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This document explains how access events, swipe sessions, and time tracking work when jobsites are configured as nested zones (for example, Zone 3 inside Zone 2). Nested zones diagram

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Key concepts

Before diving into behavior, it helps to understand a few core concepts:
  • Zone (Jobsite): A physical area where workers must scan in and out. This real-world concept is represented in Odin as a jobsite.
  • Nested Zone (Jobsite): A zone that exists entirely within another zone (e.g., Z3 inside Z2).
  • Swipe Event: A scan action (inbound or outbound) recorded for a specific zone that captures one moment in time.
  • Swipe Session: A time-based record for a worker in a specific zone, defined by a first swipe and last swipe, capturing a range of time between the first inbound and last outbound swipe events of a day.
  • Compliance: A swipe session is considered compliant only when it has a valid start and end that allow duration to be calculated.
Each zone always tracks its own access events and swipe sessions independently, even when zones are nested.

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General rules of nested zone behavior

These rules describe how access, sessions, and time are tracked when jobsites are configured as nested zones. 1. Zones are tracked independently - Entering or exiting a nested zone (Z3) does not automatically start or end a session in the parent zone (Z2). Each zone maintains its own swipe session. 2. Parent zone time includes child zone time - Time spent in a nested zone counts toward the total time in the parent zone. 3. One session per zone - A worker will have one swipe session per zone per day. Nested activity does not split or pause the parent zone session.

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Missed scan handling

The system is designed to be forgiving when scans are missed. No errors are thrown, but compliance may be affected.
  • If a worker scans out of a zone without scanning in, the session’s first swipe time and last swipe time are identical, meaning the duration onsite is 0 minutes.
  • If a worker scans in but never scans out, the session’s first swipe time and last swipe time remain identical, meaning that the duration remains 0 minutes.
  • This applies independently to both parent and nested zones. Missing a scan in or out in a nested zone does not affect the parent zone.

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Typical access scenarios

The following examples illustrate how swipe sessions and time are calculated when workers move through nested zones.

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Correct behavior when working across nested zones

This example shows a worker who properly scans in and out of both a parent zone and a nested zone. The worker scans into Z2 at 8:00 am, scans into Z3 at 12:00 pm, scans out of Z3 at 3:00 pm, and finally scans out of Z2 at 5:00 pm. As a result, the worker has a Z2 session duration of 9 hours and a Z3 session duration of 3 hours.

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Missing a scan-in on the parent zone

This example shows a worker who does not scan into the parent zone but does scan out. The worker does not scan into Z2 but scans out of Z2 at 5:00 pm. During the day, the worker scans into Z3 at 12:00 pm and scans out at 3:00 pm. As a result, the Z2 session duration is 0 hours due to the missing scan-in, while the Z3 session duration is 3 hours.

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Missing a scan-out on the nested zone

This example shows a worker who does not scan out of the nested zone. The worker scans into Z2 at 8:00 am and scans out at 5:00 pm. The worker also scans into Z3 at 12:00 pm but does not scan out of Z3. As a result, the Z2 session duration is 9 hours, while the Z3 session duration is 0 hours due to the missing scan-out.