What should a site diary actually say?
Record what you saw: who was there, where they worked, what happened, when it started and ended, and what the team did instead.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
Add the output, and a reference to any source such as an email or drawing, where you have one. Keep what you saw separate from what you were told and from what you think caused it. Hours moved to other work are not automatically lost hours. A hold-up in one area does not, by itself, prove delay to completion. So write down the facts on the day, and leave the cost and any effect on completion to be worked out later from the records.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A gang moves from blocked work to snagging for part of the morning. The site diary has to say enough for the day to be pieced together later.
What happens
- Both activities go in the diary, each with what it produced.
- The blocked area, the emails or calls about it and the time the gang went back are noted.
- The lost productivity, or any effect on completion, is left to be worked out later from the supporting records.
The outcome
The entry holds both activities, their output, the blocked area, the emails or calls and the return time. What the move cost is worked out later.
If you want a diary and record routine set up for your site and checked monthly, that is what our Delay & Disruption Loss Prevention service does.