Clock in before you punch out

Soon, time cards will be required for hourly workers on campus

Dave Valdez
The Signal
It has long been said “time is money,” and a new TRAM system is coming to ensure that reporting time consistently is also part of accounting for “the money.”

Implemented by the UH System, the new Time Reporting and Absence Management system (TRAM) is going to be used as a digital time clock to manage time for a large percentage of UHCL employees.

Broken into two parts, 1) Time Reporting and 2) Absence Management, TRAM will be utilized by all employees except for Non-Benefits eligible monthly employees.

The new system will have the greatest impact on the bi-weekly employees who have to report daily schedules vacation and leave.  These employees will use both parts of the TRAM system.
To accomplish the time reporting, the TRAM system will utilize one of two reporting methods; a fingerprint recognition system and an online utility.

The more popular method, predicts Katherine Justice, executive director of human resources, will be the online time reporting tool called Web Clock.  This method will require employees to log into their PASS system and enter their daily time for each day, clocking in and out at the start and ending of their days as well as their lunch and other breaks.

The fingerprinting method will track time using finger print scanners placed in all of the UHCL buildings in a centralized position.  Employees whose access to a computer is limited will use this method.

“It is important that employees know that this fingerprinting system does not store fingerprints as a picture like the FBI database,” explained Gail Jackson, coordinator of payroll services for UHCL.  “The system uses a calculation method to create a unique numeric identity for each employee that uses it.”

Provided by the University of Houston System, 6 fingerprint systems were issued to UHCL for the buildings on campus.  They were provided without any impact to the UHCL budget.  UHCL will be responsible for the costs if any additional machines will be needed in the future.

The Absence Management side of the TRAM system will affect all benefits-eligible employees.   Benefits-eligible employees will be required to input their vacations, college release, sick and other leave through the online Absence Management utility.

Non-benefit employees, such as student workers, will not have to report their absences although they will be required to change their current time reporting system and will have to show their time spent on a daily basis by either using the fingerprint system or the online system.

“There are many advantages to the Absence Management system,” Justice said.  “It allows supervisors to be the single approvers for the leave that their employees take.  The system will automatically populate the employee’s timesheet.”

Instead of a multi-person approval process, Justice said this should “streamline” the approval process.

In addition, the TRAM system will only allow an employee to take leave that has been accrued.

“If you do not have leave time available, the system will inform you when you try to request time off,” Jackson said.

Opponents of the TRAM system include those who have to manage employees and are responsible for monitoring employee’s time.

“Just having to go in and make any kind of corrections will take time when there is a large group, especially if they forget to log in and out and approver has to do it for them,” stated Deirdre Taylor, staff assistant for the Intercultural and International Services office.

“Since we have 15 student workers and one staff employee, anytime there is a big event and they have to work longer hours, it will be time consuming changing their time to reflect the regularly scheduled hours since they are only allowed 20 hours per week.”

Some managers see both the benefits and the disadvantages of the TRAM system.

“As a monthly employee it is great,” said Kathy Kirchner, Support Center supervisor.  “As a manager it is not as great.  It saves on paper, but the amount of time working on schedules and leave is much higher.”

Proponents of the TRAM system see numerous benefits to the system.

“We spend a lot of time on sorting and storing all that paper, and so do the other departments,” Jackson said. “That goes away altogether.”

Employee Theresa Chance, program assistant for the Center for Advanced Management Programs office, accepts the TRAM system as being part of the current business world.

“I came from the corporate world,” Chance said.  “I am surprised it took this long to start using a time clock system.  It is great; you get paid for what you work, and this type of system ensures that.”

To assist in transitioning employees to the TRAM system, the human resources department will provide training options.

“A training video is being created, and hands-on training will be offered as well. It should be pretty painless,” Jackson said.

The TRAM system is set to make its UHCL debut early May.