So many people, so much activity, so many moving parts – keeping track of what has happened and what has not on a building site, day after day, is impossible without a construction site diary. Memories may fade, but the details about work done, staff on site, deliveries made and delays encountered have relevance after the sun has set on a busy day. In fact, it can be your accurate records of a project that make the difference between being paid on time, and being paid at all.
1. Incremental record keeping
Of course, there are different types of site diaries. Paper diaries and their scribbles and squiggles are one thing, but using a digital construction site diary to capture the important details of the working day can mean more data for your evidence of work done. The different data formats that can be captured in a digital site diary include images, including photos, digital notes, and annotated PDFs, including marked up site drawings with what happened, where and when. Here, more than ever, a picture can ‘tell a thousand words’, adding to a comprehensive set of records that supports a payment claim, as per the Security of Payments Act.
Claiming that the project has been delayed due to damaged materials being delivered on site? Record a photo of that. Did the heavens open and pour endlessly for days on your excavation, adding days to the dig? Add to your construction site diary not only a screenshot of the day’s weather forecast but also a real-life pic of your flooded excavation site. Information such as this makes a payment claim that includes the delay factors easily defendable.
2. Transparency and communication
Sharing the details of what is happening on site with relevant people keeps everyone in the loop. A digital construction site diary records information back to a central database where it can be instantly accessed by management, and even clients. By providing transparency over the details of the project site, the site team can be well supported by the management team who can have the information they need to make changes, such as updating the schedule, to acting upon product or equipment issues. Building into the site diary some required fields means getting the mandatory information you need, plus automatic digital smarts in the software record much more than a paper diary ever could. It’s even better if the digital site diary is part of a construction software package. Having immediate access to the data also gives management the information they need to address payment-related and other issues immediately.
3. Legal compliance
So many things that happen on a construction site have a legal and regulatory component. From seemingly small things such as heights and depths, to information about product substitution due to an item being out of stock. Retaining small details can be crucial when documenting that the work done is legally compliant, complete – so, due to be paid. The Security of Payment Act specifically states that evidence needs to be written, which means that a team member’s verbal testimony about what happened on site last month will not support a claim for payment.
A digital construction site diary automatically organises evidence by date and time stamping, including who recorded it. An ideal digital site diary will allow both fieldworkers and supervisors to add entries so you have a comprehensive record. A digital site diary that is part of a larger construction software can also be reported in a PDF format, making it ready to be used as evidence in a dispute. For example, the wealth of documentation recorded in a construction site diary by one subcontractor rescued their payment claim of $180,000, by being able to quickly, credibly and accurately document the reasons why they were not at fault for a project’s delay. They could prove that external factors caused it – and their payment claim was successful.
4. Task management and accountability
Given that most subcontractors are paid based upon a completed project or its stages, organising tasks and getting them done efficiently makes the business more profitable. Having a construction software system with daily records of work done, tracking how long things take to happen and where the plan to do them needs to be updated, helps management learn how to streamline operations and save money.
It also supports getting paid for the work, as recording tasks and their progress in the construction site diary is credible documentation of work done for a payment claim.
5. Data-driven insights for payment security
All the information gathered in a construction site diary helps management report on activity to not only look for areas of improvement in the business but to provide a report for clients on a range of data for payment and planning purposes. From what happened and when to the quantity and quality of construction products already delivered to site, any that trigger a payment. Having real-time access to the data of activity on a construction site makes simple work of documenting the next payment claim for a subcontractor business.
So what are you waiting for?
Using a digital construction site diary on site as a tool to record details large and small builds a library of credible, comprehensive and easily accessible documentation on a project. The information captured in a digital construction site diary helps the business make better decisions. Even more importantly, detailed subcontractor project records are crucial in defending against disputes and providing evidence of work done for a claim for payment. In a busy construction project, a reliable construction site diary that is part of construction software can be your favourite tool on site.
Looking for ways to record your work on-site? Contact our team today for a demonstration of how a construction site diary can save your team time and effort on site, while providing the documentation to be sure that your invoices get paid and avoid disputes with clients. Neo intelligence is an easy-to-use construction operations management software with a powerful digital site diary feature that was built by subcontractors for subcontractors. It is the construction software that has just what you need to digitise your subcontracting business.
