5 Tips To Get Better at Construction Daily Reports in 2024

Construction projects demand thorough and regular documentation, especially during the execution phase. This way, all stakeholders – including developer-owners – can see the progress. The most common source of documentation is in the form of a construction daily report.

The site manager or site supervisor is typically the main person who is responsible in submitting this daily report. It’s a day-to-day log of the activities in the construction site and provides crucial information that might require immediate attention to the headquarters or even the client.  

What Exactly Is a Construction Daily Report?

In a nutshell: a construction daily report is a detailed log of all the events that took place in a construction project site during a day. A construction daily report usually includes hourly weather conditions, tasks performed like concrete pouring, materials delivered, and even visitors (if any).  

The data inside a construction daily report is consumed by other stakeholders in a construction project: the general contractor’s management team (at the headquarters), construction project managers/owner’s reps, and sometimes even the project owners themselves.

Think of it as a daily journal for the job site, a way for other stakeholders to understand what has transpired within each day without them having to be at the job site everyday.

The construction daily report also helps in setting the next day’s activities, as some of the things that were left hanging or unresolved on that day will be carried over to the next. It can also give a glimpse on the equipment or materials needed to continue the work that has been started, a critical concern to avoid delays in a project.

Speaking of delays, if the project is, in fact, delayed then a construction daily report can provide the reasons behind it. The report not only captures but also explains why, and this paper trail prevents anyone from being wrongfully blamed or even litigated.

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What are the other Benefits of Maintaining a Construction Daily Report?

Having a record of events on a daily basis provides management the ability to make informed decisions that would prevent delays and even unnecessary costs. Reporting also keeps all stakeholders on the same page regarding what’s going on at the job site and prevents, whether you’re working with in-house workers or with subcontractors. While not as comprehensive and not tied to the BOQ like accomplishment reports, construction daily reports also sheds light on the status of the project, and all those who are concerned with its progress will have a good idea of how things are going at the job site level.

5 Tips to Make Construction Daily Reports like a Pro

While construction is generally a complex endeavor, making daily reports is not rocket science. However, here are 5 best practices to maximize the value that such reports give to project stakeholders:

1. Get Into the Details. As a site manager or site supervisor, you need to have the right amount of detail in your report so that it can successfully paint a picture of what went down at the job site on any given day, and provide pertinent information that other stakeholders would need to make decisions and prevent stoppages or incidents from happening.

2. Don’t Hide The Bad Stuff. Transparency is very crucial when submitting a construction daily report. After all, it’s a collaboration tool for other stakeholders in the project. Redacting certain details (especially issues) will only lead to wrong or missed decisions, and it will ultimately point back to you as the site supervisor or manager.

3. Get Inputs from Workers. While you need to know a whole lot more than anyone else at the job site, we also understand that you don’t have the superpowers to see everything at once. Sometimes you’ll need to get inputs from crew members in order to provide accurate information in your report.

4. Timeliness is Key. Certain decisions (made by other project stakeholders) may be urgent in order to prevent delays or even accidents at the job site. Therefore, you need to submit the daily report as early as possible. This is also important because some of the details might get lost over time, even if it’s just overnight.  

5. Strive for Efficiency. Logging daily reports on an excel sheet, via email – or worse – via direct messaging will only be tough for you and the rest of the project team to stay on top of issues and plan accordingly. The key is to use a software that lets you not just submit reports easily but also provides day-on-day as well as consolidated (perhaps weekly) views of the reports. Doing this manually through those methods mentioned above is not only time-consuming, it can also lead to critical errors.

How Steer Helps in Construction Daily Reports

Steer’s Daily Activity Report is an easy-to-use solution for site managers & supervisors as well as other project stakeholders. It helps in the following areas:

Easily Create Reports. Steer lets site supervisors & managers easily submit basic updates anytime, anywhere using its mobile or tablet app. There’s a more comprehensive form available on the web app, accessible by laptops/desktops.

Detailed & Standard Forms. Steer captures a wide range of data, offering comprehensive updates on your daily operations. This includes progress photos, hourly weather report, completed tasks, manpower/headcount, equipment used, and even visitor information

Up-To-Date Information For All To See. Teams at the general contractor’ HQ, construction managers, and even developer-owners can access all the data they need to make informed and timely management decisions.

Visit www.steerplatform.com to know more about Steer’s Daily Activity Report solution.

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