Attendance management for EPC companies

Punch before entering the client's plant

Many refineries, power plants and chemical complexes do not allow mobile phones inside process units, so the punch has to happen at the site office or the gate before the day starts. A kiosk tablet in the site office suits this: staff scan its code, which renews every 30 seconds, from the mobile app, or type the code if the camera fails. Where phones are allowed on site, a mobile punch limited to the site's check-in spot works as well. The client's gate records are not a substitute, because they show entry into the plant, not the working hours your payroll needs.

Camp, site and the six-day week

Most EPC sites work six days a week, with Sunday off and hours such as 8 am to 5 pm. Staff in the camp live close to work, but the camp is housing, not the workplace, so draw the check-in spot around the site office rather than the camp. Where the camp and the site are far apart, the company bus sets the real start time, and the grace period should reflect it: if the bus reaches the gate at 7:55 am, ten minutes of grace after an 8 am start is fair, and anything stricter penalizes people for the bus.

Travel, vendor inspections and transit days

An inspection engineer who spends three days at a pump manufacturer's works in Coimbatore, or a planning engineer travelling from the Jamnagar site to head office for a review, should not appear absent. Log them as on duty requests stating the purpose; once the reporting manager and HR sign off, the days count as present. Transfers between sites create transit days too. Decide in the transfer policy how many travel days count as on duty, for example two days for a move across states, and apply the same number to everyone.

One review per site, then month close

Site HR officers know their site; head office does not. Ask each site HR officer to check the live board, missed punch-outs and pending corrections before month end, then close the month centrally once every site confirms. Set correction limits, such as four a month and no more than seven days back, so problems are raised while people still remember them. Month close freezes attendance for payroll, and if a site finds an error later, the month can be reopened with the reason recorded.

• Site HR checks missed punch-outs every morning
• Corrections raised within seven days
• Inspections and travel covered by on duty requests
• Month closed only after every site confirms

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Create each project site as a location under the right branch, and give its site HR officer a role whose data scope is limited to that branch.
2. Set up a kiosk at each site office tied to the site's check-in spot, adding the optional location check where the office has GPS coverage.
3. Where phones are allowed, use the mobile location rule and phone binding so punches come from approved phones inside the check-in spot.
4. Create the six-day site shift with its grace period and assign it to all site staff in bulk.
5. Switch on on duty requests for vendor inspections, head office visits and transfer travel, and cap corrections at a monthly number and a days-back window.
6. After every site HR officer clears corrections and missed punch-outs, run month close, reopening with a reason only if a site finds an error.

Read more about attendance in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions