American Time Blog

As far as we know, time travel hasn't been invented yet, so when hospital records show a patient leaving one area at a certain time and arriving at their destination two minutes earlier, something isn't right.

At the Essentia Healthcare Campus in Duluth, Minnesota, this discrepancy became problematic when billing the patient’s insurance company, who didn't buy the proposition that someone could be in two places at once, thus refused to pay the bills when that's what the records showed.

This is a story of how changing one aspect of hospital operations saved a facility thousands of dollars, illustrating just how important it is that all the clocks in your facility stay in sync.

Anyone who's ever visited an ice cream shop, craft beer taproom, or the cereal aisle of a grocery store knows choices can be hard. Cheerios or Captain Crunch? Weird... somehow they both ended up my cart. But sometimes in business, you have to make just one choice and when making big decisions is part of your job, the stakes only rise.

If you're tasked with selecting a synchronized clock system for your facility, there are many options to choose from. If you don’t know much about synchronized time, your mission might seem easy at first, you just buy clocks and hang them on the walls right? But just like buying an ice cream cone or picking out your favorite cereal brand, there are a variety of options to choose from. We are, after all, talking about installing an entire network of electronic devices.

As you delve deeper into this mission, you might require some guidance. Here, we'll help you determine which type of clock is best for you, depending on your industry and the type of facility you're responsible for keeping on time.

If you’re trying to bake a cake, but can’t find the whisk or spatula, and your favorite pan is dirty, baking a cake is going to be pretty difficult. That’s because you don’t have the resources you need when you need them. Trying to check the time without a clock puts you in the same conundrum. No clock, no time. No pan, no cake.

So, where do you hang a wall clock so everyone can see it? Is there a certain height you should aim for? Do you hang it 7ft off the floor? Right below the sprinklers? Three feet left of the armoire? Unfortunately, there’s no one answer on how high you should hang your wall clock, but there are tips to consider for choosing an ideal place.

Older technologies may not get people as excited as the new iPhone, but in many cases, they prove their enduring usefulness time and time again.

Election officials still depend on paper ballots because it's hard to trust the inner workings of a computer system for a task as important as counting votes. People who conduct a lot of business over the phone prefer a landline because it provides more audio clarity and they know it won't drop their calls. Audiophiles still prefer vinyl records to their digital counterparts because there's just something about that warm, analog sound.

While the bugs get worked out in the new devices that dominate our lives, trusty standbys remain at your service. You might think that one casualty of the march of technology would be the humble wall clock, which now competes with the smartphone in everyone's pocket.

Those phones do a lot, including display the time, but they don't accomplish that task as well as a wall clock connected to a synchronized time system. Despite almost everyone having a clock in their pocket, there are many everyday scenarios that necessitate a wall clock, whether for safety, security or convenience.

Distractions are everywhere, whether it's your social media feed, your dog pawing at you for a scratch behind the ear, or a cloud in the sky that looks like ice cream.

All these things are wonderful on their own, but when you're trying to get some work done, it's best if you can minimize disruptions.

The same is true when your job is to keep your facility on schedule. Critical to this mission is your synchronized time system, which, in very rare cases, can encounter its own kind of distraction — signal interference.

It's a phenomenon you'll want to be aware of if your timekeeping system uses wireless clocks, which stay in sync by receiving a radio signal from a master controller. Here, we'll look at the causes of signal interference and the steps you can take to prevent it or mitigate disruptions.

Daylight Saving Time seems simple enough. You just adjust the clocks to the new time, right? But what if you have more than a few clocks? We've created a quick video to describe the difference between Right Burt, who has a no-hassle timekeeping system which easily adjusts for Daylight Saving Time, and Left Burt, who... is a little stressed out after DST.

Imagine you had the chance to go the next five years without a dentist appointment, your annual performance review, or a trip to the DMV. A lot of people would jump at that opportunity.

It’s not often that you can wipe annoying obligations off your calendar in one fell swoop, but once in a while, you’re faced with the opportunity to clear your schedule and make more time for the things you really want to do.

For instance, you probably have better things to do than to change out the batteries in the potentially hundreds of wall clocks in your facility, but one forward-looking decision can pay long-term dividends. Making sure each battery-powered clock in your facility is outfitted with a clock battery pack will take an item off your perpetual to-do list while ensuring your building stays on schedule for years to come.

Here's what you need to know about clock battery packs.

To grill with gas or charcoal. To drive an electric car or opt for internal combustion. To eat oatmeal or Pop-Tarts for breakfast. When it comes to selecting an energy source for our daily needs, we have more options now than ever.

These decisions extend to the basic operations of any large facility, including its clocks. When you're selecting clocks for your school, factory, or medical facility, you have two options for a power source: electric or battery-operated.

The right choice often depends on the resources at your disposal and how you plan to deploy your clocks. Here are the pros and cons of both battery and electric clocks.

It's a fast-paced world out there. Hesitate for an instant and an opportunity of a lifetime can become the opportunity of someone else's lifetime. There are moments, though, when we can forgive ourselves for feeling a little off. Two moments, exactly: One day every spring and fall, when the clocks move forward or backward as we go through the ritual period of recalibration we call Daylight Saving Time.

Still, in this periodically forgiving model of reality, there is one place where you can never be off. If you work in a hospital, you aren't allowed to have a bad day. That's because people's health depends on hospital staff being at their best.

To get the most out of your staff, it helps if they arrive to work every day at a smoothly operating facility. There's one foundational technology at the heart of every such place: the clocks.

When your work becomes more than just a job, others begin to take notice. That's why Bill Vokes, director of maintenance and grounds at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was named our 2018 Maintenance Hero. Bill received more than a dozen nominations from colleagues who praised his dedication to the institution.

The contest, which launched last year, was open to any organization in any industry that wished to nominate a valued maintenance professional who routinely goes above and beyond in the workplace but receives little recognition for it. Bill received $3,000 in American Time product credit for taking first place. Jeannie Donovan, head custodian at Sylvania Northview High School in Sylvania, Ohio, and Mel O'Campo, facilities manager at Santa Maria Foursquare Church in Santa Maria, California, were the runners-up. Each runner-up received $1,000 in American Time product credit.

We learned a lot about each nominee thanks to those that provided nominations. Here's what we learned about Bill.