Inside this issue
Do. No. 42 2
July-September 2008
Time Cards no more at the Central Office
With the advent of information age,
processes in organizations have evolved
from manual operations to automation.
Different systems were adopted to
promote efficiency and effectiveness in
work operations. With this in mind, the
Personnel Division of AMMS, in
co llabo ratio n with I T Assets
Management Section (ITAMS) and
Application Development Division
(ADD) of the MIS, piloted the Time and
Attendance System or TAS last
September 1, 2008 with the MIS and
Personnel Division, AMMS as primary
users to better facilitate the management
of the existing time and attendance
system of the Department.
The Time and Attendance System
(TAS) is an interface that allows the
designated TAS Officer to track and
monitor employee’s time in and time out
on the finger scan machine. The system
is based on the use of Biometric
authentication that relies on any
automatically measurable physical
characteristic or personal trait that is
distinctive to an individual. Common
biometric verification techniques try to
match measurements from fingerprint,
hand, eye, face, or voice to
measurements that were previously
collected.
In the case of TAS, authentication of
the identity of each employee is
determined from fingerprint inputs. Since
fingerprints contain biometric features
which are unique for each person, this is
very ideal in substituting the present
system where employees have to use the
bundy clock for their individual time and
attendance report. Identification now can
be done in less than three (3) seconds.
The fingerprint scan machine that
Bandwidth Manager 2
PAMS 3
DEs and ADEs go IT 4
Ask Max Tekkie 4
Department of Public Works and Highways Volume IX, Issue III
the Department
utilizes to register
attendance is the
B i o s t a t i o n
Multifunctional
Fingerprint Terminal.
This equipment is a
f i n g e r p r i n t
recognition machine
that is designed to
scan fingerprint
smoothly regardless
of the conditions of a
finger skin. It is
perfect for time
attendance and access
control since it
provides real time
information, adopting
2.5 inch color LCD and with high-quality of Research and Standards Office.
sound.
Prior to the full implementation of
With the implementation of TAS, TAS, a parallel testing shall be conducted
the DPWH shall benefit the following: in the month of October to test the
efficiency and viability of the machines
• Easy and efficient tracking of and to address possible operational
employee’s time and attendance. problems. By November 3, 2008 the
• Prevent fraudulent time keeping TAS in the DPWH, shall be initially
records. implemented in the OSEC Proper,
• Eliminate the use of time card. Services, Bureaus and Project
• Eliminate buddy punching. Management Offices (PMOs).
• Lessen the burden of manually
recording time and attendance on To ensure the success of the TAS,
a paper. Department Order No. 55 series of 2008
sets the guidelines for its implementation
• Fast and easy Time Card Report
in the DPWH - Central Office.
and Report of Absences,
Undertime and Tardiness (RAUT).
The TAS can bring greater security,
• Audit trail of time sheet updates
efficiency and convenience, thereby an
and changes.
increase in Department’s overall
productivity. T his a uto mated
The Personnel Division, AMMS has
authentication process is a very good
installed ten (10) units of Biostation
reflection of the many benefits in using
Multifunctional Fingerprint terminals -
Information Technology.
six (6) in the Central Office, three (3)
units in the National Capital Region (Ms. Rowena Pacubas, AMMS and
Compound and one (1) unit in the Bureau Mr. Vincent Manansala, MIS)
RIMSS TAMBULI
Department Order No. 42 series of
2008 amended the Revised Guidelines in
the Implementation of Special Local
Road Fund of 8794 per Department
Order No. 24 series of 2006 and other
Pertinent Provisions in the Road Board
Operating Procedures Manual series of
2001. It clarified the role of LGUs in the
implementation of projects using the
Special Local Road Fund (SLRF) from
the Motor Vehicles Users Charge
(MVUC) Fund.
The timely and efficient
implementation of projects by LGUs
have been derailed by problems due to
delay in the processing of papers and the
subsequent signing of the MOA between
Bandwidth Manager
answers virtual traffic jam
Sample report showing the Internet traffic at the DPWH network in a
5-minute interval.
Almost everyone who has an Internet
connection has at some time downloaded
a large file - or run a peer-to-peer file
sharing program - and noticed that Web
pages load very slowly, or fail to load
completely. The main reason could be
that the channel capacity (or bandwidth)
of their Internet connection is limited.
To simplify the understanding of this
concept, an analogy of a highway may be
used: channel capacity is the width of
the road, and traffic is the amount of
data traversing it. Just like a highway,
when one tries to send too much
July-September 2008
implementation
the LGU and DPWH - which is a
requisite prior to project implementation.
This has, at times, resulted in projects not
being implemented by the concerned
LGUs, thus, causing funds allocated for
such projects to be reverted back to the
National Treasury.
To address this problem and to
facilitate project implementation, LGUs
are granted an alternative course of
action. By virtue of this Department
information, i.e., more than the normal
capacity, a virtual traffic jams results.
This is known as network congestion.
Controlling or managing traffic is often
described as bandwidth management,
also known as bandwidth control, traffic
control, congestion control, traffic
shaping or traffic management.
The bandwidth challenge for
government networks is threefold: (1)
ensure that business-critical applications
run at all times without interference; (2)
guarantee the visibility and security of all
Page 2
Order LGUs can now make a written
request to the respective RO/DEO in
their area that they be granted authority
to implement projects funded from
SLRF. The RO/DEO, after obtaining the
approval of the Road Board Chairman
granting this authority, can now
implement the projects without requiring
a MOA. By adopting this approach,
LGUs can now be assured of an
expeditious implementation of projects.
(Engr. Ma. Visna M. Manio)
traffic running on the network; and (3)
ensure bandwidth management and
detailed reporting capabilities of the
network for analysis. These are essential
