Manufacturing Times

"HR: Slackers at a glance"

Macedon, NY – October 31, 2006 – There are people at every workplace who seem to get sick most often on Mondays and Fridays. There are usually disputes of some kind about who gets the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas week off. Managers struggle with the long-term question of what kind of manpower will they have six months from now.

Magnatag Visible Systems has just released a solution that is elegant in its simplicity. Magnatag is a maker of industrial organizational tools, and has devised an at-a-glance magnetic whiteboard system for charting vacations, sick days, and all forms of absenteeism. With such an easy view, "the slackers are exposed," as one user put it.

“Most companies we deal with have some version of a first come, first served vacation policy, yet employees and supervisors tend to struggle in effectively communicating – and marking – those requests,’’ said Wally Krapf, founder and President of Magnatag Visible Systems. “The board also silently helps with the Monday Sick Day Syndrome because it allows sick days – and any notable absenteeism patterns – to be quickly noticed by using colored magnet signals. It’s also ideal for graphically planning, scheduling, displaying and updating training, travel, time off, special assignments or any employee-time oriented activity throughout the year” Customers for whom long-term scheduling clarity was a challenge are saying the Attendance-Monitor has been a convenient silent solution:

“Attendance is important to us and the board makes the record public so the slackers are exposed. That may seem a little harsh but it has made a difference,’’ said a manufacturing operations technician of a 110-employee electric utilities manufacturer in Augusta, GA.
“We keep ours in a case on the shop floor so people can easily see vacation time availability before putting in for time off. It is a lot easier for everyone and we never find ourselves with manpower shortages,” said an engineering manager for a 300-employee motor vehicle parts manufacturer in Auburn, AL
“We are a small company so attendance is important, we can’t afford to have too many people out at once. We will keep track of everything, attendance, vacation and training all on one board,” - Office manager of a St. Petersburg, Florida landscape company.
“The board eliminates a lot aggravation for everyone, no more back and forth between Supervisors and Personnel to check availability and it’s easier for employees to make plans because they can see the whole year at once.” – a production assistant for a Ladson, SC Transportation equipment manufacturer.
“The board helps us keep track of Father Bob, other employees and even some purchasing,’’ said a rectory worker a Catholic Church in Lynwoood WA.

The Attendance-Monitor Board comes in 3 sizes to allow full-year daily tracking for 19, 42 or 86 employees. The 2’ x 3’ board for 19 employees is available with write-on tools for $299; or a complete magnetized kit for $379. For more information, visit www.magnatag.com/AT.