HR Payroll for Geotechnical Engineering — Atlantis NDT ERP

Certification-linked scheduling and field timesheets for multi-site inspection crews

Overview

Odoo HR & Payroll configured for NDT firms manages the field-workforce specifics that generic HR systems don't: scheduling that respects certification currency and method qualification (integrated with Certification Tracking), per-diem and mobilization allowance calculation for remote/offshore assignments, multi-country payroll for firms operating US, Middle East, and India entities under different labor law regimes, and field timesheet capture that ties directly to project work orders for job-costing accuracy. Shift and rotation scheduling supports the reality of turnaround/shutdown work — 12-hour shifts, night crews, 14/21-day offshore rotations — with fatigue-management rule flags (max consecutive hours, mandatory rest periods) configurable per client or regulatory requirement. Expense management handles mobilization costs (flights, lodging, per-diem) with approval workflows and direct posting to the relevant project's analytic account for accurate job costing. Leave management accounts for technicians frequently mobilized away from home base, with visibility into who's deployable versus on leave or in a rest-rotation window. Payroll runs support multiple pay structures common in the industry — day rate, method premium pay (PAUT premium over conventional UT), hazard/offshore allowance, and overtime rules specific to each jurisdiction.

Why inspection and testing businesses run it differently

Crew scheduling here isn't just calendar management — it's gated by the Certification Tracking cross-check, so a scheduler physically cannot roster a technician onto a PAUT shift if that certification has lapsed, closing the loop between HR/payroll and quality compliance. Offshore and remote turnaround rotations (common for refinery/petrochem shutdowns and marine work) need rest-period and fatigue-rule enforcement that generic retail/office scheduling tools don't model, and per-diem/mobilization allowance calculation needs to route straight into project job-costing so a bid's labor-cost assumptions can be checked against actuals after the job.

Capabilities

Scheduling gated by live certification/method qualification status (no manual override risk)
Fatigue-management rule enforcement (max consecutive hours, mandatory rest windows)
Multi-country payroll for US/Middle East/India entities under distinct labor law
Per-diem, mobilization allowance, and hazard/offshore pay calculated per assignment
Field mobile timesheet capture tied directly to project work orders for job costing
Method premium pay structures (PAUT/TOFD rate differential over conventional UT)
Deployability dashboard: available, on assignment, on leave, in rest-rotation window
Expense approval workflow posting mobilization costs to the correct analytic account

How the workflow runs

When a project manager builds a crew for an upcoming mobilization, the scheduling view only surfaces technicians who are certification-current for the required method and level, and not currently in a mandatory rest window from a prior rotation. Once scheduled, technicians log field hours via mobile timesheet against the specific work order, which flows to both Payroll (for wage calculation including any method premium or offshore allowance) and Accounting (for job costing). Expense claims for travel, lodging, and per-diem are submitted with receipts, approved by the project manager, and posted directly to the project's analytic account. Payroll runs process each entity's pay cycle under its own jurisdiction's rules (overtime thresholds, statutory deductions, offshore allowance tax treatment), with consolidated labor-cost reporting rolling up to group finance for margin analysis per project.

Standards and compliance covered

SNT-TC-1A / ISO 9712 (qualification-gated scheduling)
OSHA and equivalent GCC/Indian labor safety fatigue-management guidance
Local labor law compliance (US FLSA, GCC labor law, Indian Shops & Establishments/Factories Act)
ISO 45001:2018 (occupational health and safety management)
Maritime/offshore rest-hour regulations (MLC 2006 where applicable to marine NDT work)

Integrations

Certification Tracking (scheduling eligibility gate)
Project Management / Field Service (timesheet-to-work-order linkage)
Accounting (labor cost and expense analytic posting)
Banking/payroll disbursement providers per country
Government statutory filing portals (per-jurisdiction)

Measured impact

Certification-gated scheduling has eliminated scheduling errors that previously required last-minute crew substitutions at mobilization — one operation reported these dropping from roughly monthly occurrences to zero over a year. Field timesheet-to-work-order linkage cut payroll processing and job-cost reconciliation time by an estimated 60%, since labor costs post automatically instead of via manual timesheet re-entry. Fatigue-rule enforcement on offshore rotations has reduced rest-period violations flagged in client HSE audits to zero on monitored contracts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the scheduler accidentally roster someone whose PAUT certification expired last week?

No. The scheduling view is filtered live against Certification Tracking status, so lapsed-certification technicians simply don't appear as eligible for that method's assignment.

How does payroll handle a technician working across a US entity and a Middle East entity within the same year?

Each entity runs payroll under its own jurisdiction's rules and statutory requirements; the system keeps records separate per entity while giving group finance a consolidated cost view for reporting.

Does the system track offshore rotation rest periods automatically?

Yes. Rotation and fatigue rules — max consecutive working days/hours, mandatory rest windows — are configurable and enforced at the scheduling stage, flagging any assignment that would violate them.