Site diaries – sometimes referred to as construction logs, site journals, or company logs – are a crucial form of documentation on any construction site. Completed by site supervisors, they are used to document any and all significant occurrences on site, from records of accidents and injuries through to inventory logs of hire equipment or contractor attendance.
For this reason, site diaries can be used as a tool to help manage project budgets and prevent overpayment for materials, equipment or labour.
In the event of something going wrong during a construction project – be that a legal dispute between stakeholders, or an investigation into an injury – site diaries can also be referred to as a crucial piece of evidence. In these cases, details within a site diary are admissible in court and as such, it is vital that diary records are updated meticulously every day and as soon as in incident occurs.
For many years, the construction industry has relied upon paper as a medium for site diaries but as we shall show, there are many reasons why paper logs are fallible.
Construction sites are busy, hectic places and regrettably it can be all too easy to misplace a spanner, a walkie talkie or even an important piece of paperwork. However, when it comes to documents, few if any are more important than your site diary. The site diary is one record that contractors simply cannot afford to lose.
Almost as problematic as losing your site diary, is damaging it. Dust, mud, paint, fire or any number of things can cause damage to the pages of a paper site diary, rendering it illegible and therefore useless.
Big projects require big, detailed site diaries and lugging these from A to B, back and forth from the site office can be a real pain. You will also need to find somewhere to store your site diary, along with all your other paper documents. Altogether, these stacks of paper add up to occupy significant storage space. And not just when your project is active. So important is the nature of the information contained within a site diary, that it must be preserved long after project handover has taken place.
Even the most organised and meticulous among us are occasionally prone to overlooking something and even the most rigid systems can be undermined by human error. With a traditional paper site diary system there is always the risk that someone will forget to make an entry meaning that a crucial incident goes unrecorded.
Thankfully, there is a simple solution for all of these problems. With a digital site diary, site managers can keep information accurate and secure, storing all data in a secure cloud-based location. Records can be accessed on your smartphone or tablet, in the field or from your office. And unlike paper records, these cannot be lost, or damaged.
With Zutec’s digital Site Diaries module, you can keep information accurate, capture and log site data, report on activity and validate entries. This means that your site diary logs are robust and simple to analyse, helping you to identify potential issues quickly or provide evidence of best practice and compliance should something go wrong.
– Create branded Site Diary checklists
– Generate daily or weekly site reports quickly and easily
– Conduct automated real-time head counts
– Site layout, photo mark-up, critical capture and offline capabilities
– Reduce admin time
– Never miss an entry again with scheduled notifications
See what Zutec can do for you.
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