Records that keep up with the work
For groundworks, civil engineering, tunnelling and specialist contractors, and the main contractors they work with. Site, office and commercial teams work from one account of what was done, where, when and with what.
01On record
What has to be on record
Most of these records exist somewhere: in a notebook, a camera roll or a spreadsheet. The problem is when they are made and where they end up.
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Daily diaries and allocation sheets
The daily diary is completed from memory at the end of the week, or kept in a notebook in the cab and never typed up.
Knock-on
When a question comes up about a delay or extra work, the record of that day is thin or missing.
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Labour and plant returns
Allocation sheets and returns are filled in on paper, keyed into a spreadsheet, then keyed again into payroll, hire records or accounts.
Knock-on
The same hours exist in three places, and they do not always agree.
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Permits, inspections and checks
Permits to dig, excavation inspections and pre-pour checks sit on different forms, filled in to different standards.
Knock-on
The office cannot see at a glance what has been checked, by whom and when.
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Photographs of hidden works
Pipe on its bedding, formation before concrete, services exposed in the dig: the photographs stay in camera rolls and group chats without a job, location or date.
Knock-on
Once the work is backfilled or covered, the photograph is the record of it, if it can be found.
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Records for valuations and variations
Quantities, instructions and notes about changed conditions are requested from site when the valuation or application is being prepared.
Knock-on
Details are pieced together weeks after the event, once the gang has moved on.
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As-built and handover information
As-built details, test records and certificates are gathered once the job is finished, from whoever still has them.
Knock-on
Closing out the job drags on, and gaps are hard to fill after the event.
02First workflow
First workflow: the daily site record
One record of the day, made once on site and reused by the office and the commercial team.
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Site team
One record of the day’s work on a phone or tablet, in place of a diary, an allocation sheet and a separate photo upload. Photographs are taken inside the record, so they carry the job, date and location.
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Office and operations
Records arrive soon after the work, in a consistent format. A missing photograph or unsigned check is picked up while the gang is still near the job, and hours are reused for payroll, hire and cost reports.
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Commercial team
Quantities, notes and photographs found by job and date, instead of requested from site. Changed conditions are recorded on the day, ready for review.
Subcontractors can produce the returns each main contractor asks for from their own records, rather than filling in the same information twice. What is possible depends on what each main contractor accepts, and that is checked rather than assumed.
Records support decisions. They do not make them.
What a valuation, application or variation submission needs is set by the contract terms and your client. Better records give the commercial team more to work from; the judgement and the submission stay with them.
Other places to start: handover packs connecting systems
Initial conversation, then a paid workflow review, a one-workflow pilot and wider implementation. Each step ends with your decision. How we work
03Example
One unexpected duct, followed through
An illustrative example on a fictional job. It follows one note made in the trench until it reaches the commercial team, with its supporting records attached.
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Tue 14 May · On site
Found in the trench
Gang 3 are laying 22 m of service pipe on Station Road when they find an existing duct 8 m along the trench. They hand dig around it, photograph the duct and the hand dig, and note its position in the day’s record.
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16:42 · Submitted
Sent to the office
The record reaches the office with the task, the crew, 5 photographs and the note about the duct. Nobody in the office has to type it up.
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Next morning · Office check
Checked and flagged
The completeness check shows the reinstatement photograph is missing, so it is requested while the gang is still nearby. The duct note is flagged for the commercial team.
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Period end · Commercial review
Ready for review
When the next valuation is being prepared, the commercial team sees the quantities for the job alongside the duct note and the two photographs of the hand dig. Whether the extra work is raised, and how, is their decision under the contract terms.
Steps 1–2 · The site record
- TaskExcavate, lay and connect 22 m of 63 mm service pipe
- CrewGang 3
- Photographs5 attached
- IMG_0412 · Trench open
- IMG_0413 · Existing duct at 8 m
- IMG_0414 · Hand dig around duct
- + 2 more
Existing duct found at 8 m. Hand dug around it and recorded its position.
Step 4 · The commercial view
- Service pipe laid22 m
- Connection made1
- Surface reinstated6.5 m²
- Hand dig around existing ductNote and 2 photos
ExampleIllustrative workflow using fictional data. The final solution is scoped around your process and systems.
See the full job pack example Watch hidden works go on record, in 3D
Next step
Which record takes the most chasing?
Tell us about one process: daily diaries, labour and plant returns, photographs, handover information or re-keying between systems. We will talk it through and suggest a sensible next step.
Prefer email? hello@oneinfra.co.uk