Untitled record

© Patent holder (s):

Kees Snelders Advice in Westelbeers.

<img file="NL2010060C2_D0001.tif" />

Patent granted:

30. 06.2014 © Patent issued:

09.07.2014 © Inventor (s):

Cornells Franciscus Lambertus Paulus Snelders in Westelbeers.

Eric Cornells Anna Marie Schauwaert at Son.

© Authorized representative:

Ir. JMG Dohmen cs in Eindhoven.

© System for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers at multiple construction sites.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for efficiently recording attendance data of construction workers at a construction site. This object is achieved by the present invention by a system for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers at multiple construction sites, comprising the features of a plurality of registration terminals present on the construction site, which are arranged for communication with portable electronic data carriers comprising identification data for over there automatically identify the construction workers and a central processing unit, adapted to communicate with a plurality of registration terminals over a telecommunications network remotely from the construction sites, for storing the identification data for generating attendance data of the construction workers in conjunction with a time.

LC 2010060

This patent has been granted regardless of the enclosed result of the prior art research and written opinion. The patent corresponds to the documents originally filed.

Short designation: System for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers at multiple construction sites.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a system for recording presence data of construction workers on construction sites.

Such registration systems are generally known and have been used for a long time for time registration of workers at a work location. Such systems are known as time clock systems, which can be used to mechanically indicate users when they enter a certain location and when they leave the location using a registration terminal (the time clock). Therefore, at the end of a certain period, usually a week or a month, it is possible to use the system to find out which periods the user has been present and which period must therefore be reimbursed by the employer.

Such a system may be sufficient to be deployed for one location. However, for several locations the problem is that efficiency is lost because every location has to be provided with a registration terminal and the registration terminals are not connected to each other. As a result, a worker who works at multiple locations must be known individually and logging into each of the registration terminals, which is often a time-consuming activity.

In particular, this is a problem at construction sites where different construction workers are at work. Contractors must keep track of when and how long they are present for all construction workers and must keep accurate man-day records of this. This not only because of the compensation of the hours worked, but also because of all kinds of further requirements in the field of safety, liability and taxation.

In the case of multiple construction sites, there is a further loss of efficiency because a construction worker has to register and register separately at each location. Therefore, administration and the generation of man-days of states therefore take place in parallel. When a construction worker, for example due to the loss of another construction worker, must be present on a specific construction site temporarily or once, he will first register n have to go through the registration procedure. A time-consuming activity for the construction worker and the responsible contractor.

The contractor must at all times be aware of who is present or absent on the construction site. This not only for keeping the man-days registration, but also to prevent illegal workers from entering the construction site, resulting in extraordinarily high fines from the tax authorities. As a result of the tightening of the Chain Liability Act, it is becoming increasingly important for contractors and subcontractors to know who is present where and where.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for efficiently recording attendance data of construction workers at a construction site. This object is achieved by the present invention by a system for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers on multiple construction sites comprising the features of a plurality of on-site registration terminals arranged for communication with portable electronic data carriers comprising identification data for automatically identifying the construction workers therewith, as well as a central processing unit, adapted to communicate with a plurality of registration terminals over a telecommunications network remotely from the construction sites, for storing the identification data for generating attendance data of the construction workers in conjunction with a time.

By providing different registration terminals at the different construction sites, construction workers can register there using portable electronic data carriers and therefore their identities can be registered locally at the construction site. Because the registration terminals are arranged to communicate over a telecommunications network with a central processing unit communicate, the data recorded by the registration terminal can be stored there. Times are also stored during this save. These times can be provided in the terminals by means of a real time clock, but in another embodiment also by a software time synchronization in the central processing unit.

Thus, an object of the present invention according to a first aspect is achieved by providing a system of different registration terminals which are positioned on different construction sites and which are processed into presence data via a remote central processing unit. This presence data can then be further offered by the system for various purposes. This could include providing insight into how long and how often a construction worker has been present at a certain construction site or generating an overview of who at a particular mome nt is present at a specific construction site.

In another example of a system for electronically registering worker attendance data at multiple work sites, the identification data further includes security access data for accessing one or more of the construction sites.

Various workers may be present on construction sites, such as contractors, contractors, subcontractors such as carpenters, masons, etc. Since there are often different construction materials present on a construction site, which represent a non-negligible value, restricting access to certain construction sites by further including safety access data with the identification data is advantageous to such an extent that certain workers can be kept away from certain construction sites. For example, the safety access data of a carpenter for a construction site where carpentry no longer has to be done be carried out on the portable electronic data carrier in such a way that access to this construction site is denied.

On the other hand, other construction workers or contractors may use a portable electronic data carrier that incorporates safety access data into the identification data that provides access to all construction sites.

