8 Tips for Creating Construction Daily Reports

Construction projects cover multiple aspects simultaneously, including daily reporting, a mandatory step to ensure smooth project execution. Experienced companies and contractors make detailed reports of each event of the project, from the construction bidding phase to progress tracking.

However, making a construction daily report might be challenging if you don’t know what it is. This article includes eight tips to help you create exceptional daily reports for better construction performance.

What is a construction daily report?

A construction daily report enables you to document every construction activity during the project, including weather conditions, workers’ lists, and equipment utilization. That report helps construction managers and contractors plan the next activities accordingly.

All construction project stakeholders can access the report and give their inputs for informed decision-making. You can also get the required information in those reports if you are a construction manager and not present at the jobsite.

Tips for creating construction daily reports

Since a daily construction report is important for a project’s success, you must know how to make one. Here are tips for creating construction daily reports.

1.  Brief the project

Firstly, start the report with the project’s brief, which includes the following sections:

• Project title
• Client name
• Date and time
• Jobsite address

You can find the above information from the project manager or the bidding proposal. After that, introduce the project in simple terms because the client-side stakeholders might not know the construction jargon.

The introductory part must include three W’s:

• What – Tell the readers what the project is about.
• Why – Give a sound reason for working on the construction project.
• Who – Introduce the team heads who are working on the project.

The best practice is to include only managers and team leaders to keep the report concise.

2.  Add weather conditions

According to multiple reports, weather delays almost 45% of construction projects worldwide every year, costing billions of dollars. So, you must include weather conditions in the daily construction report so contractors and managers can prepare a risk plan.

You can collaborate with the US weather services to get weather forecasting insights. Moreover, you must add daily weather conditions in the report to estimate potential delays.

3.  Make a crew list

The daily construction report must include a list of workers at the jobsite. It’s important because of various reasons, like:

• Health risks
• Jobsite theft
• Equipment failure
• Confidential data breach

Managers and supervisors can refer to that report and hold people accountable for jobsite failure. The report also supports the construction human resource management system for workers’ training and incentive programs.

The crew list in daily construction reports is proof of workers’ attendance. You can update that list in the initial hour to ensure everyone is present on time at the jobsite. So, this technique also empowers time management.

4.   Update milestones

Breaking project objectives into smaller goals is called a milestone. This strategy helps the team leaders to assign responsibilities and resources better. You must update these milestones in construction daily reports to track the project’s progress.

Professional construction companies use project management software to update milestones. The same software regularly generates milestone briefings. You can add that automated briefing to the daily report of construction.

5.  Update equipment status

Contractors are responsible for procuring equipment for a construction project. However, they are not available 24/7 to check the machinery’s status. That’s why it’s necessary to assess the equipment’s performance and update its status on the construction daily report.

The equipment status helps you in the following ways:

• Resource optimization – You can optimize construction resource utilization by analyzing their daily performance.
• Repair and maintenance – You can know whether the equipment needs repairing or maintenance and adjust its budget in the construction ledger.
• Alternatives – You can arrange an alternative to malfunctioning machinery without wasting time.

This section helps adjust the construction budget. You can reduce costs by referring to the equipment status in the construction reports, increasing profit margins.

6.  Write delaying events

Construction projects are prone to delays due for several reasons. For example:

• Bad weather
• Equipment failure
• Workers’ absence
• Poor communication
• Varying legal policies
• Subcontractors’ schedule

You must clearly mention the construction delaying events in the daily report so stakeholders can decide accordingly. Even if it’s a minor fault that is causing the delay, you must write it down without any biases. That will ensure transparency in the construction project.

Construction managers and contractors might want evidence of the delay. You can add images, videos, or any other supporting content to the construction daily report to prove your point. Besides, you must keep it professional to avoid any heated argument which might further delay the project.

7.  Include meeting minutes

Project meetings play a significant role in construction or any other industry. Physical meetings are most effective, but companies and contractors should never forget to hold meetings virtually if time and space are issues.

During these meetings, a team member must note the meeting minutes for proper follow-up. These meeting minutes must be included in the daily construction reports to assess the following three things:

• Last meeting’s agenda
• Current meeting’s agenda
• Schedule of next meeting

Someone who couldn’t attend a meeting can use the meeting minutes section as a reference from the construction daily report to stay updated.

8.  Signatures

Lastly, the person responsible for preparing the construction daily report must verify every piece of information and then sign the document. That’s a professional way of closing construction daily reports. The person who signs the report is responsible for any omissions.

Construction companies usually assign a senior civil engineer to give a second glance at that report before closing. Although the report should not include difficult terminologies, you must send the report to an expert before submitting it to the managers. They will make the necessary modifications, and then you can sign it for closure.

Conclusion

Construction daily reports are a part of a project, so not submitting them might lead to failure. Construction managers usually don’t regularly visit the jobsite. However, they must stay updated about the project’s progress through these reports.

Construction daily reports don’t follow any specific standard, which means you can use any template. The information included in the report is what matters. So, start creating drafts from today and submit construction daily reports to stay on top of the construction business.