card recorder, which is a clock so made that it will automatically stamp on a card inserted in a slot in the clock by the workman the time of his arrival and of his departure. The cards are made to hold a record covering the pay period and need no attention from a timekeeper or clerk until the termination of this period. The record of the men's time can then be compiled very readily by one who need not be a skilled mathematician or time clerk. The time clock system has been developed very highly in shops for keeping track of time used in completing any job by workmen, but as this in a way is not in the realm of field cost keeping, it will not be entered into here. Another form of time clock [...] has the numbers of the employees fixed on the outer edge of a disk or ring and a record is made by the employee who shifts a revolving arm and punches his number upon entering the office and leaving. The working up of employees' time then becomes simply a matter of computation from printed figures. These two types are made by the International Time Recording Co. of New York.

An example of this other form of time clock, made by IBM, is pictured. The face shows employee numbers which would be dialed up by employees entering and leaving the factory. The day and time of entry and exit was punched onto cards inside the box.

Mid 20th century In 1958, IBM's Time Equipment Division was sold to the Simplex Time Recorder Company. However, in the United Kingdom ITR (a subsidiary of IBM United Kingdom Ltd.) was the subject of a management buy-out in 1963 and reverted to International Time Recorders. In 1982, International Time Recorders was acquired by Blick Industries of Swindon, England, who were themselves later absorbed by Stanley Security Systems. The first punched-card system to be linked to a Z80 microprocessor was developed by Kronos Incorporated in the late 1970s and introduced as a product in 1979.

Late 20th century

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Time clock

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Time clock 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 clock 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 clock 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 clock

In research: Time clock 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 clock 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 clock is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Clocks, Payroll, Products introduced in 1888, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Time clock 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 clock in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Time clock 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 clock out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Time clock in simple terms?

Why does Time clock 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 clock?

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 clock.