Atlanta firm goes futuristic with face recognition for workers

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By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Employers have long sought a better way to identify employees and keep track of their hours. Traditional time clocks, whether manual or automatic, don't identify the comers and goers, and calculating employees can manipulate their time by having a pal clock them in -- the so-called "buddy punch system."

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Lathem employee LaRae Tiller waits as her facial image is scanned by the time clock. Lathem uses the face recognition equipment to document employees' time as they enter and leave the workplace.

Johnny Crawford, jcrawford@ajc.com Lathem employee LaRae Tiller waits as her facial image is scanned by the time clock. Lathem uses the face recognition equipment to document employees' time as they enter and leave the workplace.

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Badge swipes, PIN numbers, fingerprinting and even iris scans weren't perfect, either, for a host of reasons.

Now, an old-line Atlanta time-recording company, Lathem, is using futuristic technology to try to resolve the problem.

Its new FaceIN system uses facial recognition technology to identify and clock in workers. It's billed as foolproof, hygienic and cost-saving.

Two infrared cameras take and analyze more than a dozen three-dimensional photos of each employee's face. A digital template of each person’s unique facial features is stored inside the device.

Then, each time the employee walks by the FaceIN terminal at the entrance to the workplace and looks at the LCD screen, the person is identified and clocked in.

Lathem says even identical twins can't trick the device, and neither can beards, glasses, hats or two-dimensional photos.

While the technology is gaining overseas, it is in its infancy in the U.S.

The FaceIN system costs less than $1,000 -- not much more than other time systems -- and Lance Whipple, vice president of sales and marketing for Lathem, said, "It's a huge opportunity for us to take over the market."

Lathem, a 92-year-old company, sells products to more than 50,000 businesses annually. It expects FaceIN to make up 30 percent of its sales of automated time-keeping systems by the end of this year. The privately held company does not disclose revenue or other financial data.

"It's the easiest form of time management I've ever used," said one customer, Joe DeSalvo, director of dining services for Aladdin Food Management in West Virginia. He cited the system's speed, accuracy and hygienic nature, and said it helps manage staff and control labor costs.

Biometric identification has raised privacy concerns among some people who worry about the storage and dissemination of personal information gathered, as well as intrusiveness.

Whipple acknowledges Big Brother fears but said the digital information is only accessible to the FaceIN system and is kept confidential by the employer. In the end, he thinks it will be a hit with employers.

"It's more accurate, it's unobtrusive and it's easy," he said. "And every one's got a face."