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Tensor was this week given accreditation by Constructionline, the UK’s largest register for pre-qualified building contractors and consultants. The advantage of being associated with Constructionline for suppliers to the construction industry is that Tensor no longer needs to repeatedly fill in standard pre-qualification forms for every tender. Tensor’s details have gone live on the Constructionline database and are now available to its registered buyers. There are 8,000 buyers already using the Constructionline database to source contractors and consultants, so Constructionline is another great tool for spreading the word on Tensor’s Access Control and Time and Attendance systems. It means we will not be jumping through the same vetting hoops at every tender – not a brilliant use of time and resources. As leading suppliers of Time & Attendance products, Tensor is only too aware of the need for companies to save time and money! Constructionline is a Public-Private Partnership between Capita and the Department for Business Innovation & Skills. For more on the way Constructionline helps suppliers and buyers, log on to http://www.constructionline.co.uk/static/

Union members protested about a decision to increase the pay grade of a council chief executive by £27,000. The Unison public sector personnel lobbied a meeting of Caerphilly council whose Labour leadership said it would take legal advice on whether it was possible to revoke the pay award. “This statement by the Labour group is a step in the right direction, and sets the platform for future engagement with this administration,” commented Gary Enright, Unison branch secretary. Tensor’s Time & Attendance and Personnel Software is the culmination of over a decade of real world experience in the human resources and time and attendance sectors. The software contained within our various WinTA networks offer everything you would expect from a personnel management system. Included in the software package are additional features that ensure your company pays its staff correctly and according to which shifts they have performed in a given month. Tensor wishes a Happy New Year to all its new and existing customers.  

No dogs were harmed during a series of festive break-ins, an animal welfare concern has reported. A representative of the Dogs Trust centre in Scotland said staff at the facility were discussing ongoing security measures with police. “Thieves smashed in windows and forced entry but are believed to have been disturbed as nothing was stolen,” commented the spokeswoman on Thursday’s incident. The Lanarkshire-based Trust, which has now re-opened to the public, appealed for anyone with information to come forward. Tensor Access Enterprise is one of Tensor's latest developments in our proven range of products involving simple door and registration point control. Tensor Access Enterprise, intended for larger companies, includes extra software to enable you to easily add and edit profile settings to all registered hardware equipment attached to your company’s network of Tensor equipment. The network can operate up to 31 T32xx clocking stations, each of which can have up to 12 T8424 scanner controllers attached to it – that’s an incredible 372 scanners in total.

Police searched for a convicted killer who fled from a secure hospital. Phillip Westwater escaped St Nicholas Hospital on Wednesday morning. He was being escorted from his ward to a restaurant in another building, but still inside the hospital grounds, when he went missing. Northumbria Police were making inquiries and urged the public not to approach Westwater, who is described as white, six feet tall and with grey or brown hair. Among Tensor’s highly-effective Visitor Management Systems using the latest PC technology is Prison Pass. This a low cost, easy to install, computer based pass system for registering each visitor, both on and off site. HM Prison Service Visitor Monitoring Prison Pass enables prison officers to quickly check the identity and monitor the movements of visitors. At controlled monitor points, the visitor pass badge is simply swiped and a high quality digital image appears to the HM Prison Service Officers thus verifying that the correct person is passing through.  

Last weekend was the traditional FA Cup third round when the Premier League big boys enter the fray. However a dampener was put on one club’s day when it was burgled just ahead of hosting Everton. The break-in occurred at Cheltenham Town’s training ground and was reported at 12:30 GMT on Sunday. A police spokesman said the thieves entered the training rooms 10:45 GMT and midday. Among the items stolen were wallets and a smart phone. Gates, barriers, and turnstiles from Tensor fully integrate with our access control systems giving you full jurisdiction over access around your site. A Tensor security system can stop vehicles or personnel at the relevant barrier and disallow entry or exit until they identify themselves via their smart card and/or biometric fingerprint. The system gives full control over who is allowed access through any controlled point at any time of the day. A Tensor gate (a sliding version is pictured) can cope with severe operating conditions.

A school was that only recently fully reopened following a £12 million reconstruction after a fire in 2000 was affected by another blaze just after Christmas. The fire ravaged the arts and theatre block of the school near Poole. The school aims to reopen tomorrow (Wednesday, January 9), albeit with a reduced use of space. Pupils had coursework destroyed in the fire which is thought to have been caused by a lightning strike. There are many options for time and attendance software or systems in Tensor’s unbeatable range. One of these is WinTA PC Clock, a simple PC-based clocking system that is suitable for a school or college. The school or similar educational establishment does not need a new time and attendance network for WinTA PC Clock to be installed. Pupils are simply presented with an input screen on their PC allowing them to register – in a workplace scenario, the input screen would clock a colleague in and out.  

