Snap and work: LWMC launches phone app attendance scheme

Fingerprinting can’t work as workers’ thumb impressions have faded, says MD.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) on Monday announced the launch of an android phone-based digital attendance system for sanitary workers in 106 union councils of the city.

During a presentation by the LWMC staff on Monday, the managing director and other high officials were informed that almost 50 per cent of the sanitary workers skived off duties in the field and several others bribed their supervisors to mark them present. An attendance marking android application, which was tested on trial among LWMC workers on the Metro Bus route last year, has now been introduced in 106 union councils. The app allows designated workers, who have been provided android phones, to take pictures of sanitary workers and their badges. The app automatically links with a central database and updates the workers’ attendance.

According to the LWMC office, Rs20 million will be spent on the attendance system. The company has so far purchased 700 android phones at Rs14,000 per phone. They have been distributed among sanitary workers at 528 duty points so far.

LWMC Managing Director Waseem Ajmal told The Express Tribune that workers had been trained to use the app. They would take pictures once upon arrival and when they signed out for the day. The LWMC plans to launch the system in the remaining union councils in the city by the end of the month.

Ajmal said that they had initially tested a bio-metric system to mark the attendance but that could notwork. He said considering the nature of their jobs, the thumb prints of most sanitary workers had faded and could not be used to mark attendance.

He said the new system would ensure equitable share of the workload for sanitary workers.

“No one would be allowed to play hooky without consequence,” the MD said.

The problem of “ghost workers” had increased and there were several workers in the company who not only did their own jobs but also had to pick the slack of their fellow workers, Ajmal said.

The salaries of absentee workers would be automatically deducted and distributed among workers who would have to cover for them. He said there was often a shortage of workers on duty.

Ajmal said several workers had protested this move as it strongly clamped down on absenteeism. “We want the community to be involved as well,” he said. Citizens, especially students, should download the app so they can take pictures of sanitary workers and be involved in cleanup projects in the city...they might even be paid for it, he said. “We advertised this plan in the media in January but did not receive a very enthusiastic response,” Ajmal said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2014.