Mobile time recording

Under Mobile time tracking refers to the time recording ( Time & Attendance ) outside the company. Mobile time recording is relevant, for example, for field service employees who are remunerated according to working hours , such as craftsmen. Traditionally, these working times are recorded by hand (e.g. on so-called timesheets). Because of the great effort required to evaluate the handwritten records and the late availability of the data, they are usually uneconomical. That is why solutions are increasingly being used that enable the electronic recording of working times.

Mobile time recording is increasingly used not only to record the start and end of work, but also linked to the fields of activity on projects and sometimes also to the recording of materials. This applies above all to projects that are billed by the hour and for which proof of performance has to be provided.

Individual activities can be recorded via the mobile time recording, logbooks can be created and tasks can be assigned to employees. The creation of travel expense reports on the basis of mobile data and the automated transfer to payroll programs is also offered today, as well as the combination with other types of data collection - for example, the digital management of material lists for permanent inventory or the collection of other operating data . Mobile time recording is often included in time management, project management or ERP solutions.

Purpose of mobile time recording

The recording of working and travel times outside of one's own company serves several purposes:

correct and complete recording and remuneration of all working hours,
Documentation of overtime in accordance with Section 16 (2) of the Working Hours Act
Recording of working hours according to § 17 Minimum Wage Act ,
Proof of working hours (Section 3) as well as breaks (Section 4), rest periods (Section 5) in accordance with the Working Hours Act and in accordance with the judgment of the European Court of Justice of May 14, 2019 (Az .: C-55-18),
Evidence of night and shift work (Section 6) and times of dangerous work (Section 8) in accordance with the Working Hours Act ,
Recording of driving times, trips and external activities for remuneration evaluation according to collective or company agreements, e.g. B. Release, fare, mileage allowance, separation allowance,
Recording of the duration of the absence from the apartment and the regular workplace to determine deductible additional meal expenses .

Advantages over handwritten records ("timesheet")

The working times are recorded immediately and directly on site.
The working hours can be processed immediately.
In the company, you can see live which fitter, technician etc. is currently working on which activities or on which construction sites.
Booking records for working hours, overtime, release / travel expenses are automatically saved without manual intervention by e.g. B. Calculated personnel accountant and transferred to the payroll software.
Due to the spatial-temporal proximity, cost centers and cost units can be better related to the work involved, so that only correct statements can be made about the actual costs.
The data is entered directly into the company's own IT system and ideally automatically compared. This means that there are no longer media breaks and the associated transmission errors, of which typing in illegible and dirty timesheets is the classic example: Since the sales representative has already forgotten the times when asked, the office worker enters arbitrary values.
By linking the automatically recorded times, the locations that are also automatically recorded and the work time bookings made manually by the employee, it is possible to assign working time accounts, overtime, absenteeism, log books, travel expense reports (with expenses, triggering, allowances, etc.), vehicle costs, etc. online manage.

Disadvantages compared to handwritten records ("time sheets")

Compared to the timesheet, user acceptance may be lower. Acceptance depends on

Manageability of the recording device and the effort involved in recording the entries
Transparency of the recorded data for the user
Perception as a monitoring tool
Additional benefits for the user (own company mobile phone; access to his time sheet, travel expense report, etc.)

Solutions for mobile time recording

There are various solutions for mobile time recording and for keeping a digital time sheet:

Offline solutions: The data is first recorded on a mobile data collection device, stored and (if there is a network connection) sent directly from it or later transferred to software via a stationary interface at a mobile docking station / in the company.

SMS-based solutions: Bookings are sent from the mobile phone as SMS ( Short Message Service ) to the time recording system.

Telephone-based solution: The booking is transmitted via a call to a telephony server.

Internet-based solutions: Bookings are sent from the mobile phone as a data package over the Internet to a server . With an internet-based solution, times are recorded by the server (and not by the recording device). In addition, it offers the possibility of defining dialogues between the server and the recording device, with which even complex recording processes can still be operated conveniently.

An app on a smartphone offers a combination of a telephone, internet and offline-based solution . The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs ( BMAS ) has developed a corresponding application with which an employee can record working hours on the go and then send it to the employer by email .

Verifiability of the information

To verify the electronic records, the working time bookings are linked to localization techniques by some working time recording systems. Here are location-based services or GPS solutions used. By linking the location data with the bookings, it can be checked whether the employee was at the place of work when the booking was made. In principle, such technical solutions require the express consent of the individual employee and the involvement of the employee representatives and evidence. The user himself should be able to switch the recording of location data on and off.

Legal position

When using mobile time recording systems, data protection aspects must be observed, which result from the General Data Protection Regulation, the general protection goals of information security and the judgment C ‑ 55/18 of the ECJ.

literature

Constanze Sigler, Silvia Mangatter: Online personnel services - current offer and potential. GRIN Verlag for academic texts, Munich, 2009. ISBN 978-3-640-46254-4
Dieter Goldammer: Business Administration for Architects and Civil Engineers - Successful Management in the Planning Office, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden GmbH 2012. ISBN 978-3834817488
Michael Stausberg: Mobile time recording in maintenance: Identification of operational needs (Part 1); Selection of a suitable time recording system (part 2); Mobile time management virtic in maintenance practice (part 3) in: The maintenance consultant, TÜV Media GmbH, Cologne 2014. ISBN 978-3-8249-0440-2
Michael Stausberg: Mobile time recording in production in: Practice Production Management - Successfully planning and implementing production processes, TÜV Media GmbH, Cologne 2019. ISBN 978-3-7406-0406-6
Michael Stausberg: Time recording - legal, organizational and technical requirements in: Information Security Management - Data protection and information security in practice, TÜV Media GmbH, Cologne 2020. ISBN 978-3-8249-0711-3

Web links

BMAS app "simply captured" - Arbeitszeitbox.de Arbeitszeitbox.de - a project of the IAW - Chair and Institute for Ergonomics at RWTH Aachen University (funded by "INQA - Initiative New Quality of Work")