What to record every day
The template covers the fields that end up mattering when a job goes to argument. Fill in every section, every working day — a diary with gaps is a diary that gets questioned:
- Date
- Weather and site conditions
- Crew on site — names, trades and hours
- Work performed, broken down by area
- Delays and their causes
- Instructions received — who gave them, what was said, and when
- Visitors to site
- Deliveries
- Photos taken
- Issues raised
The record made on the day is the one that holds
When a delay claim or disruption argument surfaces, it is usually months after the days in question. Nobody remembers which trade held which area on a Tuesday in March — unless someone wrote it down that Tuesday. A daily diary entry records events before anyone knows they will be contested, which is exactly what gives it weight.
Pair the diary with photos. A dated entry that says an area was inaccessible, next to a photo of the blocked area taken the same day, is a far stronger record than either on its own.