for smooth network operation, protection
against external attacks, and prevention
of information leakages.
To provide solutions for crucial
visibility of network usage and user
behavior, the DPWH-MIS procured
bandwidth manager devices. The
following advantages can be attained
with the use of this technology: network
congestion is eliminated, bandwidth costs
are reduced, and bandwidth sufficiency
for mission-critical applications and QoS
is guaranteed.
To orient the users on the features
and usage of the bandwidth manager
devices, Allot, the product supplier,
conducted a 3-day extensive training to
the MIS Network Administrators, and
participated in by the IT Training Section
staff. Aside from topic presentation by
the resource speakers, the training also
included discussions (question-and-
answer) and hands-on training,
particularly in terms of long-term
reporting for evaluation of trends,
accurate capacity planning using hourly
and daily statistics stored for months or
years, and numerous types of
customizable report formats about
network traffic, including tracking of
utilization and policy statistics, network
distribution and activities. (Engr. Cyrus
V. Canto)
RIMSS TAMBULI
Property Accountability and
Management System (PAMS)
There are four major phases in the
property lifecycle: acquisition, receipt,
utilization, and disposal. Each phase has
distinct processes and procedures
associated with it to maintain proper
stewardship of the Department’s assets.
If the processes and procedures in one
phase are not followed, it makes it
difficult to establish and maintain
accountability in the subsequent phase.
The management and accounting of
property entail a lot of paper works.
Property records are maintained for the
purposes of property accountability,
inventory control, and to establish
custodial responsibility.
In the ‘90s, the Supply and Property
Management Division (SPMD) of the
Ad mi ni str at ive a nd Manp o wer
Management Service (AMMS), then
headed by Mr. Burt B. Favorito, utilized
the PAMS as an aid in managing the
assets of DPWH Central Office. The
system was developed by the MIS using
the FoxBase language which ran under
MS-DOS operating system. It was used
to keep record of goods entrusted to the
DPWH employees, updating and viewing
o f r e c o r d s a n d v i e wi n g o f
accountabilities.
DEs and ADEs go IT
Despite the austerity measures of the
government, the MIS is able to get
exemptions for its IT Training and
included in its regular IT Training
calendar is the three-day IT Training on
“I ntroduc tion to I nfor matio n
Technology, MS Windows, Basic
Networking and MS Outlook” for
District Engineers (DEs) and Assistant
District Engineers (ADEs). Majority of
this year’s participants were from DEOs
that will be connected to the DPWH
Communication Network under National
Road Improvement and Management
Project (NRIMP-2). Most of these
DEOs were from Regions I, II, IV-B, V,
VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, and
CAR.
July-September 2008
However, the SPMD was not able to
use the system for a time because of
personnel turn-over which resulted to
outdated data. Furthermore, Mr. Jesus
SJ. Cruz, the current Chief of the SPMD,
recognized that improvement of the
system is necessary to correspond to the
present technology environment. In May
of this year, Mr. Cruz requested the MIS
to upgrade the PAMS.
During the interview
phase, Mr. Cruz
mentioned that keeping A note to employees —
everything on paper is
really difficult. For them Routinely check your property
to check the accountability statement to
accountability of an ensure the property
employee, they need to go assigned to you.
through all the files to
locate it. This is very
laborious, takes a lot of
time and a lot of papers to
handle.
The SPMD Chief recognizes the
role and importance of using a
technology-enabled management system
to support its operations and carry out its
functions easily. To increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of services
they provide, to give quality and real-
From August until October, five
batches have undergone the said training
and an additional batch – the sixth - is
scheduled for November 3-4.
The objective of the IT Training for
Middle Managers is not only to train
them in the use of basic Microsoft Office
applications like MS Windows and MS
Word, Networking, Internet and Intranet
but also –and more importantly- to orient
and familiarize the DEs and ADEs with
the IT resources and facilities of the
Department. Helping our Middle
Managers become IT proficient will not
only make them appreciate the
(Continued on page 4)
Page 3
time information to end-users and to
provide them better information for
decision-making are the reasons why Mr.
Cruz requested for the upgrading and
activation of the system.
The upgraded system will still be
called PAMS. It will be linked with the
Personnel Information System (PIS), the
repository of employee information
being implemented by the Personnel
Division, AMMS. A new development
tool will be used in modifying the system
to correspond to the higher operating
system of computers being used by the
SPMD.
The System shall maintain
information on property
from the time the
Department takes
possession of it, through
assignment and disposal
processes. It shall
maintain a complete
history on ownership of
the property.
Property under
PAMS is categorized as Property, Plant
and Equipment (PPE) and Inventories.
*PPE are tangible assets held by an
enterprise for use in the production or
supply of goods or services, for rental to
others, or for administrative purposes and
expected to be used during more than one
period. *Inventories on the other hand,
are tangible assets with serviceable life
of more than one year but small enough
to be considered as PPE. Such items will
be recorded and maintained in the system
to maintain physical accountability over
the property. An entity (employee) is
recognized as accountable when an
Ac k no wled ge me nt Rec eip t fo r
Equipment (ARE) passes to the entity
obtaining the property.
The MIS has started working on the
system which is currently in the design
phase. The system is targeted to be
delivered by middle of year - 2009.
With the modified PAMS, SPMD
will have a faster and more efficient way
of viewing accountabilities, less paper
works, and a click away of generating
reports. *Text taken from eNGAS
Manual. (Ms. Mary Jane N. Pantoja and
Ms. Jacqueline E. Yap)
RIMSS TAMBULI July-September 2008 Page 4

