The site diary is a traditional documentation tool on a construction site. It is actually a physical book that is kept on site and in which both the client and the executing contractor can make entries. Sometimes it is also replaced by mutual agreement with the meeting minutes of the construction supervisor, but most often it is simply forgotten. In any case, there are also other—more contemporary—tools for maintaining a site diary in which important events such as reinforcement inspections, schedule changes, and other contract-relevant decisions can be recorded. In this article, I present two options for a virtual site diary.
Before we begin, a brief note on construction contract law: In the construction contract standard Ö-Norm B 2110 (2013 version), the site diary is characterized as a record of entries for all important events relevant to contract execution between the client and the executing contractor. It is usually maintained by the client or their representative(s), is kept on the construction site, and should be reviewed by the executing contractor at least once a week. The executing contractor can also make entries about important events in the site diary. Unless the entries are contested within 14 days of being brought to the attention of the respective other contracting party, they are considered confirmed.
If you do not wish to maintain the site diary manually with pen and paper and it should not or cannot be replaced by the meeting minutes of the construction supervisor, there is the option of creating the site diary virtually with iPROT.
To do this, simply create a separate meeting group named “Site Diary Entry” in a project. Individual entries in the virtual site diary can then be created in this meeting group as a new meeting using the corresponding button. The persons affected can be added directly to the mailing list for the respective site diary entry. The topics of the site diary entry and the associated text, as well as any attachments such as plan excerpts, calculations, photos, etc., can then be created as one-time or ongoing items. If desired, assignment to a chapter for clearer organization—for example, by trade—is also possible.
This creates a chronological collection of site diary entries along with any attachments. With iPROT’s streamlined and clear rights management, all persons who are authorized or required to make entries in the virtual site diary can be provided with appropriate permissions. Individual site diary entries can be verifiably sent to the persons listed in the entry’s mailing list using iPROT’s integrated sending function and are also protected from subsequent modification by iPROT’s audit-proof system. At the end of the construction or execution phase, all site diary entries can be collected in a PDF file for documentation purposes using iPROT’s search/filter function and archived as a site diary.
This article first appeared at MATHOI PROJEKT MANAGEMENT.
