What is a daily progress report in construction?
Every day is a new day on a construction site and those who are involved need to be kept in the loop of what has occurred. One of the easiest ways to do that is by filing a daily progress report.
These reports can include basic information on what was completed that day and they can also be filled with little tidbits that include issues that occurred or accidents that happened.
Daily progress reports must be filled out with accuracy so that there is a smooth flow of communication that can be referred back to in case of liability issues or legal disputes in the future.
However, progress reports might also come with a lot of admin work for project managers depending on the tools they are using in their projects. It鈥檚 not an exaggeration to say that project managers use up to 40% of their days on writing reports, jumping from one meeting to another, and chasing people around the site for updates.
It doesn鈥檛 take much to understand that working under such circumstances can have a direct impact on the progress reporting process and cause a lot of stress and frustration to both the project manager and their teams.
That being said, a paradigm shift is required in the way construction teams communicate and connect. But for that to happen digitalisation and standardisation should be seen as priorities.
What should a daily progress report include?
While there are many disputes over what should and should not be included in a daily progress report, we have created a list of items that we think should be on each one. Like that, you facilitate the connection between the boardroom and the field and help everyone involved stay on the same page.
In a nutshell, these are the 10 items that should be included on each and every daily progress report:
- Date: The date when the daily progress report is being written and submitted.
- Weather conditions: An overview of the weather conditions on the site.
- Jobsite conditions: An overview of the site conditions.
- Resource availability: Information about the workers, equipment, and materials that might be needed that day.
- Status on the performed work: Feedback about the work that was performed that day and the current status of the project.
- Work disruptions or delays: Any disruptions or delays that may have affected the work that was completed that day.
- Inventory checklist: A list of all inventory items and the upcoming material needs.
- Risk overview: Any potential risks that may affect future workdays.
- Accident report: A detailed explanation of any accidents that might have occurred on site that day.
- Additional comments and notes: Any additional comments or notes that seem to have an impact on the development of the project.
3 steps to writing a progress report without drowning in admin work
By now, it鈥檚 clear that reporting progress in construction requires a lot of effort and an eye for detail. On the bright side, things could be done much more quickly and more efficiently with the right tools and strategy in place.
Read more: How to reduce admin work and endless meetings in construction
After all, the main pillars of success for any construction project are the following: people, tools, processes. Get these three right and everything will eventually work out.
Where should you begin, though, this transformational journey? Well, there is no need to worry anymore about that. Here are the three main steps you need to follow to eliminate admin work from your progress reporting:
1. Automate your reporting process
Many project managers rely still on pen and paper in order to share progress on their lookaheads, report on the latest checks, and verify whether all activities linked to the checks are addressed as they should. This approach paves the way for frequent interruptions, downtime, and in some cases disputes.
Add also COVID-19 into the mix and you get the picture why construction needs to come up with a new normal and go digital with progress reporting.
With the right tools and processes, reporting on the latest site updates should not take more than three clicks. All project teams will have the information they need the moment they need it so that they can make smart decisions quickly and avoid becoming a bottleneck during the reporting process.