How Synchronized Clock Systems Help Your Business
Synchronized clock systems are systems that allow you to put a network of computers all on the same time. This can be done using PoE clocks, WiFi clocks, or GPS clocks. They are all known as Network Time Protocol (NTP) clocks because they use the NTP networking protocol to synchronize computer systems.
How Do Synchronized Clock Systems Work?
The general idea is that these clocks are used to put a network of computers on the same time frame. They can utilize your Local Area Network (LAN) to connect all of the clocks in your network through the use of WiFi or an Ethernet cable. GPS clocks use the Global Positioning System instead but have the same effect.
How Do They Help?
Synchronized clock systems are wonderful for businesses for a variety of reasons. One of the most common is that helps keep better track of when employees are clocking in and out. Rather than going by the time on their phone, they have to go by the synchronized clocks in your network when filling out timesheets or punching out. It’s estimated that $7.4 billion is lost by the U.S. economy per day due to timesheets that were improperly filled out. Using these systems could greatly reduce that number because everyone is using the same time.
They also help by making it easier to coordinate business events. If there is meant to be a meeting at a specific time, go by your synchronized network time when judging if it’s time to start said meeting. This way everyone will hopefully arrive on time rather than using another time source and ending up late.
Keeping track of production schedules is also easier when all computers are running on the same time. If you work in a company where production times are important and orders are tracked throughout the day, it’s good to have a system that keeps everyone on the same schedule. This helps to avoid miscommunications and allows you to pass on accurate timing information to your customers.
Which Should You Choose?
All forms of synchronized clock systems work fairly well for their purpose. So long as all of your clocks are in tune with one another and close to the national standard time for your area, everything should flow smoothly. However, GPS clocks might be a bit off from the rest of the world due to the fact the Global Positioning Time is always a little different than the time on Earth. However, it’s not by enough to be a problem and GPS clocks are still a sufficient means of syncing your system.
The easiest system to use is probably the PoE (Power over Ethernet) system. That is because you simply attach an Ethernet cable and let your system sync up. You don’t have to worry about making sure your WiFi connection is strong enough or if the GPS time is off or not.