Non-profit deploys Iris ID iris recognition to track staff and volunteer time

A South Carolina-based non-profit organization providing food, clothing and financial assistance to low-income residents has deployed an Iris ID iris recognition system to track the hours of paid staff and volunteers.

Bluffton Self Help turned to local software development firm Sourcecode LLC to roll out the iris biometric system that has an Iris ID iCAM R100 camera replacing mag stripe cards. Tony O’Brien, president of Sourcecode, also designed the computer network and telephone system for Bluffton Self Help.

“When I started working with the group it was still using sign-in sheets for its patrons to receive benefits,” O’Brien revealed. “I helped move them to a swipe card system about seven years ago. Then last summer I suggested to the executive director we could use iris identification to eliminate the cards.”

The iris-based system saved Bluffton Self Help from purchasing and printing new and replacement ID cards for the five paid staff members and more than 250 volunteers who regularly use the system, paying for itself in about five months according to O’Brien.

With the new biometric system, when staff input a new volunteer’s data, it takes seconds to enroll that person in the system. The volunteer stands in front of a camera which takes a picture of both irises. Software turns the photo into a digital template stored on the organization’s computers network. The same camera is also used to identify when volunteers arrive and leave in a process that takes less than two seconds.

“Systems from Iris ID are affordable, accurate and easy to use,” explained Mohammed Murad, vice president global sales and business development for Iris ID. “They’re no longer just for government organizations or Fortune 500 companies. The company is excited to be a technology provider to many non-profit organizations around the world.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Iris ID  |  iris recognition  |  time and attendance