Punch at the gate, not at the desk
Floor staff start and end their day at the staff gate beside the security cabin, so that is where the punch should happen. A biometric device that pushes punches over ADMS sends each one into ZeniaHR's punch stream as it happens, and the shift in-charge's live board shows who is working, who is late and who is not in yet before the first truck is docked. A site without a device can mount a kiosk tablet at the gate instead. It shows a QR code that changes every 30 seconds, staff scan it with the mobile app, and each kiosk can be tied to that warehouse's check-in spot.
- Biometric device at the staff gate for pickers, packers and loaders
- Kiosk tablet tied to a check-in spot where there is no device
- Web punches limited to the office network for the site admin team
- Manual punches recorded by HR only, always with a reason
Judge each punch against the right shift
A punch at 2:25 pm is late for Santosh on the 2 pm outbound shift but early for the site admin who starts at 9:30 am tomorrow. Attendance rules have to read the roster first. With 10 minutes of grace, three free late marks a month and half a day deducted for every further three, a packer who is late on 8 days in March loses half a day: three marks are free, the next three make one deduction, and the last two carry no penalty yet.
Night dispatch needs one more rule. When Imran punches in at 9:55 pm on 14 March for the 10 pm to 6 am shift and punches out at 6:10 am on 15 March, the whole duty is filed to 14 March, so he gets one attendance day with his full hours instead of two broken half days.
Missed punches and corrections from the floor
Loaders often leave with the last vehicle and forget the device. ZeniaHR sends a missed punch-out alert 60 minutes after shift end to the employee and the manager, and the loader raises a forgot check-out correction from the app the same night. The shift in-charge approves it, then HR. The approved correction updates the day while the original punches stay on record, which matters when a client audits dock hours. Set a monthly limit on corrections and a back-date limit of about a week, so fixes happen while people still remember the day.
Close the month site by site
Before closing, each site manager reviews the attendance analytics for their warehouse: the absence grid by department and day shows whether the outbound team is always short on Mondays, and the top 10 late list shows who needs a conversation. HR waives penalties only with a written reason, such as a bus strike on the Bhiwandi road, and then closes the month. Month close freezes attendance for payroll, and a temporary picker who joined on 20 October is paid only from that date. If a correction arrives late, HR reopens the month with a reason rather than editing silently.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Create each warehouse as a location and each floor team, such as inbound, outbound, returns and inventory, as a department, so rosters and reports follow the way the site is run.
- Connect gate biometric devices that push punches over ADMS, or set up a kiosk tablet at each gate tied to that warehouse's check-in spot.
- In the Policies section of Settings, switch on attendance rules with grace minutes, free late marks and a no punch-out rule, and run the try it on last month dry run first.
- Set correction limits per month and days back, so missed punches are fixed within the week rather than at month end.
- Turn on attendance alerts so the employee and the shift in-charge get the missed punch-out and absent alerts.
- At month end, review waived penalties with site managers, then close the month to freeze attendance for Direct Payroll.
Read more about attendance in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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How do warehouses track attendance of pickers and loaders?
Most use a biometric device or a kiosk tablet at the staff gate. Each punch is matched to the person's rostered shift, so a picker on the 2 pm outbound shift is judged against 2 pm, not a general 9 am start. Late marks, half days and missed punch-outs follow written rules, and supervisors approve corrections before the month is closed for payroll.
How is a night dispatch shift that ends next morning recorded?
The punch-out after midnight is filed to the day the shift started. A loader on the 10 pm to 6 am shift who starts on 14 March and leaves at 6:10 am on 15 March gets one attendance day for 14 March with full hours, which keeps payable days and overtime correct.
Can temporary pickers use the same attendance system as permanent staff?
Yes. Add them as employees with a temporary or fixed-term employment type and they punch at the same gate device or kiosk. Their paid days are bounded by their joining and exit dates, so a picker who joins on 20 October is paid only from that date and leaves the payroll on the recorded exit date.
What rule should a warehouse use for a missed punch-out?
Pick one rule and apply it to everyone: count the day as a half day, as absent, or count hours up to shift end. Warehouses where loaders often leave with the last vehicle usually count hours to shift end and handle the exceptions through corrections approved by the shift in-charge.