Site diary
A site diary is a dated daily record of what happened on a job: who was on site, what was done, the weather, deliveries, instructions received and anything that caused a delay. It is written on the day, which is what gives it weight later.
In practice for trades
A site diary looks like admin until the job goes wrong, at which point it becomes the most valuable document you own. Delay claims, extension-of-time claims and variation disputes are all won or lost on what was recorded at the time. A diary written on the day is contemporaneous evidence. A version reconstructed once the argument has started is worth very little, and everyone in the room knows it.
The entries that matter most feel least important while you write them. Standing time because another trade had not finished. A verbal instruction from the client's agent. Two days lost to weather. Each is a line that takes ten seconds and later explains why the programme moved.
It also protects the money. Preliminaries are mostly time-related, so every week a job overruns costs another week of scaffold, welfare and supervision. The diary connects that cost to a cause someone else is responsible for.
Sign or initial each day. An undated file of notes is not the same instrument.
Worked example
Rain stops external work on the 8th, 9th and 12th. Each day is logged with the conditions and the crew stood down. Three weeks later the client challenges the programme. The diary supports a 3-day extension of time and the prelims that went with it, instead of an argument about whose memory is better.
Related terms
- Job sheet: the record of one job's work, materials and hours
- Snagging: the defect list at the end of the job
- Work order: the instruction that authorised work the diary records
Do it in FieldHive
Keep a dated daily record of workforce, plant, deliveries, instructions and delays with the Site Diary Generator.
Site Diary Generator→
