Labour tracking software for mechanical contractors
WBSync tracks mechanical installation labour the way the package was estimated: budgeted hours per activity — welds, metres of pipe, ductwork sections, test packs. Fabrication and field hours live on separate WBS branches so shop productivity and site productivity are never blurred, and S/E (Spent vs Earned), SPI and CPI update per system as the crew logs hours from a phone.
Mechanical money is made or lost in the hours: pipework norms per weld or per metre, ductwork per section, plant sets per lift. Materials and plant are largely committed at order; whether the package lands on margin comes down to whether install, weld-out, test and insulation hours stay inside what the estimator carried.
Most mechanical contractors still learn the answer from a month-end cost report that mixes fab-shop time, site time and waiting time into one number. WBSync keeps them apart: every activity carries its own budgeted hours, and earned versus spent is live per system, per level and per building.
Where the hours go on mechanical contractors packages
Fab and field hours blur together
A spool fabricated in the shop and a spool welded in a riser are different productivity problems. Modelling fabrication and site installation as separate WBS branches keeps each on its own norms, so a productive shop can't hide a struggling site crew — or the reverse.
The weld count is the truth, but nobody tracks to it
Estimates are built per weld, per dia-inch or per metre; site reporting is built per week. Logging quantity-based progress against each activity earns hours from the same units the tender used, so drift shows on the spool run where it is happening.
Test packs decide payment, not percentages
A system that is 95% welded but can't be pressure-tested earns nothing with the client. Keeping test and reinstatement as their own activities means claimed progress tracks what is actually complete — and the QS claims from evidence, not optimism.
Waiting time is invisible until the margin is gone
Late steel, missing supports, congested risers: waiting hours book to the same payroll as productive hours. Planning each crew-day on the WBS and comparing plan versus actual shows which days were lost to access rather than effort.
How WBSync fits
Earned value in the estimator's units
Each L4 activity carries budgeted hours and a quantity — welds, metres, sections, packs. Progress earns hours against those units, and S/E (Spent vs Earned), SPI and CPI compute per activity and roll up per system and per building.
One BOQ import, fab and field included
Upload the tender workbook as XLSX and WBSync builds the 4-level WBS and cost codes from it — including separate branches for fabrication and installation if that's how you estimate.
Hours from the shop, the site, or the clock
Foremen log crews from an offline-first phone PWA; existing clock-in systems feed the same activities through built-in adapters and an open ingest API. Every entry passes the same approval gate before it touches the numbers.
Forecasts the commercial team can defend
EAC, ETC and TCPI are computed from approved hours to PMI / ISO 21508 conventions, with an S-curve of planned value, earned value and actual cost per branch — the mid-package answer to 'where will the hours finish?'
Frequently asked questions
Can we track fabrication and site installation separately?
Yes. The WBS is yours to shape — most mechanical contractors run fabrication and field installation as separate branches or disciplines, each with its own activities and budgeted hours, then read productivity per branch and combined.
Our norms are per weld and per dia-inch — does that work?
Yes. Each activity carries a quantity and budgeted hours in whatever unit the estimate used — welds, dia-inch, metres, test packs. Progress logged against the quantity earns hours at the budgeted rate, so S/E is measured against your own norms.
How do pressure tests and hold points fit in?
Model tests, inspections and reinstatement as their own L4 activities. They carry hours like any other activity, and because progress is quantity-based, a system isn't 'done' until the test-pack activities are — which keeps claimed progress honest.
What does it cost for a mechanical package?
Plans start at €249/month for up to 30 active operatives and 5 live projects, with unlimited PM, QS and foreman seats. Every account starts with a free 30-day trial — no card required.
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
Comparing WBSync to other tools?
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