Site diary

A useful site diary is filled in every working day, including days when work stops. Typical entries include:

• Weather. Conditions through the day, rainfall and any time lost to wet weather.

• Labour. Head count by trade and subcontractor, and hours worked.

• Plant and equipment. What was on site, working or standing idle.

• Deliveries. What arrived, from whom, and any problems.

• Work completed. Areas and activities progressed, ideally referenced to the programme.

• Delays and disruptions. What stopped or slowed work, why and for how long.

• Instructions and visitors. Directions from the superintendent, consultants or client, and inspections by authorities.

• Safety and quality. Incidents, near misses, hold points released and defects found.

• Photos. Dated photos that back up the written entries.

For a deeper look, read The Site Diary: Construction’s Most Underused Legal Document.

When there's a dispute over time or money, the side with the best contemporaneous records usually has the advantage. Contemporaneous means written at the time, not reconstructed weeks later.

For an extension of time claim, the site diary helps prove that a delay event happened, when it started and ended, and what it stopped on site. For a variation, it shows that an instruction was given, who gave it, and the labour and plant used on the extra work. For latent conditions, it records the date the condition was found and what was done next.

Diaries also matter in adjudication under the security of payment Acts, where decisions are made quickly on the documents. A clear, consistent diary is persuasive. A patchy one, with gaps on the days that matter, invites doubt.

The terms are often used interchangeably. Where a distinction is made, the site diary is the builder's own internal record, while a daily report is a summary sent to the client, superintendent or head office.

Some contracts require the contractor to keep daily records and make them available to the superintendent. Check your contract and special conditions. Even where it isn't required, keep the diary as though it will be read by an adjudicator.

Whatever you call it, the content should be the same each day so entries can be compared over time. A consistent format also makes it easier for a relief site manager to pick up the job without losing the record.

• Filling it in at the end of the week. Entries written later are less reliable and less persuasive.

• Being too vague. "Rain, some delays" is not evidence. Record times, areas, trades affected and who was told.

• Skipping non-working days. Wet weather and lost days need recording most of all.

• Recording opinions, not facts. Stick to what happened. Diaries can be disclosed in disputes.

• Not linking to notices. The diary supports a claim, it doesn't replace the written notice the contract requires.

• Editing entries later. Changing past entries undermines the whole diary. Add a dated correction instead.