KDF Connect: Field Workforce Platform
A field services company tracked crew hours on paper and routes from memory. We replaced it with an offline-first iPad app, an admin dashboard, and a REST API for GPS route tracking, QR clock-in, and digital weekly sign-off, all on Azure.
The Context
KDF ran field crews across multiple sites. Supervisors tracked hours on paper timesheets, crew check-in and check-out happened verbally, and route coverage was documented after the fact, if at all. There was no structured way to capture what happened in the field during a shift: where crews went, what they photographed, or whether the week's hours had been formally reviewed and approved. The system needed to work on iPads in the field, handle spotty connectivity gracefully, and be manageable by a non-technical admin team.
The Solution
We designed a four-component system (mobile app, admin dashboard, REST API, and shared design system) deployed on Azure, built around the field's real constraint: connectivity you can't count on.
Offline-first field app
GPS coordinates, photos, and comments queue locally when the iPad has no connection. A queue-flush hook drains them in dependency order on reconnect, so the server always receives consistent data and the supervisor never sees a gap.
GPS route tracking & geotagged photos
Supervisors run a live tracking screen with a full-screen map, the crew's GPS trail, and photo capture pinned to a coordinate. Total route distance is calculated via the Haversine formula on the accumulated waypoints.
QR-based clock-in/out
Each crew member's check-in and check-out is tied to a barcode scan rather than a verbal acknowledgment, creating a timestamped attendance record per project instead of a disputed memory.
Admin visibility
A 29-page back-office dashboard gives the office team a timesheet view with Regular / OT / Double-Time breakdown, a map gallery of every geotagged photo across every route, and CSV/print export, without depending on supervisors to deliver paperwork.
The Results
Four production components (mobile app, admin dashboard, API, and design system) shipped on a fixed-price engagement, live in production by August 2021. The offline queue held up under real field conditions from day one.