Egress News

Case Studies

2008-12-19T12:44:00.002Z

Please find on our website a new section dedicated to case studies of where a Focus system has been implemented. This can be located within the tree view on the left of the homepage entitled 'Case Studies'. Quotations from happy customers can be viewed within this area also. Many thanks for looking!

Percentage Absence Report

2008-12-18T22:52:00.002Z

In version 2.582 of Focus Pro, a number of new variations of the Absence Period report are now available. In particular, it is now possible to produce reports showing the percentage of absence per employee across specific groups. The reports can be refined by filtering a minimum and maximum length of abscence periods to include in the report. This allows short term or long term absences to specified. Reports can be filtered further by specifying the number of Absences, the number of absence periods, the number of workdays and the Bradford factor score.

Once a report has been designed using the filter parameters, it can be saved as a template for future use.

To enable this level of reporting across groups, Focus Pro now tracks when employees are added and removed from groups. This allows reports to be calculated accurately.

We hope that the new features will be easy to use, but also powerful enough to enable absences to be analysed in great detail.

Focus Lite - Software Update

2008-11-24T10:08:00.002Z

The Focus Lite software has recently been upgraded so that it can now accomodate a larger variety of payroll exports including; Sage, Sage Micropay, Iris, Quantum, Thesaurus, Earnie, Comma Delimited and Fixed length files rather than just the originial Sage payroll package. We feel this will improve the versatility of the product so that the data collected can be exported into a variety of formats for ease of use.

Focus Pro - New Features

2008-10-15T12:27:00.003+01:00

Available now is our updated .pdf document which lists all of the software updates since the 2.501 version of Focus that was released back in February up to the newly released 2.572 version released this week! This document is found in the Focus User Page and it states each bug fix and new feature available. Have a read and learn all about what the newer versions of Focus have to offer you.

2008-08-15T11:17:00.003+01:00

Egress Link is our new software application to collect clocking transactions from Feedback FAMS / Source terminals and also some Custom Micro terminals. The clocking information is stored in an SQL Server database table. Focus Pro now has a facility to read clockings from the database table as if they were collected directly from the terminal.

We envisage that this is an ideal solution for existing T&A installations that are currently using Feedback / Custom terminals, who are looking to replace the software but wish to retain the terminals - making for a far more cost effective upgrade. Further information is available at:
http://www.egress-sys.co.uk/elink-terminal-polling-software.php

2008-08-15T10:22:00.003+01:00

Its been a while since our last blog entry, but that doesn't mean we've been resting.
We have a new Time & Attendance FingerPrint terminal to add to our list of clocking terminals. The A10 is a low price terminal with integrated TCP/IP and RS232. It will acept fingerprint only or fingerprint + pin number.
The A10 will be available for use with both Focus Pro and Focus Lite. More infomation will be available soon, but please feel free to enquire about this product.

HRX Terminals can now read Paxton Keyfobs and Cards

2008-06-26T11:48:00.006+01:00

Hot off the press today, an additional proximity reader has been added to list of existing readers available with the HRX3000 and HRX5000 Time & Attendance clocking terminals.

The Paxton proximity reader (for Net2 systems) can now be fitted inside the HRX3000/5000 models to read both Paxton keyfobs and Paxton cards.

Paxton are a UK based company providing Access Control systems through a wide number of dealers/installers - including ourselves.

We hope that by including Paxton to the list of HRX compatible readers we will be able to provide an ideal Time & Attendance solution for companies who already have Paxton Net2 access control and are keen to use a single card/fob for both systems, as well as attracting new customers.

Anyone interested in Time & Attendance with Paxton readers should contact us for further information.

HRX TCPIP Connected Fire Alarm Printer

2008-06-25T12:24:00.005+01:00

It is possible to connect a serial laser printer to an HRX3000 / 5000 via a TCP/IP network.
The process involves the use of a pair of RS232-Network converters, one at the HRX and one at the printer. The document below shows connection and configuration information for use with an HRX5000.

downloads/HRX5000_FireAlarm_Printer_TCPIP_Connections.pdf

New Access Control Features

2008-06-25T11:46:00.004+01:00

The latest HRX5000 firmware, PCB and Focus Pro software include a number of new access control features.

