Labour tracking software for civil contractors
WBSync tracks civils and groundworks labour against measured quantities — cubic metres dug, linear metres of drainage laid, square metres of formwork struck — by zone or chainage. Gangs are logged from a phone, including labour-only subcontract crews without app logins, and S/E (Spent vs Earned), SPI and CPI update as quantities go in, not when the monthly cost report lands.
Civils output is measured in quantities: excavation in m³, drainage in metres, kerbs in metres, concrete in m³ poured. The estimate carried a gang-hour rate against each of those — but on most sites, the only labour number anyone sees is the week's total payroll, which says nothing about which operation is burning it.
WBSync structures the site as zones or chainages on a 4-level WBS. Each operation carries its measured quantity and budgeted hours; foremen log the gang and the quantities from a phone, and earned-versus-spent is live per operation and per zone.
Where the hours go on civil contractors packages
Linear work hides the overrun
A drainage run priced at 0.8 gang-hours per metre that's running at 1.2 looks fine in a weekly total — until the last 200 metres have no budget left. Chainage-level tracking shows the drift while the gang is still in the trench.
Re-measure moves the goalposts
Ground conditions change the quantities, and the tracking has to follow. Budgets and quantities on WBS activities can be updated as the re-measure lands, and any correction to installed quantities is stamped with who, when and why — so the record stays auditable.
Gangs, not individuals
Groundworks runs on gangs, often labour-only subcontract. Foremen log the whole gang from one phone in the time it takes to fill a pour card — operatives don't need logins or app installs, and subbie hours land on the same cost codes as direct labour.
Weather and access days vanish into the total
A washed-out day and a productive day look identical in payroll. With each day's gang planned on the WBS, plan-versus-actual shows exactly which operations lost time — the evidence a delay conversation needs, recorded on the day.
How WBSync fits
Quantities earn the hours
Progress is logged as quantity installed — metres, m³, m², number — and hours are earned at the budgeted rate. S/E (Spent vs Earned), SPI and CPI compute per operation and roll up per chainage, per zone and per site.
The take-off is the import
Upload the priced take-off as XLSX and WBSync builds the WBS and cost codes from it. Zones, chainages and operations mirror how the job was measured, so nothing is re-keyed.
Built for muddy thumbs
The crew log is an offline-first phone PWA: it works at the far end of the site with no signal and syncs when coverage returns. Clock-in systems feed the same activities through built-in adapters and an open ingest API.
An approval gate before the numbers move
Hours hit the live figures only after approval, with duplicate entries and over-16-hour days blocked until resolved. Every change is audit-logged — the paper trail is built in.
Frequently asked questions
Can we track by chainage?
Yes. Sub-location is whatever divides your site — chainage bands, zones, structures, phases. Every operation under it carries its own quantity and budgeted hours, and rollups work at any level: one run, one zone, or the whole site.
What happens when the re-measure changes quantities?
Update the activity's quantity and budget — earned value recalculates against the new figures. Corrections to installed quantities require a reason and are stamped with the actor and date, so the commercial record survives an audit.
Most of our labour is labour-only subcontract gangs — do they need accounts?
No. Gang members are tracked as operatives — no logins, no app installs, no extra seats. The foreman logs the gang from one phone, and subcontract hours land on the same cost codes as direct labour so the true cost stays in one place.
Does it work with no signal at the far end of the site?
Yes. The crew log is an offline-first PWA — entries queue on the device and sync automatically when coverage returns, without duplicating anything.
See your own package's S/E live within an afternoon — import the BOQ, add the crew, log a day. Start free with WBSync — 30-day trial, up to 30 active operatives, no card required.
Related
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