When installing boxes on studs without drywall in place it seems to me that laying a 1.5 inch wide piece of material the same thickness as the intended finish wall against the face of the stud would allow correct positioning of the boxes.
I can imagine an electrical supervisor lightly stapling a piece of drywall or other material of the correct thickness on the stud at each box location, and instructing the installers that they are to have the outside edge of the box lined up with that and leave it in place for removal at the pre-inspection check, or for the official inspection, or even for the drywallers to remove.
EDIT
I can also imagine a jig that would hold a sample of the finish wall material against the edge of the stud and have an edge to which the electrical box would be pulled to position the edge flush with inside of the finished wall.
EDIT'
The ears on the ends of the tabs of switches and receptacles have holes to allow them to be used as shims through which the screw passes. If the box is set back into the wall, snap off the ears at the score marks and put them on the screws. Use one, two or more as necessary to get the device tight to the box and at the correct position relative to the finished wall.
If the boxes are metal, the metal shims make electrical contact for the ground. If the device has paper keepers on both screws, then at least one must be removed to allow grounding. Good quality devices intended for use onmetal boxes have a metal keeper on one end.