Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd. has chosen integrated HR and Time & Attendance software with access control from Carval. The new system will automate the effective management of employee data across the company’s flexible shift and working patterns and improve site security.
Part of Liebherr-MCCtec GmbH, in Nenzing, Austria the company was established twenty years ago as a manufacturing plant for all types of maritime cranes and cargo handling equipment including: ship and port cranes, offshore cranes and mobile harbour cranes. More than 85% of the equipment produced at the company’s Deptford works is destined for foreign markets including China, Singapore and South Korea.
The Sunderland facility is a pure manufacturing site with almost 200 employees. This is comprised of 22 staff, 105 production workers, 39 non-production workers and 31 apprentices. Whilst the majority of employees are based on site working day shifts, some are also employed on night shift. Staff employees have flexible hours and factory workers can bank hours from either their basic hours or overtime. A small number of the staff are support workers and are based out in the field.
Currently time and attendance is handled by a system deployed throughout the group with Sage used to manage payroll. However, there is no link between the current Time and Attendance system and the payroll; so all input has to be carried out manually. In addition, as there is no HR system in place, record keeping is either paper based or managed through a variety of spreadsheets, none of which are linked. Management at Liebherr Sunderland Works felt that these processes were long overdue for replacement.
With this in mind, the company decided to identify an integrated HR system that was capable of accommodating the shift patterns and flexible working arrangements within the company and which would give far greater control over working times and attendance. It also needed to provide more scope and flexibility for the banked hours system, which is currently held on an Excel spreadsheet. Of great importance too, was the need to find a system that would integrate fully with Liebherr’s existing Sage payroll.
Following an extensive review of the market, Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd. chose integrated HR and Time and Attendance systems from Carval’s HR Unity range. The HR Unity range is a complete integrated solution for effective Human Resources management that standardises and automates processes, reduces administration and makes essential management information readily available.
The management team at Liebherr Sunderland Works felt that Carval offered the most appropriate solution for their needs and were further reassured that the system had already proved itself at a sister company, Liebherr-Great Britain Ltd.
One of the key drivers, behind the choice, was Carval’s ability to dynamically integrate with the company’s existing payroll. With Carval in place, employee details and absence information will now be shared and payroll data can be uploaded from the Time and Attendance system; without the need for any manual data entry. This will significantly reduce time spent on administration and allows a clearer view of key data.
Phase 2 of the project will address Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd’s requirement to improve site security by limiting employee access to the site to those times when they are scheduled to be working. Carval will be installing their proven access control solution which encompasses Microtrak Evolution software integrated into the Carval Time & Attendance application. This allows access to the site dependant on what shift patterns the employees are set. Access will be via three full height Bi-directional turnstiles controlled with the use of HID proximity key fobs.
Holger Koenig, Financial Controller at Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd. believes that the new system delivers significant benefits commenting; “The Carval system is fantastic as the quality of information available to the management team will be greatly superior to what we can currently achieve. It will now be far easier to search for information or to investigate particular issues, with complete confidence in the data. In addition, the Carval system will ensure full regulatory compliance.
“Implementation of the system is still ongoing, and the Carval team is working closely with us to ensure that it meets and exceeds all of our expectations. We look forward to working with Carval for many years to come.”
For his part John Ovington, Sales and Support Director of Carval, welcomed Koenig’s comments adding; “Liebherr Sunderland Works has a global reputation for the highest quality and precision in manufacturing. A key element of this success is the quality of its workforce. Managing HR and Time and Attendance data effectively is therefore a pre-requisite. It was essential therefore that they invested in an integrated system capable of recording the diverse work and shift patterns of employees. We are delighted they have chosen Carval and look forward to seeing the imminent benefits the system will deliver.”
