Ezi money in keeping eye on workers

By ELLEN READ

An innovative New Zealand company is making improvements it says should increase its turnover from $1 million last year to $16 million next year.

Tauranga company Panztel markets the eziTracker timesheet system, which enables employers to keep track of employees working off site.

Using normal landlines in their work location, employees dial a free-phone number and use a PIN to log in and out.

The system provides immediate notification of who is working where and when. It is used by a variety of businesses, including cleaning, home care and temping.

Recent research, financed by a grant from the Foundation of Science, Research and Technology has allowed Panztel to further develop the product.

The company now transmits the information collected over the internet, instead of via daily e-mails, meaning employers can get up-to-the-minute records at any time.

Voice messages can also be left for employees, and the system includes checks make sure they hear them.

In March, Panztel will introduce an alarm component to eziTracker, enabling employers to set times by which their workers must log in or out.

Panztel managing director Jonathan Hudson said this was a useful health and safety tool for employees working alone.

"We're aware that often people are working in vulnerable situations such as homecare and there have been instances of workers being held hostage or injured."

Mr Hudson said the software needed to run a mobile tracking system was available in the United States, but his was the only company to offer the complete service.

"We provide it as a service and that's a trend that's increasingly being picked up," he said.

"We provide a large amount of equipment, and by having a lot of customers we spread the load and costs."

Panztel has 60 customers worldwide. Most are in New Zealand, but the largest number of employees covered work for companies in Australia and Britain

Worldwide, eziTracker keeps tabs on 10,000 employees.

The service costs businesses about $1 a week for each employee.

Panztel has also received ACC approval for workers to use its system instead of filling out timesheets.

Panztel was formed three years ago to develop the software, building on Mr Hudson's experiences in Britain where he took a European telecommunications company from startup to Nasdaq float and sale.

In May, with help from the Welsh Development Agency, the company set up a sales and support centre in Caldicot, South Wales.

It expects to be employing 20 people there within two years to service Panztel's European customers, which so far include several large local councils.

Next month, the company will announce a deal with a large British company and plans to expand into Europe.

"We collect information using the telephone and send it to people using the internet, and that has numerous applications," said Mr Hudson.

Examples of other uses included the use of telephone voting for local body or national elections and for shareholders voting on annual meeting resolutions.

Mr Hudson said venture capitalists had been interested in the ideas but said the scale - he was looking for a few million - was too small for them.

"Once we get the cash flow coming in we'll be more attractive to them, but by then we won't need it."