In yet another example of a system for electronically registering worker attendance data at multiple work sites, a construction site comprises several zones and the safety access data includes data for accessing one or more of the different zones.

In addition to different remote construction sites, construction sites may also be divided into different zones. For example, one zone where electricians are working at that time because at that time that part of a certain project must be provided with electrical wiring. rden. In another example, buildings that are in an architectural state of completion can be released for specific times. This can be advantageous when external parties, such as an installer of a kitchen or swimming pool, need to be temporarily on the construction site. A portable electronic data carrier can then be used for this purpose, which comprises security access data which only provide access to the zone where the work in question is carried out.

A further advantage of the use of the safety access data contained in the portable electronic data carrier is that it provides company emergency responders or members of the fire brigade with such a clearance that they always have access to all zones on all construction sites, where others are denied access during calamities .

In another example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the plurality of registration terminals are arranged to determine a distance between the portable electronic data carrier and the registration terminal, to determine the presence of the construction worker on the construction site.

The construction worker is registered on the construction site by communication of the electronic data carrier with the registration terminal. In a practical embodiment, this is a near field communication protocol or a direct physical readout action using, for example, a magnetic reading unit. However, if the recording terminal is capable, or that the portable electronic data carrier is arranged, to detect the presence of the portable electronic data carrier at a longer distance, and at least extract the identification data therefrom, it is not necessary that the construction worker performs a registration operation. Only taking the electronic data carrier to the construction site is sufficient to automatically register presence. Thus, the construction site does not have to be closed and access is limited to only that entrance where the registration terminal is present.

In another example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the portable electronic data carrier further comprises a location determination module, in particular a real time location system, for tracing using one or more of the plurality of registration terminals of the position of the portable electronic data carrier.

In a further embodiment, not only can the presence of the construction worker be observed on a construction site, but the position determination module can also determine the position on the construction site. This has the advantage that, for example in the event of an emergency, an operator, supervisor, emergency response worker or the like can easily be honored.

In yet another example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the central processing unit is arranged for registering a construction worker by inputting the identification data and storing them on the portable electronic data carrier.

In a specific example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the identification data comprises at least one or more data from the group consisting of passport number, identity card number, citizen service number, driving license number, hourly wages and zone access level.

In a further example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at several work locations, the central processing unit is arranged to comprise a block list, whereby the central processing Furthermore, a unit is arranged to send a warning message when one or more of the registration terminals of a construction worker included in the block list are registered by one or more of the registration terminals.

In a further example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the portable electronic data carrier is arranged for storing the presence data.

In another example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the plurality of registration terminals are further arranged to provide registration terminal identification data to the central processing unit for the central processing unit to store the time and its identification data .

In another example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers o In several work locations, the central processing unit is further arranged to present the presence data, which presence data comprise at least the presence times accumulated for each construction worker over a predetermined period.

In a specific example of a system for electronically registering attendance data of workers at multiple work locations, the central processing unit includes an Application Programming Interface, API, for presenting the attendance data.

A second aspect provides a method for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers at multiple construction sites, which method comprises the steps of:

reading in a portable electronic data carrier at at least one of the multiple construction sites, which identification data comprises automatic identification of a construction worker of the portable electronic data carrier r, as well as communicating the identification data to a remote central processing unit for storing the identification data therein in connection with a time point for generating presence data.

A third aspect provides a registration terminal for use in a system according to one or more of the previous descriptions.

A fourth aspect provides a central processing unit for use in a system according to one or more of the previous descriptions.

The invention and its advantages will be described in more detail below with reference to the figure description. This illustrates one or more embodiments comprising at least the first or several of the above aspects of the present invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows a system for electronically registering attendance data of construction workers at several construction sites According to a first aspect of the present invention.

The invention is described in more detail below with reference to an application within several construction sites. However, the invention is not limited to only construction sites, but such a system can be used for users at other (work) locations.

Figure 1 shows three work locations, in particular construction sites 11a, 11b, 11c. These are separate construction sites that are geographically at least some distance apart. Construction workers are (or can be) working within these construction sites, which construction workers are shown in Figure 1 with reference numbers 12a, 12b, 12c. At least a large part of the construction workers is present at more than one construction site within a relatively short period of, for example, a few weeks or months. This may be due to the size of the work, a large-scale construction project is being carried out at one location for which r certain construction workers have to carry out work for a long time. Another location could be a relatively small project, for example, where work only needs to be carried out for a few days, such as a renovation.

Where construction workers 12a, 12b, 12c work on more than one construction site, it must be registered for each construction site which construction worker is present at what time, and in particular for what duration. This is for the purpose of drawing up the weekday statements and approving and invoicing as a result thereof.