Ask Max Tekkie

How will I time-in / out

using the BioStation?

“Time and Attendance System (TAS) is an interface that

allows the designated Administrative Officer to track
and monitor employee’s time in and out on the finger
Time-In scan machine or what we call the BioStation.”

1. Press the F1 key on the Biostation

Machine.
Time-Out
2. Place your enrolled finger on the
optical lens. 1. Press the F2 key on the Biostation
Machine.
3. Wait for the confirmation tone or
your name appearing on the screen. 2. Place your enrolled finger on the
optical lens.
3. Wait for the confirmation tone or
your name appearing on the
screen.

To absorb eight topics with hands-on

Dir. Yap and Dir. Favorito with the DEs and ADEs and training personnel
(Continued from page 3)
usefulness and benefits that can be
derived from using the Department’s IT
resources and facilities but will also give
them a better view on how to manage
their staff – especially those who belong
to the “digital natives” generation -
because they will know what can be
expected and demanded from them in
terms of job performance.
At the start of the training, majority
of the participants admitted their
hesitation to attend the IT training since
they have very little - or no knowledge at
all - when it comes to computer
operations, and wouldn’t want to find
themselves in an awkward situation.
Some of them simply relied on their
diligent staff to do the office work.
However, as the training progressed and
their interest gradually awakened, their
excitement to learn grew steadily, and at
the end of three days, they felt that the
training duration was too short.
Nonetheless, they made a commitment to
faithfully practice what they’ve learned
so as to further enhance their knowledge
in computer applications.
activities in such a short period of time is
no mean feat for an “adult” learner. And
while the participants are grateful for the
guidance and assistance they get, the
entire Training Staff, for their part, could
not conceal their admiration at the
persistence, dedication and courage of
the participants to tread into the
“unknown” and “unpaved” IT territory.
And trainors’ greatest reward is to share
in the participants elation and pride in
their achievement. Indeed, the people
who grow old are only those who refuse
to learn new things.
KUDOS to our DEs and ADEs!
Until the next IT Training.
(Ms. Zorahayda Paz D. Abreu)
RIMSS TAMBULI is a quarterly publication of
DPWH’s Road Information and Management
Support System Project with editorial business
address at:
DPWH Central Office
IT Help Desk Section - MIS
G/F ICC Bui lding
Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila
Phone: 3043202 / 3043558 Fax: 3043202
http://www.dpwh.gov.ph