Original Date: 11/03/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Prior to January 1996, Oak Ridge used traditional payroll methods that relied on a payroll time card system with 43,000 time cards per month, 10 internal systems, 660 time card racks, 23 timekeepers, eight data entry operators, and one optical character scanner to serve approximately 16,000 employees. Each week, timekeepers manually processed 8,000 cards for the hourly and weekly employees on an individual basis and verified the data through guidelines such as union contracts, policies, procedures, and regulations. In addition, eight electronic collection systems collected effort data on a weekly basis.

Oak Ridge developed the Payroll, Absence, and Labor System (PALS) to consolidate its electronic collection systems, eliminate time cards, and provide a user-friendly interface for the user. PALS (Figure 3-9) is a multi- platform client/server application that provides the user with an open architecture. Features include a graphical user interface; self input, group input, and approver user roles; multiple approval level support; time-in and time-out information defaults based on shift assignment; complete audit trail views for time entry and approval activity; posting of effort charges as daily or weekly totals; automated closure of time records; and interfaces to other systems such as payroll, absence tracking, labor distribution, and cost accounting.

Oak Ridge installed and developed PALS in two years at a cost of $4 million. Since installation, PALS has reduced internal systems from 11 to 1; full-time (equivalent) personnel from 27 to 12; and individual efficiency gains from 22 minutes to less than 6 minutes. Oak Ridge estimates its total savings from PALS at $3 million per year.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.