Write the site diary the same day, every day
A diary written on the day is believed, because it was written before anyone knew there would be a dispute. A week filled in on Friday reads as exactly that, so write it every day, even when nothing happened.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Why it matters
A record is believed when it was made close to the event, by someone who did not yet know how it would be used. A Friday diary covering Monday to Thursday fails on both counts. The detail has gone, and the writer already knows which days matter. The ink, the font or the file data shows it was done in one sitting. When the dispute starts, the entries for the disputed weeks are questioned first. Keep the habit on the dull days too: an unbroken run of dated entries proves the diary was not written for the claim.
How to do it
- Set a time at the end of every shift for the diary, and treat it as part of the day's work, not an extra.
- Put the date and the writer's initials on each entry, and if the diary is on an app, leave the timestamps alone.
- Write the weather, the labour on site and the areas worked on a quiet day, so the run of dates is unbroken.
- Say so in the entry if it is late: written on Thursday for Tuesday, from memory, and why.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A groundworks subcontractor's site manager keeps the diary on a phone app. A wet spring costs the job 11 days of production, and the subcontractor later claims £22,000 for standing plant and labour.
What happens
- The site manager writes each day's entry before leaving site: the weather, the plant standing and the hours lost.
- The app stamps each entry with the date and time it was saved, and the manager never edits them.
- At the final account, the main contractor's surveyor asks for the diary. It shows 11 entries, each made on the day, and the surveyor checks three of them against the weather records.
The outcome
The £22,000 is agreed in full. A diary written up at the month end, 11 wet days in one sitting, would have looked rebuilt after the event and been argued down.
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