To provide a simple method of allowing global access to specific doors, an Access Rule for Group 99 can be defined. This will allow any registered card/fob to be granted access during the times and days set up in the rule. Anti-Passback timer is disabled on Group 99.

When using the new Version E of the HRX PCB, an HID reader will make the following beeps corresponding to the reason for denying access:

* 1 Beep Rules don't allow access

* 2 Beeps Within Anti Passback Time

* 3 Beeps Badge not recognised

The sounder wire (Yellow) on the HID Reader must be connected for this to function.

The HRX terminal has improved functionality when a second person presents their card while following someone else through the door. The lock timer is restarted when the second card is presented and the LED on the reader goes red and then back to green to indicate a valid transaction.

Within the Access Control rules, a Door Name field is now available to help identify different doors. This is an improvement over the current method where doors are identified by Clock ID and Relay number. The Door Names are held in the Focus database – not in the clocks.

Each Slave terminal now holds a copy of the Door Definition for its own two relays. It is actually updated when a transaction is made at the slave terminal.

Each Door Definition within the Access Control rules now has a Door Polarity setting of ‘Failed Locked’ (fail secure) or ‘Failed Open’ (fail safe).

This setting could be useful when using a Fail Locked (Fail Secure) type of lock. Normally a Fail Secure lock will be connected to the common and Normally Open terminals on the relay. This means that the relay has to switch from open to closed for the lock to open. So if the HRX develops a fault, or power to the HRX is lost, then the lock will remain locked.
By changing the Door Polarity setting to Fail Unlock with Focus, the lock should be connected to the Common and Normally Closed terminals on the relay. This means that the relay has to switch from closed to open for the lock to open. So if the HRX develops a fault, or power to the HRX is lost, then the lock will open.

HRX Hosting HandPunch

2008-06-24T21:02:00.010+01:00

A new adaptation has been developed which combines the extended features of the HRX5000 with the biometric HandPunch terminal. The HandPunch is connected to the HRX terminal via an RS232 serial cable. All of the enrolment and clocking in/out is conducted at the HandPunch in the normal way. However, it is the HRX that actually records the clockings and also sends a verification message to the display on the HandPunch.

The Focus software collects the clocking transactions from the HRX terminal. Because employee details and transactions are stored on the HRX, the following features are therefore available:

*Automated Fire Alarm evacuation reporting to up two dedicated hardwired printers.

*Access Control of up to two doors.

*Factory Bell triggering.

Indeed, rather than using an HRX5000, an HRX Access Controller would provide the same functionality and would be more cost effective.

If multiple HandPunch terminals are required, each HandPunch would connect to its HRX host terminal. The HRX master/slave method could be used if preferred.

We are looking forward to our first implementation of this kind. Any comments are very welcome.

New Focus Fire Alarm Evacuation Feature

2008-06-11T19:52:00.004+01:00

A new feature has been included in Focus Pro version 2.532, which is available when used in conjunction with the latest version of firmware for the HRX3000 and HRX5000 terminals.

Both the HRX3000 and HRX5000 have an input terminal for connection to a fire alarm panel or a manually operated button. The input is used to trigger an evacuation report be sent to a hardwired serial printer.

The newly introduced feature means the input can now also trigger a 'fire alarm transaction' within the HRX terminal. Just like a clocking in or out transaction, the fire alarm transaction is collected by the Focus Watch Service. As soon as the fire alarm transaction is received, the Watch Service automatically generates the Focus software based fire alarm report. This report can of course be pre-configured to be sent to multiple printers across the network of an organisation.

Although we consider the ability to produce a fire alarm evacuation directly from the HRX terminal to be a really powerful feature which is not found in many other T&A systems, we also recognise that different companies have different needs and requirements. Hopefully this new functionality will benifit both new and existing Focus Pro customers.