How will this technology improve my life?
The SignHear technology will offer you, as a parent, major advantages including:
- Effortless check-in and check-out process:
- Only one signature will be necessary to check-in or out all of your children, rather than a signature for each child as currently required
- Only one process will be required during the sign-in/out process, as opposed to multiple steps
- Streamlined reporting to the government for child care reimbursements – less hassle regarding any reporting issues
- Enhanced security for your child – anyone who wishes to drop off or pick up a child must be registered and must accurately sign his/her signature before they are able to have access to children; otherwise the director will require personal identification and further approval from you.
- Any custody issues will be more accurately documented and supported; for example, if a parent is no longer allowed to have access to a child per a court order, this relieves the administrators at the child care center of the burden of remembering such instances, utilizing the technology to “remember” individuals for them, reducing errors.
- Accurate and timely billing – the child care centers will be able to give you, as a parent, exact in and out times as well as the name of the parent who signed the child out. This will reduce discrepancies and will help clarify any unclear data that may not have been transferred accurately using the paper book system
Why do I have to sign on a metal plate?
The SignHear technology was originally developed by Rolls-Royce to detect structural anomalies in jet turbines that would allow an engineer to provide maintenance services, helping Rolls-Royce ensure the highest standards in safety for all of its aerospace engines.
This technology was later adapted to record and verify hand-written signatures, which create similar acoustic patterns. In order to capture this sound, the signature must be performed with a surface that can transfer the sound such as the metal pen on the metal plate. In addition, the metal-on-metal application does not reveal a physical signature to on-lookers, which enhances the security of the device and is a smooth surface for your signature. Although it may seem odd at first, the process has been carefully developed to optimize accuracy and security.
Is this going to take longer?
The new sign-in process will affect you, the parent, in two main ways. First, you will be required to make a 10-minute appointment at the child care facility in order to enroll your profile, settings, and capture your signature. After this process is complete, the sign-in and out processes could potentially move faster than they currently do. This is due to the fact that parents with multiple children will now only have to sign once and will be able to sign, select children, and move on fairly quickly as well as the reduction in steps required to sign-in and out – essentially a one-stop-shop, making your life easier. Finally, you will have greater peace of mind regarding your child(ren)’s safety, knowing that only authorized individuals who have proven his/her identity can pick them up.
I think my child is already safe at this child care location, what else will I get out of this?
Although the security aspect of our product is an extremely important part of our product offering, The SignHear device offers more to parents than enhanced security. Most importantly, our product is designed to make your life easier; reducing the number of steps required each time you go through the check-in/out process. Also, with child care administrators spending less time on the administrative aspects of the sign-in/out process, they have more time to concentrate on your children. Further, if the specific child care center opts into the advertising and/or coupon model, parents will have the opportunity to view child care and other relevant information on a digital screen and will receive coupons relative to their shopping habits. Finally, Parents can be assured that the billing process will become more accurate and timely with the new availability of data to the child care centers.
Can someone steal my signature information now that it is electronic? Is my security compromised?
SignHear technology records signature data that is transformed into a template that is used for the approval process going forward. The actual signature is not stored anywhere, and the data template that is stored cannot be reverse-engineered into a physical signature. When the data is shared with the required government agencies it will only state the date and time of the signature and whether or not the signature was approved by the device.