To create a solution using facial recognition technology to guarantee accurate timekeeping of employee work time.

Starkey, Inc., a Kansas based non-profit organization that provides housing and community programs for the intellectually disabled, needed a solution to efficiently and accurately track the work hours of their employees which would tie into their ADP payroll solution. The idea was to have some sort of time-keeping device that would use facial recognition to verify the identity of an employee as they clock in and clock out for work. The hope was that Starkey could correctly connect their employee work hours in order to integrate them into their ADP payroll solution.

Starkey employees are scattered across a large area in Wichita, Kansas. Employees frequently transition between different homes at different times of their work day. Starkey was having problems maintaining the accuracy of their employee time clock records, which demanded an exceptional solution. They reached out to FHG to provide an optimized, reliable product to help maintain accuracy of their time card records.

The system developed for Starkey uses facial recognition technology. By recording several photos of employees, the software uses pattern matching algorithms to map facial structure patterns for each employee. Pattern matching through photos measures geometric relationships between data points on the face in order to develop a correct model of the subject’s face. The model is then used in the verification process. Employees sit in front of a camera with acceptable lighting to take a series of pictures so the system could learn who they are. Each computer has a camera to recognize the employee which then allows them to log in, clock in, and clock out. Failed attempts are logged in case someone is trying to falsify biometric data. Time keeping information is served by a third party service and sent to the ADP payroll provider. Cara Hillard, Starkey payroll coordinator highlighted that, “the facial recognition program has allowed us to offer our employees a fast and reliable system for electronically recording punches, while also allowing us to have the pictures to verify who recorded the punch.”

The solution was implemented in late 2018 and has been successful ever since. Over the last two years, Starkey has pushed the system to its limits and been very happy with the results. Colin McKenney, Starkey CEO explains that, “the system’s biggest benefit is to bring accountability to the process of tracking the work hours of employees across numerous work sites. Errors or intentional manipulation of our previous timekeeping process could lead to substantial overpayment of employees. This system makes that more difficult, and also provides a process to go back and visually check the integrity of timekeeping if problems are suspected. This highly-reliable system is an ideal solution for accurate time-keeping of the Starkey workforce.”