A Member of Parliament has criticised the ‘golden goodbye’ given to a departing energy boss. British Gas chief Phil Bentley is set to leave the company in the near future. According to reports, Bentley’s financial interests include nearly two million Centrica (the British Gas parent company) shares worth at least £6.5m. Labour’s energy spokesman, Tom Greatrex, gave his reaction: “British Gas customers, who have seen their bills soar on Phil Bentley’s watch, will be astonished at the level of his pay-off.” A major requirement of any Time and Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll set-up. Tensor is the leader in this field and has worked with all of the major payroll packages. WinTAnet has a wide range of configuration options to extract payroll information in exactly the correct format. It can share or receive information from third party applications by using readily available interface modules. Data transfers can occur either on demand or more usually as an automated process.  

Police say they are not linking a hold-up at a supermarket on Friday (January 4, 2013) to an armed robbery at a post office last month, or to two further armed robberies in Hampshire. Officers are appealing for witnesses after a woman was threatened by a gunman demanding money outside a Morrisons store in Dorset. A police spokesman said: “This was a very distressing incident for the victim but she bravely raised the alarm and was uninjured.” Tensor offers both indoor and outdoor access control systems that protect staff and customers alike at commercial premises. If the entrance to your facility is a vulnerable spot, then we recommend our full height turnstiles. The turnstiles fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems. They handle high traffic volumes as card or key fob entry is performed on a proximity read basis in less than half a second. The turnstiles operate under strict security standards and severe operating conditions.  

Power station workers have walked out over onsite facilities. An anonymous worker at Runcorn Thermal Power Station said the absence of a medical centre and water stations were an “absolute disgrace”. He added: “Until they sign a letter saying they will upgrade the facilities, this action will continue.” He said workers would boycott the site until Monday (January 14), when another meeting will be held to discuss the situation. Approximately 600 workers have been taking unofficial action since Monday. A Time & Attendance Management System from Tensor is the best there is at integrating time and attendance, rostering, absence reporting and job costing at the workplace. It also handles absence planning and entitlement management. Manning levels in Tensor’s most advanced network, WinTAnet, are based upon employee skills required during the working week. Any shortfalls to the expected requirement, due to absenteeism for example, can trigger a system email or SMS alerts. A separate module is available for rostering and manpower scheduling.  

A mayor says he wants his city’s council to be run like a business. George Ferguson was elected as the first mayor of Bristol late last year, and one of his more immediate concerns is how to cut £35 million in spending, or around nine per cent of the council budget. Mr Ferguson said 330 jobs must be cut when he revealed his proposed budget. The new mayor estimated that approximately 100 compulsory redundancies would need to be made. Tensor can supply many business solutions as well as our time and attendance or personnel systems. The Tensor Software team consists of highly experienced technology experts who work closely with customers to determine their business objectives, architect and customise a solution. The services we offer include the integration of mobile phone browsers; DSP (digital signal processor) based applications and algorithms; and mobile or handheld application development. We also perform MMI (Man-Machine Interface) Development for mobiles, set-top boxes, scientific equipment and consumer electronics.  

Cash gathered by friends of a boy who drowned in a swimming accident has been taken. The money was stolen from the youth centre he attended suffered a break-in, which was discovered on December 24. “It was going well and they were making a lot of money so it’s upsetting,” said Connor, a close friend of Aaron Burgess, who died last summer. The 14-year-old’s father, Jay Burgess, said: “I was devastated when Connor rang to tell me.” A Tensor Access Control Barrier system can stop vehicles or personnel at the relevant barrier and disallow entry or exit until they identify themselves via their smart card or biometric technology. The system gives full control over who is allowed access 24 hours a day. From controlling a single entrance, your access control system can expand upwards to a large network as used by the police, airports, and large multinational companies. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, barrier or gate, please access our section via this link.  

Nine-hundred and thirty jobs will go, the administrators of HMV have confirmed. Deloitte said that 66 of the troubled retailer’s stores will close over the next two months. In addition, about 190 posts have already been axed across the music giant’s head office and distribution network. The 66 stores would continue to trade in the meantime. “This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business’s future as a going concern,” said a statement from Deloitte. Contactless Smart Card clocking technology from Tensor will save time and money at a business in the long term. Using Tensor’s fast Smart Cards, a card or badge does not have to be removed from a wallet or purse to be used, drastically reducing the everyday wear and tear associated with dated swipe card systems. Our Smart Card Time & Attendance recording Workstation incorporates functions such as job booking, job costing, labour hours analysis and security management including quality CCTV playback.