Managing Workers

The Workers function is used to define an employee’s normal work schedule as well as pay and personal information that is used in the Payroll Reporting area of DEACOM. Workers are helpful for companies that simply want to hold data about their employees in a centralized location, but are also connected to DEACOM application users and utilized when logging on to Jobs and entering production. Additionally, the system allows for the printing of identification badges once all Worker information has been entered.

Configuration

Operations, Work Centers, Crews, and Facilities should be configured, if those items will be assigned to individual records.

The proper printer(s) must be setup in order to print Worker badges. For more information on printer setup, refer to the Configuring Printers help page under System Administration Best Practices. All other configuration is discussed in the Process section below.

Process

Adding Labor Groups and Workers

Before a Worker is configured, users must first create a Labor Group:

  1. Navigate to Production > Maintenance > Labor Groups.
  2. Click the "New" button to add a new Labor Group.
  3. Enter a "Name" for the Labor Group. All other information on the form is not required, but the recommendation is to enter the daily shifts and known break times for this Labor Group.
  4. Ensure the "Active" box is checked off to allow this Labor Group to be assigned to Workers.

Once a Labor Group exists, a Worker may be entered as follows:

  1. Navigate to Production > Maintenance > Workers.
  2. Use the "New" button to add a Worker to the system.
  3. Enter the Workers "Last Name" and assign them to a "Labor Group". All other information on the form is not required, but users would typically enter more information about the Worker, such as their First Name, Address, Phone Number, Hourly Rate, etc.
  4. Use the "Active" checkbox to identify if the Worker is actively employed.
  5. If Workers posses certain Certifications, navigate to that tab and click "Add" then select the Operation from the pick list.
  6. Once all information is entered, save and close the record.

Worker Overtime Configuration

Overtime rules can be configured at either the Labor Group or Worker level. The worker will always take priority over the labor group if data exists in both places.

Configuration starts with the OT Factor, this is the multiplier that gets put against the hourly rate defined on the worker record whenever the worker records overtime. From there a Shift OT defines how many hours a worker can log within a day before accruing overtime. Lastly the Weekly OT defines how many hours a worker can log within a week before accruing overtime.

Assigning a Default Work Center

The default work center assigned on the general tab of a worker record is what populates on the different forms for inputting time via the main app as well as the WMS log on and off jobs transaction. This default work center can be changed during time entry or log on/off jobs. The field is optional as it should only be used in situations where a worker is most commonly going to be logging hours against a specific work center. Leave this field blank in any instance where the worker will regularly need to record hours against different work centers.

Assigning a Default Work Crew

Work Crew is designed to allow workers that will be staying together to join a crew as part of the log on/off jobs transaction. This allows for an entire crew to be logged on and off jobs together, rather than requiring each individual worker to log off one job and on to the next. Work Crew is also available on the other time entry forms via the main app because it can often be a desired variable for reporting.

The default work crew assigned on the general tab of a worker record is what populates on the different forms for inputting time via the main app as well as the WMS log on and off jobs transaction. This default work crew can be changed during time entry or log on/off jobs. The field is optional as it should only be used in situations where a worker is most commonly going to be part of a crew rather than moving independently.

Various reports in the Production and Payroll modules of DEACOM have the ability to filter on Work Crews in order to track Production progress and hours. In addition, the Input Production transaction contains a Work Crew field to determine which Crew is currently working on open Production Jobs.

Assigning Certifications to Workers

The certifications tab of the worker record is where operations that require certifications can be added as a way of specifying the worker is certified to perform the operation. On the operations form there is a checkbox for certification required, if that box is checked only workers who are certified can post labor to that operation in DEACOM.

Assigning a Schedule

Schedules can be configured at either the Labor Group or Worker level. The worker will always take priority over the labor group if data exists in both places.

Earliest Login is the means of controlling, by day, the earliest time that DEACOM will allow a worker to log on to a job. The remaining fields, Early Start/Early End, Actual Start/Actual End, Late Start/Late End, Break Start/Break End are for tracking/reporting purposes. These values can be compared to actual labor data that is captured in DEACOM by either real time labor tracking using log on and off jobs, or detailed manual labor entry done as a clerical task.

Printing Worker Badges

If the company requires employees to wear and use badges while in the office, users can click the "Print Badge" button on an individual Worker record to generate a badge for that employee, once all information has been entered.

Using payroll support

DEACOM allows users to enter pay rates and/or salaries, as well as overtime details. This is helpful when generating payroll reports and can be used to track things like overall work performed, or hone in on overtime work specifically, since overtime pay can be mapped to a unique GL account. For more information on the reporting aspect, refer to Sending Payroll Data to Payroll Processor and Labor Reporting. To enter payroll details for an individual, modify the Worker record and enter values in the appropriate fields, such as Burden, Hourly Rate, Salary, Weekly OT, Shift OT, and OT Factor. For information on these and other fields available, refer to the Workers Encyclopedia page.