The wrong geofence radius creates two different problems. Too small, and legitimate workers get rejected. Too large, and workers can check in from places that are not really the job site.
The right radius is practical, not perfect.
Start with the Site Type
A small office entrance, a high-rise facility, a construction site, and an event venue should not use the same geofence radius. The site shape and work pattern matter more than a universal number.
- Small outdoor sites can usually use tighter boundaries
- Large construction sites need room for access points and staging areas
- Indoor or high-rise sites need extra tolerance because GPS weakens
- Event venues may need multiple zones instead of one large circle
Account for GPS Accuracy
GPS accuracy changes by device, building material, weather, and urban density. A worker standing in the correct place may still appear several meters away. Indoors, that drift can be much larger.
This is why a strict 10-meter rule often looks good in a policy document and fails at 7 AM on site.
Use Exception Data to Tune the Boundary
The first week of geofencing should teach you. Which sites produce the most near-boundary attempts? Which supervisors approve the same exception repeatedly? Which workers are consistently outside the fence?
Some of those signals point to bad behavior. Some point to a bad boundary. The system should help you tell the difference.
A Practical Rule
Use the smallest radius that lets real workers check in without daily friction, then review exceptions instead of pretending the first setting is final.
CrewForce360 Support for Radius Planning
CrewForce360 lets teams configure site rules and review attendance exceptions in context. The free geofence radius calculator can also help teams estimate a starting radius before rollout.