Expansion for PPE production
Surgical Dynamics, a medical device manufacturer, has bought more production space at Number One Industrial Estate in Consett, in order to produce more personal protective equipment (PPE).
The company will use their new more than five thousand feet of space to help them to ramp up production to 80 to 100,000 face shields per week over the next fortnight.
Managing director Mark Jessup said, “To make the change to PPE production was the right decision for Surgical Dynamics to make, given the overwhelming need for this vital equipment.
“I am very proud of the whole team here in Consett who have worked so hard to bring this project from initial sketches to finished product in 3 weeks
“It is also important that the UK becomes more self-sufficient in essential products and we are proud to be part of a thriving UK manufacturing community positioned to fulfil the needs of our NHS.”
Factories and production facilities have been using clocking in and out to monitor and measure their employees’ hours for payroll pretty much since the start of factories. The first time-recording machine was invented in 1888!
However, there is still plenty of room for many factories to modernise their time and attendance systems in order to maximise efficiency and minimise errors.
Some companies are still using very old-fashioned methods such as swipe cards or punch cards, or very basic fingerprint clocking machines which don’t link to any sort of central system. Depending on the company’s requirements, we can offer three alternatives.
Firstly, if they would like to keep using cards to record their time and attendance in order to disrupt the workforce as little as possible, then we can offer the company our contactless proximity smartcards.
These are about the size of an average credit card and perhaps three times as thick, fitting comfortably into wallets and pockets. The radio frequency technology, which can read through non-metallic materials, means that you don’t even have to take them out of your wallet or pocket in order to clock in!
The completely contactless clocking technique means that the card doesn’t suffer from wear and tear and doesn’t need a battery, and so barring a disaster can go on indefinitely.
We are experts in systems integration, so it may even be possible for companies to keep any existing radio-frequency cards and use them on our system.
The second option is fingerprint scanning. This is useful for factories who require high-security, high-certainty access control and attendance management. For example, companies which have had problems with people losing their cards, or with people deliberately swapping cards and clocking in for each other.
Considering the recent developments related to the COVID-19 outbreak, some of your staff might raise concerns regarding the use of the biometric fingerprint readers / hand scanners. In these cases, we recommend:
Switching off biometrics and using our contactless smartcards only for clocking in/out at the clocking units.
We strongly suggest keeping your clocking units disinfected periodically. For this process, we recommend the use of a regular/non-abrasive window cleaner or Isopropyl Alcohol 99% and a clean soft cloth.
- Spray the cleaner on the clean soft cloth and start wiping at the rear corners of the sensor surface, pulling the cloth toward you.
- Avoid using cleaners that contain Acetone, Acetate, Methanol and Ethanol, as these could damage the fingerprint sensor’s surface, potentially negatively impacting product performance.
Please contact us for more information!