“How was your day?” may seem like small talk but on the jobsite, it can be a loaded question. If something unexpected happens and you don’t know everybody involved and the circumstances, you can find yourself in a difficult situation with workers, clients and lawyers. This is the primary reason for creating the daily log. An additional benefit is being able to use the information from the daily log to better project manage.
And yet the daily log is often overlooked, late and incomplete. Everybody wants the information from the daily log, but nobody really wants to write the report. It’s time consuming and takes a lot of screen time.
Yet without the daily log, a general contractor (GC) might not know about an issue until it’s too late. They’re also increasing the risk of liability and fines by not properly documenting what happened each day on the jobsite. And nothing is more fundamental to risk management than knowing who is on your sites, when and why. Instead of dreading the creation of the daily log, why not crowdsource it?
Crowdsourcing, or distributing the responsibility for completing the daily log to everybody on the jobsite, makes the process easier and the document more comprehensive. You may be thinking that too many contributors can lead to inaccuracies and even more confusion. And that is true if you’re still using paper and pen to create it.
However, if your company is among the 71 percent that are currently moving to digital transformation, according to a 2022 survey conducted by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), then crowdsourcing the daily log is simple. The daily log can be digitized and automated.
One way to do this is by using digital check in technology. It helps account for everybody who entered the jobsite. When they sign in, you can show them training videos, ask them to check off boxes related to skills, training or certifications, and capture their digital signature for compliance and waivers. Supervisors can make notes or upload pictures from the jobsite. All of this information can flow right into the daily log without adding more work for the site supervisor. Since it’s recorded each day, there’s no risk of forgetting details.
While the daily log is usually the responsibility of a site supervisor, the reports are read by the general contractor, CEO, and CFO. Since the jobsite is where the company makes or loses money, it makes sense that the executives have visibility and up-to-date information on each project and e the ability to dig project details. The best way to do that is through the daily log.
According to Brian Junginger, construction litigation attorney at McInerney & Dillon, “The daily log is one critical when it comes to investigating claims and protecting a business. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a complete set of daily logs for the project. Having a digital record that includes all relevant jobsite information and the details of what happened on the day it happened can make all the difference.”
Our customers’ jobsites started using digital check in at the beginning of the pandemic for health screenings and private contact tracing. Now the safety check in app is part of their digital transformation. The check in lets them know who was on site, what time they arrived, what they are doing, and if there were any issues that day. The data is automatically uploaded to Procore so we can monitor how each project is progressing and have an accurate look-back of what happened and when and if there were any issues.
This automation can save hours every day on every jobsite. And it eliminates the need for someone in the office to track down supervisors in the field and remind them to submit their daily log.
Without automation, even the most dedicated supervisors can fall behind on the daily log. Building takes precedence, and paper-based and data entry workflows can eat up hours.
GCs that are starting or in the middle of digital transformation can score some really quick wins simply by digitizing daily check in to automate the daily construction log. The integration of a construction daily log app can streamline the workflow and improve project profitability.
David Brian Ward is a CEO and Founder of Safe Site Check In LLC, a digital jobsite management platform launched in 2020 for the Construction industry. With over 40 years of experience in the technology industry, having launched and grown several successful companies. Mr. Ward is a now a SaaS entrepreneur and innovation leader in the Construction industry.