Construction daily report software › Construction daily log
Construction daily log: paper log book or app?
A construction daily log is the jobsite's day-by-day record of who worked, what got built, the weather, deliveries, inspections and what went wrong, written by the superintendent or foreman. A bound paper log book still works if it's filled in every day and copied; an app is better once the log has to reach the office that evening with photos, weather and a record of who wrote what and when.
The three times someone reads it
Most daily logs are never read again. The ones that are get read closely, usually months later and by someone who wasn't there.
A claim for more time
The AIA A201 general conditions extend the contract time for "adverse weather conditions documented in accordance with Section 15.1.6.2" (§8.3.1), and §15.1.6.2 says such a claim "shall be documented by data substantiating that weather conditions were abnormal for the period of time, could not have been reasonably anticipated, and had an adverse effect on the scheduled construction." The log is where the last part, the effect on the work, gets proved: which crew stopped, at what time, for how long.
Federal fixed-price construction contracts work the same way. FAR 52.249-10 excuses delay from causes such as "unusually severe weather" and delays of subcontractors or suppliers beyond anyone's control, but only if the contractor notifies the contracting officer in writing within 10 days from the beginning of the delay, unless the contracting officer extends that. A log that names the cause on the day it started makes that letter easy to write.
A dispute about a change
The owner's representative says "go ahead, take it out" at a buried pipe that isn't on the plans. If the log records the time, the words and who said them, and the RFI number that followed, the change has a paper trail. If it doesn't, it's your memory against theirs.
Evidence in court
Federal Rule of Evidence 803(6) is an exception to the hearsay rule: a business record can come in as evidence when it was "made at or near the time by — or from information transmitted by — someone with knowledge," kept in the course of a regularly conducted activity, and making it was "a regular practice of that activity", all shown by a custodian, another qualified witness or a certification, unless the other side shows the method or circumstances "indicate a lack of trustworthiness." That is a description of a good daily log: written the same day, by the person who saw it, every day, in the same way.
What makes a log credible
- No missing days. Number the entries and write one on days nothing happened ("Site closed, rain, no crew").
- Written the same day. The time it was written matters as much as what it says.
- Corrections you can see. On paper, strike through and initial; never tear out a page. In an app, look for an edit history: Procore can keep a change history for each daily log when it is turned on, and CDR stamps every entry with the user, date and time.
- Measured weather. A rain gauge reading plus the nearest station's record from NOAA's Climate Data Online beats "rainy".
- Numbers and names. Hours, quantities, ticket numbers, who said what. See the filled-in example for each section written out.
- Signed and delivered. A report sent to the GC or owner the same evening is hard to argue was written later.
Paper log book or app
| Need | Bound paper log book | Daily log app |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Next to nothing | Free tiers (SafetyCulture, Dozer for one site) to per-user plans ($23 to $59 a user a month at Raken) |
| Proof of when it was written | Bound, numbered pages and ink; otherwise none | Time stamps per entry (CDR); an edit history in some (Procore, when turned on) |
| Office sees it today | Only if someone scans or photographs it | Synced, or emailed as a PDF on signing (CDR, Raken Performance) |
| Weather | Written by hand | Filled in for the job's location (Procore, CDR, DailyBuild, Dozer) |
| Photos | Separate, matched by hand | Attached to the day's entry in most |
| No signal | Always works | Needs an offline mode (DailyBuild and CompanyCam list one) |
| Finding March 3 next year | Flip pages, if the book survived the truck | Search by date, keyword or company |
| Rain, coffee, a lost truck | One copy | Stored off site |
When a paper log book is enough
One job at a time, an owner or GC who doesn't ask for daily PDFs, and a superintendent who writes every day without being chased. Use a bound book with numbered pages, write in ink, and photograph each page that evening so a copy exists somewhere other than the truck. That last step is what most paper logs skip, and it's the one that saves them.
When to switch to an app
- You run more than one job and want every log in one place without driving to collect them.
- The GC or owner wants the daily report by email each evening.
- You've lost, or nearly lost, a weather or change claim for lack of records.
- Photos matter to your work and need to sit with the day they were taken.
- Foremen won't write long entries by hand but will talk: Raken, HCSS HeavyJob and CDR take dictation, DailyBuild drafts the report from a spoken update, and Dozer drafts the log from a few spoken sentences plus the day's tickets and camera alerts (free for one site; the web app only, for now).
Moving over, keep the sections your log book already has so the record reads the same before and after the switch, and keep the old books: they're still the record for those days. The comparison of ten daily report tools sorts them by how they charge, which is what decides the cost once more than one person files.
Questions
Who writes the construction daily log?
Usually the superintendent for the GC and the foreman for each sub. What matters is that it's written by someone who saw the day, or from what they reported, on the same day.
Is a construction daily log required by law?
Usually it's the contract that requires one, not a statute: many contracts and public-agency specifications call for daily reports. Claims depend on them either way: the AIA A201 asks for data behind weather claims, and federal fixed-price construction contracts need written notice of a delay within 10 days unless the contracting officer extends it.
How long should daily logs be kept?
At least until every claim, warranty and lawsuit period on the job has run out, which can be years after completion and depends on your state and contract. Ask your attorney for the number, and store the logs off site.
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