Construction site time tracking: the Achilles heel of the industry
Construction is one of the sectors where personnel time tracking remains most archaic: paper attendance sheets filled manually at week's end, notebooks transmitted late to payroll, daily workers paid on word of mouth. In West Africa, construction sites often employ varied profiles on the same site: permanent workers, day laborers, subcontractors, apprentices — each with a different pay structure.
A time-tracking tool adapted to field conditions is essential to control the wage bill and avoid disputes.
Construction site attendance sheet: the limits of the free Excel model
Many site foremen search for a free Excel construction attendance sheet — it's better than paper, but Excel quickly reaches its limits in construction:
- Impossible multi-site: when the company has multiple simultaneous sites, you need as many files as sites, with no consolidated view.
- No geolocation: no way to verify that a worker is actually on the correct site.
- Falsification risk: an Excel file can be modified retroactively.
- Manual surcharge calculation: overtime and night premiums must be calculated manually.
- Slow payroll transmission: email back-and-forth with corrections.
Geolocated construction site tracking: how does it work in the field?
Weplanify offers time tracking adapted to construction site realities:
- Geofence per site: each site is delimited by a GPS zone. The worker can only clock in if physically on the site.
- Offline tracking: in areas without network, clock-ins are stored on the phone and synced at the next available connection.
- Manager tracking: the site foreman can clock in the entire team from their phone.
- Site QR code: a QR code at the site entrance enables fast check-in and check-out.
- Real-time monitoring: the office knows at any time how many workers are present on each site.
Managing day laborers and multi-contract construction workers
Construction typically combines multiple employment types on the same site. Weplanify handles each specificity:
- Permanent workers: tracking of legal 40h and automatic overtime calculation.
- Day laborers: tracking by full day, half-day, or hour. Pay calculated based on days actually worked.
- Subcontractors: presence tracking for work situation valuation.
- Apprentices: compliant management with specific status and legal hour limits.
At month end, a consolidated report by site, trade, and employment type is exported to payroll.
FAQ — Construction time tracking
What if workers don't have a smartphone?
The site foreman can clock in the entire team from their own phone via the 'manager tracking' function. They enter names, validate presences, and data is instantly recorded.
Does the app work without internet on isolated sites?
Yes. Weplanify works in offline mode. Clock-ins are stored locally and synced when the network is available. No data is lost.
How to calculate overtime in construction in Senegal?
Hours beyond 40h/week are compensated at +15% for the first 8 overtime hours, +40% thereafter, +100% on Sundays and public holidays. Weplanify automatically applies these rates.
Try Weplanify on your construction sites
Weplanify is suited for sites of all sizes, even in low-connectivity areas. 14-day free trial. Request a demo or write to [email protected].