U-Clock to turn a first year profit with cost saving innovation

A STAFF time keeping system born out of directors need to control costs in the recession has developed into a new company that is set to be turning a profit by the end of its first year trading.

Bolton-based U-Clock is the brain child of Jamie McCann, who is also managing director of Advanced Ventilation, a national contractor for heat recovery units.

In mid-2008, Advanced Ventilation was forced to look a its costs and Mr McCann worked out that the business was losing at least 15 minutes work a night through its remote workforce.

“With 30 contractors it was losing around £350 a day in salaries where we were paying for people not working,” said Keith Malone, U-Clock’s business development manager.

Mr McCann couldn’t find any existing time keeping systems that would work for a remote workforce across a range of sites, so he invested in developing his own system, which was up and running within the business by early 2009.

The simple system uses a portable battery powered digital box, which remains on site for the duration of the clients contract at that location.

It uses algorithms to generate an eight digit number which the contractor’s employees then text that to have the time and their location registered on a database.

“This data can be used to give project updates and an audit trail, it also allows time sheets to be pulled into excel sheets and accounting software,” said Mr Malone.

The system proved so successful that Mr McCann stated to get enquiries from other companies that had staff working on the same site as his own employees and U-Clock launched as a separate limited company in August last year.

Since then, the system has quickly been taken up by contractors for construction sites but the company has also found applications in other industries and is now making headway in the healthcare and care homes sector, as well as for guarded security companies, temporary recruitment firms and contract cleaners.

The technology also has key word notification, allowing a staff member to text the word “congestion” with the vehicle registration to ensure congestion charges are automatically paid when entering the congestion charge zone in London.

For staff working throughout the night, such as those in security, the system also allows for check point calls throughout a shift, to ensure staff are present for their whole shift.

“Security firms love that – and they can give their customers access to the website so they can see they are getting the cover they are paying for,” said Mr Malone.

After just nine months trading the company has more than 20 customers who pay on a subscription, with charges depending on the number of staff using the system and the number of sites it is being used across.

U-Clock’s in-house system has made around £75,000 from monthly subscriptions alone in the last six months and will be profitable, including the £40,000 set-up and development, by the end of its first year’s trading.

U-Clock is designed for remote workers at a static location, but in January this year the company entered a reseller agreement with a Newcastle-based firm offering tracking technology for remote workers who are at different locations everyday.

U-Locate tracks GPS and GPRS to show a snail trail of a worker’s movements.

Mr Malone said: “With social workers for example, there can be an amber alert after 30 minutes to say they are potentially at risk. If they fail to access the system to say all is okay the technology can automatically open the airwaves on the phone and listen in.

“It is not our main product but this means we can cover the whole remote worker solution from our business and it’s another revenue stream.

“The simplicity of U-Clock means we have seen the most growth from that product. Other time keeping solutions can be more advanced but the fact ours is so simple keeps the costs to the end user down.”

U-Clock has entered Greater Manchester Chamber’s Innovation Award. To enter the awards before May 28, click here.