{"id":1009,"date":"2011-07-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2025-09-22T06:36:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:36:49","slug":"you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please enjoy this guest blog post from ACS Technologies<\/a>, a M2SYS partner who\u00a0provides excellence in information management solutions for the faith-based community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This post was written by Eleanor Pierce, Communications Strategist at ACS Technologies. \u00a0A link to the ACS Community Blog page can be found here<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine the rush of people at check-in before church services on a Sunday morning. Hundreds of families, all trying to move through the process as quickly as possible so they\u2019re not the one trying to sneak in after the sermon has already started. Today\u2019s churches are looking for anything that can a) speed the process of checking kids in and b) assure the security of kids and c) create accurate attendance records and pickup lists.<\/p>\n

Checking-in 350 kids in 10 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, Ill., checks in about 800 kids every weekend, between its four services at two different campuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our 11 o\u2019clock service, it\u2019s probably close to 350,\u201d said Jason Lee, Information Technology Director at the church. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to process that many children in, let\u2019s say a 10 minute window.\u201d Creating a smooth check-in experience isn\u2019t optional, it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t come early just to check in. We needed to create something that accommodates the attendees, because we could say sure, we\u2019ll just put in one kiosk, but you\u2019ve got to come 30 minutes early to church to check in,\u201d Jason said\u2014but of course, that approach wouldn\u2019t won\u2019t work for the attendees.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Northwoods has several self-check-in stations that use biometric technology. There\u2019s a guest services desk for those who are not yet in the church\u2019s database, or those who have brought a child that\u2019s a guest, perhaps a cousin or neighbor. For those who are already entered in the system, there are stations where parents can check-in their kids quickly and easily, using a biometric scanner.<\/p>\n

The preregistration requirement allows the Northwoods staff to be sure they know the kids who are being checked in and to assure that parents have signed any release forms. Once the paperwork has been handled, staff help parents pre-scan their finger so that they\u2019re entered into the M2SYS system.<\/p>\n

Returning parents who have been entered into the system can check-in at an express kiosk. \u201cThey walk up, scan their finger, and then it comes up and displays all the children in their family that can be checked in,\u201d Jason explained.<\/p>\n

Using the finger scanner with parents instead of the kids assures that parents are actually dropping their kids off in person, rather than just pulling up their cars out front and letting their child come inside alone. \u00a0While it might save a parent time, Northwoods doesn\u2019t like the safety issues for kids younger than 5th<\/sup> grade.<\/p>\n

One key benefit to biometric scanners is that there\u2019s no way to forget what you need to check in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could use a barcode, any sort of RFID, but you can forget those at home,\u201d Jason said, \u201cBut it\u2019s pretty challenging to forget your fingers unless you get in a fight with a lawnmower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midwest dry skin = tough-to-capture fingerprints<\/strong><\/p>\n

Northwoods initially used a fingerprint scanner, but tough Midwestern weather means that there can be problems getting a good fingerprint. One problem is that cold winters and dry air can make fingerprints difficult to capture. Also, people who work outside and have calloused hands just might not have a good fingerprint at all. For that reason, Northwoods is in the process of transitioning to finger vein scanners for all check-in. They\u2019ve already begun using the new scanners at one of their satellite campuses, and they\u2019re getting ready to move the 1,500 parents who have been entered into their system using finger prints to re-scan using finger veins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scanners are easier to use, the technology is not environmentally dependent, and it\u2019s very accurate,\u201d Jason said. While testing the machines with his own hand, he tried to create an error.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to get my finger to scan wrong, and unless I turned my finger sideways, it worked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A real partnership<\/strong><\/p>\n

One aspect he\u2019s been very happy with is the working relationship between ACS Technologies and M2SYS. Northwoods uses M2SYS in conjunction with its ACS Technolgies check-in software. It\u2019s a totally integrated system that helps the church keep track of the families that attend the chuch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to have a partner. That ACS Technologies said M2SYS is good, go work with them, and it\u2019s not some just random third party that we\u2019ve picked up off the shelf, that\u2019s key for us; knowing that we have the support and backing of ACS Technologies and that they have the backing and support of M2SYS.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Lee also writes a blog called “Bytes about bits in church IT”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please enjoy this guest blog post from ACS Technologies, a M2SYS partner who\u00a0provides excellence in information management solutions for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":15727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[39,17,29,86,10,9,22,16],"class_list":["post-1009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-blog-posts","tag-biometric","tag-biometric-systems","tag-biometric-technology","tag-church-management","tag-finger-vein","tag-fingerprint","tag-fingerprint-recognition","tag-fingerprint-scanner"],"acf":{"_how_to_content":"","_faq_content":"","_structured_meta_data":"","_tl_dr_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nYou Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Please enjoy this guest blog post from ACS Technologies, a M2SYS partner who\u00a0provides excellence in information management solutions for the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Transformation of Government Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/m2sys\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/man-use-of-fingerprint-door-lock-2021-04-05-05-00-09-utc-1024x540.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@m2sys\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@m2sys\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ba5457baaa8ae1faa7e086cfbe4acf0\"},\"headline\":\"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\"},\"wordCount\":829,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"biometric\",\"biometric systems\",\"biometric technology\",\"church management\",\"finger vein\",\"fingerprint\",\"Fingerprint recognition\",\"fingerprint scanner\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guest Blog Posts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\",\"name\":\"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Digital Transformation of Government Services\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Digital Transformation of Government Services\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/m2sys\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/m2sys-technology\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/m2sys\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/M2SYS\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/m2sys\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/m2sys\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/m2sys-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/m2sys-blog.png\",\"width\":287,\"height\":48,\"caption\":\"Digital Transformation of Government Services\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ba5457baaa8ae1faa7e086cfbe4acf0\",\"name\":\"Guest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d201879437f2ccf21b1bd715f3d90d0f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d201879437f2ccf21b1bd715f3d90d0f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/author\/guest\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services","og_description":"Please enjoy this guest blog post from ACS Technologies, a M2SYS partner who\u00a0provides excellence in information management solutions for the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/","og_site_name":"Digital Transformation of Government Services","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/m2sys","article_published_time":"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/man-use-of-fingerprint-door-lock-2021-04-05-05-00-09-utc-1024x540.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Guest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@m2sys","twitter_site":"@m2sys","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ba5457baaa8ae1faa7e086cfbe4acf0"},"headline":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home","datePublished":"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/"},"wordCount":829,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["biometric","biometric systems","biometric technology","church management","finger vein","fingerprint","Fingerprint recognition","fingerprint scanner"],"articleSection":["Guest Blog Posts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/","url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/","name":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home - Digital Transformation of Government Services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-07-14T13:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-22T10:36:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/guest-blog-posts\/you-cant-leave-your-fingers-at-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"You Can\u2019t Leave Your Fingers at Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/","name":"Digital Transformation of Government Services","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Digital Transformation of Government Services","url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/m2sys","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/m2sys-technology","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/m2sys\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/M2SYS","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/m2sys","https:\/\/twitter.com\/m2sys"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/m2sys-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/m2sys-blog.png","width":287,"height":48,"caption":"Digital Transformation of Government Services"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/3ba5457baaa8ae1faa7e086cfbe4acf0","name":"Guest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d201879437f2ccf21b1bd715f3d90d0f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d201879437f2ccf21b1bd715f3d90d0f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest"},"url":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/author\/guest\/"}]}},"modified_by":"m2bloghorayra","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22581,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions\/22581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}