What should you record in a site diary?
Write it up each day while it is fresh. Record the weather, who was on site by trade, plant, deliveries, visitors and inspections, instructions, delays and their causes, incidents, progress and photos, then sign it. It is your evidence if a delay, a dispute or a payment is questioned.
What to record each day
- Date, site and the hours worked.
- Weather: rain, wind, frost or heat, and when it stopped work.
- Labour on site by trade, with numbers and the firm each belongs to.
- Plant on site, what was working and what was off-hired or broken down.
- Deliveries: what, from whom, when, and any damage or shortage.
- Visitors and inspections: who came, when, and what they inspected or said.
- Instructions received, from whom, and how: verbal, email or drawing revision.
- Delays and their causes, with start and finish times.
- Incidents, near misses and anything that needed first aid.
- Progress: what was done, where, and roughly how much.
- Photos taken, with their date and location.
- Your signature and the date.
Delays and extension of time
For a delay, write the cause, the activity it held up, how long it lasted, and how many people and machines stood idle. Name the cause plainly: late drawings, no access, a missing delivery, bad weather, a stop on site. Record the facts, not blame.
A diary does not give you a right to more time. That comes from your contract. Many contracts require written notice of a delay within a set period, so check yours for what is required, and by when. The diary is the evidence that backs the notice up.
Disputes and payment
If a dispute starts months later, a dated note made at the time is usually more convincing than anyone's memory. It can show who was on site, what was done, what you were told and what held you up.
It also supports payment. Records of labour, plant and materials back up daywork, variations and valuations. Write down verbal instructions on the day and confirm them in writing to the person who gave them.
Incidents, visitors and inspections
A diary note is not a report. Where an injury or incident has to be reported to HSE, make the report, and keep the record HSE asks for: the date and time, the place, the people involved and a brief description. Employers who must keep an accident book can use it for injuries.
HSE says inductions should be given to people who visit the site, though a visitor who is escorted needs only the main hazards. Log who visited and who briefed them. For inspections, such as an excavation check at the start of a shift, note that it happened and who did it, and keep the formal inspection record with the job file.
Habits that make a diary stand up
- Write it daily, not at the end of the week.
- Facts only: what happened, when and who.
- Do not leave gaps. Write "nothing to report" if that is true.
- Never overwrite or tear out. Cross out neatly or add a dated correction.
- Sign it every day, and keep a copy off site.