How to Set Up a Construction Site Geofence

A geofence is the virtual boundary that defines where a construction site begins and ends for attendance purposes. Setting it up correctly is the difference between attendance records you can trust and records full of exceptions.

The first step is choosing the center point. The center should be the operational heart of the site: the area where work actually happens, not the far edge of the property line. In FastBuild, this is done by pinning the location on the map when the site is registered.

The second step is choosing the radius. The radius needs to cover the work area plus the practical arrival zone. If workers park a short walk from the work area, a radius that ends at the parking lot edge will generate exceptions every morning. A common starting point is 100 meters, adjusted to the physical layout of the site.

Consider the shape of the site. Geofences in FastBuild are circular, defined by a center and a radius. For a compact site, one circle is sufficient. For a long, narrow site, the center should be positioned so the circle covers the working area, and the radius set accordingly. The goal is practical coverage, not geometric perfection.

Watch for overlaps between nearby sites. If two sites are close together, their geofences may overlap, and a worker at the edge of one site could be inside both. Assigning crews to sites and keeping radii tight reduces this problem.

Test the geofence with a real check-in before relying on it. Walk to the edge of the intended boundary and check in. If the record shows a GPS exception, the radius is too tight. Adjust and test again.

Common mistakes include setting the radius too small, which produces daily exceptions and manager notifications that train everyone to ignore them; setting the radius too large, which lets check-ins from the parking lot across the street count as on-site time; and forgetting to update the geofence when the site expands or moves its staging area.

A deactivated site stops accepting check-ins. When a project ends, deactivate the site rather than leaving it active, so attendance data stays clean.

FastBuild also records the check-in distance for every session. Even after setup, the distance field in the session record is the diagnostic tool: if workers are consistently checking in 90 meters out on a 100-meter radius, the boundary is not matching the real arrival pattern.

The practical workflow is: pin the center, set a sensible radius, test at the edge, adjust once, and review exceptions in the first week. After that, the geofence should run quietly in the background.