Mobile clock-in for construction crews, from first use to daily routine

Mobile clock-in for construction crews lets workers record their working day from a phone. Planium requires a photo at both clock-in and clock-out. The office and supervisors can verify hours. The worker app is in Spanish.

A useful introduction ends when a worker can repeat the routine and knows whom to ask for help. Start with installing the worker app, then practise on the device that will be used on site.

First-use checklist

1. Check the installation requirements for the intended phone.
2. Sign in with the worker’s phone number and SMS code; sessions renew without requiring a code every day.
3. Explain when the company expects the start and finish to be recorded.
4. Choose the site, take the entry photo, then practise the exit photo and confirmation or correction of calculated hours.
5. Agree a contact for an interrupted action or access question.

Keep the first practice short. Taking over the phone may finish a demonstration, but watching where someone hesitates tells you which instruction needs work. Write down the specific step that caused the question.

Workers can check their week and today’s assignments in the app. Clocking in at an unscheduled site flags the shift and notifies supervisors, but does not prevent clock-in. A new clock-in closes any previous shift left open; elapsed time alone does not close a shift.

Test in a safe place on site

Clock-in requires an internet connection through mobile data or wifi. Test coverage with the phones the crew will use, rather than relying only on an office demonstration. Choose a place where phone use fits the site’s safety arrangements. Keep required protective equipment in place and seek guidance if it affects the trial.

Explain that the app saves the location of each clock-in for the supervisor to review alongside the workday. While the shift is open, the app checks location against the site without storing a route history. Explain this to workers and resolve data-use questions before wider rollout.

Let the supervisor practise too

Supervisors can close or verify their workers’ shifts from the app, but cannot verify their own. The office sees entry and exit photos alongside calculated and declared hours. Review a hypothetical incomplete day together: what does the worker need to explain, who receives the question and what remains to be checked?

The crew attendance review routine covers this daily handover. Keep technical help separate from the discussion about hours worked so that one open question does not hide the other.

Planium also includes site tasks and issue reporting. Introduce them once the team understands the clock-in routine. A task explains the work to do; an issue explains a problem that needs attention.

Make the introduction repeatable

Give a new starter the same short instructions without the original organiser present. If they need extra help, improve the relevant step. Include the contact route so the instructions remain useful when a different supervisor is on site.

You can start with Planium and review the free-plan limits. For the full product comparison, see small construction crew management software.