Cracking the TIME-BANC System
by johnk
A little while back I was called in to do some repair on a small network for what some people would call a sweatshop - a lot of people doing menial work like the sewing of bags for hours on end and for minimum wage.
One of the interesting things about the job site is that all of the laborers checked in and out via a PC controlled time clock. Now what was even more interesting was that it was the exact same model as that of other companies I had worked on while upgrading one of their servers. Being inquisitive, I did a little research and found out that this specific time clock setup was popular for a lot of low overhead operations. So this information is for any of you out there who might actually have to use this thing and have always wondered how it works.
First off, this is going to cover the TIME-BANC "Phoenix" unit.
This is made by Westview Instruments (6723 Stella Link, Houston, TX 77005-4397, 713-668-2326) and is designed as "A computerized management tool that records, calculates, and processes employee work time for a small-to-medium-sized business (150 employees or less). There are no time cards to buy, store, process, or file."
They continue by saying "TIME-BANC provides full-sized, easy-to-read, employee work reports (detailing all clock-in/out activity and regular, overtime, adjusted, and total work hours) for pay periods of up to 36 days. Individual, departmental, and complete alphabetized reports and summaries allow quick reviews of employee work patterns, such as habitual tardiness and overtime theft."
Now obviously this sounds like an amazing tool to monitor employees and punish potential wrongdoers. This is an opportunity to show your employers how you are a perfect choice for management by reprogramming the time clock. So onto the details:
Let's begin with the good things!
The system utilizes 4-digit codes for identification. Employee numbers are 4-digit codes. The Manager code is four digits (1234 by default), and the Program Access code is 4-digits (5678 by default).
So if you know Joe is code 4343 you can always clock him out when you clock out by typing in 4343 and hitting the Out key (you will know it is really Joe because after hitting the fourth-digit key his name will appear). If you happen to hit the In key instead you will set off an alarm that can be killed with the Clear button (if you used the Up and Down arrows instead you could check out Joe's accumulated workday/workweek hours). But then there will be a record of Joe trying to clock in twice and it will have to fixed using the Manager code.
Manager mode is entered by typing in the 4-digit code and pressing the Enter key. By pressing the Up and Down arrows you can check out various options like Daily Report, Activity Graph, Individual Reports, Complete Report, and Report Summary.
Now since these really require access to the TIME-BANC's printer as well as the keypad, I won't really cover these.
Back to Joe... We want to fix Joe's time problem so we will type in Joe's number again (4343) and this time hit Enter. Now we will be asked for an access code, so we type 1234 (since no one ever changed the default settings) and press enter and the 4343 will pop up with a date in month/day format. Changing the date will allow you to display in/out times and modify them. When completely finished hit the Down arrow and it should return to the default display.
Program mode is much more interesting so let's go in that by typing 5678 and pressing Enter (or whatever your code is, shoulder surfing is permissible). You now can use the Up and Down arrows to scroll through the following options:
Employee Data: Here is where you can create and edit employee IDs and department numbers. The second line displayed is the Personal Timekeeping Options. The first digit is the workweek schedule, then the schedule lock (0 flags violations, 1 flags and beeps violations, 2 sets off an alarm when a violation occurs requiring a manage override to fix), next is the clock in mode, then clock out mode, followed by holiday credit (0 to 15 for hours paid on holiday), break type (0 no assigned, 1 automatic, 2 unpaid, 3 paid), and door control (0 no relay, 1 activated by clock in, 2 activated by clock out, 3 activated by both). These allow you to directly control one employee at a time instead of defaulting to the whole database of employees.
Workweek Schedules: Here you can set up various workweek schedules (max 7).
Holiday Schedule: What? April 1st isn't a paid holiday? Well by adding the 0401 it now is a paid company holiday.
Break Schedule: Hmm... not enough breaks in the day? Here is where you add a few. Just remember to make sure your Paid Time Off (PTO) reflects paid breaks.
Signal Control: TIME-BANC can be set to lock doors and ring bells for certain times. Here is where you modify those unruly doors - after all it is most likely a fire hazard anyway.
Rounding and Overtime: Always round in your favor.
Default Settings: Controls the defaults for all new users.
Time and Message: Just moved from another time zone and can't quite wake up in time? Change their time to fit yours! Plus with only 20 characters make sure the message expresses the opinion of all the employees.
Access Codes: Here is where you can remedy the fact that no one ever changed the default passcodes. Boy won't the boss be proud of you for securing that hole!
Factory Setup: Need a special access code to reinitialize everything back to factory defaults. Have to call that number I listed earlier and practice your official voice.
There is more information available on the TIME-BANC but most of it involves details on getting the variety of reports available under the Manager options. And since the operations where I saw this being used had the printer in the actual owner/manager's office it would not be a good idea to be playing with these.
If you have permission the reports seem pretty self-explanatory, so go forth and learn.