In contrast to prior art solutions in which each construction worker individually must inform the contractor of the start of the work at the start of the work, an aspect of the present invention provides a solution to this problem by providing a registration terminal 18. In the state of the art solutions it may be that there is one It is clear that the construction workers do not report to the contractor prior to the start of their work, but that a weekday statement is filled in on the basis of confidence. Since such registration is usually only carried out at the end of a period (week, month, etc.), this solution is prone to errors. Inaccuracies and irregularities can therefore hardly be prevented, which is undesirable for both the approver and the construction worker from approval, invoicing, tax and safety considerations.

In figure 1 a registration terminal is included within a construction site 11a-c. Shown in the figure in the form of a card reader. However, different forms of registration terminals are applicable and suitable according to the invention, specifically a wireless card reader, a magnetic stripe card reader, a smart card card reader, RFID card reader or other forms of wireless or non-wireless card readers can also be provided. In another output In the form of recording, the registration terminal 18 can also be designed as a reading unit for data carriers other than data carriers in the form of a card. Think of so-called drop tags and the like. In addition to physical data carriers such as RFID tags, chips on smart cards and the like, the present invention can also comprise software data carriers such as mobile phones or in particular a smartphone. For example, in the case of a smartphone, it could be provided with a specific App (application) which can provide the data to the registration terminal. In another form, the smartphone can be arranged to provide a unique code, such as a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional code, such as a QR code, with which the registration terminal is able to perform the registration. It will be clear to the skilled person which further forms of registration terminals can be used in the context of n the invention.

Any user of the electronic recording system, the construction worker 12a, 12b, 12c, is in possession or may obtain a portable electronic data carrier 20a, 20b, 20c. These data carriers, illustrated here as a chip-containing card, contain at least data identifying the construction worker and can therefore be classified as a personal card. This information may be contained in the card's data carrier in a readable or secure encrypted form. When the user 12a inserts his card 20a in or near the card reader 18, he will read the card and send this information via the communication connection over a telecommunication network 13 (internet) to the central processing unit or central server 14. There, at least the time and the identification data of the construction worker are stored in the memory of the server 14. The same goes for the other construction workers 12b, 12c. Their registration at terminal 18 is also processed by the central server 14.

When the construction worker starts to use the data carrier for the first time, it will be registered or registered. This initial registration can be performed in many ways. For example, by integrating with existing infrastructure in which a person proves his identity by means of a valid ID, such as a passport or ID card. This can be scanned, with which data may or may not be automatically transferred to the system. The identity data (or part thereof) can then be sent to the data carrier. In another embodiment, the login registration system is integrated in central server 14. In that case, when the ID is scanned, the identity data will be sent to the central server and processed there. At least some of this data is returned in the data carrier or a unique ID code is included in the data carrier which corresponds to the identity data of the user in the central server.

The server 14 is further arranged to provide authorized users, for example executors or an accountant, with information from the data stored in the server 14. For example, the server 14 can generate an overview showing which construction workers have registered in a certain period of time. This allows digital timesheets to be generated on the basis of which salary information can be provided. The server can also provide additional information, for example about the average start time of the construction workers, the average working day of the construction workers or the average number of hours worked in a week. This makes it possible to retrieve relevant data for planning work. In addition to a traditional schedule k The server is also set up to make predictions based on historical presence data about the available capacity and employability of the construction workers. It will be clear to the skilled person which additional information can be further generated on the basis of the presence data.

In another embodiment, the server may further be arranged to provide information to third parties. There are basically no restrictions on this, and third parties can, for example by means of an API, access at least part of the data stored in or generated from the server. By means of such an API, a link can be made with, for example, the tax authorities for the provision of tax information.

In figure 1 the different construction sites 11a, 11b, 11c are designed differently. A registration terminal 18 is shown at construction site 11a for illustrative purposes Each directly connects to the telecommunications network 13 for communication with the server 14. For this purpose, the registration terminal is provided with communication means for wireless or wired connection over the network 13. This can be a standard UTP connection or a wireless IEEE 802.11 or a GSM or GPRS connection over the network 13.

Construction site 11b is provided with a base station 17 from which point communication with the network 13 is carried out wired and with the card reader 18 wireless. This has the advantage that there is more freedom to place the registration terminal. It is often not yet possible to set up a wired communication connection at every position within the construction site.

In construction site 11c, the recording terminal 18 is further provided with a local processing unit for illustrative purposes. This has the advantage that the data of the presence of the construction workers can be buffered locally processing unit before being transferred to the central processing unit 14. If the communication link over the network drops or proves to be unreliable, the data is not lost. The buffering local processing unit can then continue to attempt to transfer the data to the central processing unit until receipt is acknowledged, thereby ensuring correct transfer and recording of the data to the central processing unit.