A Detailed Guide to Daily Reports for Masonry Contractors

Daily reports are the bread and butter for masonry contractors. These journal entry reports are essential for detailing daily job site activity. From how a project is progressing, the materials and equipment being used, to even how the weather has an impact, everything should be detailed in the daily report. At the heart of it, a comprehensive daily report improves communication and reduce project delays, costs, and risks.

On the downside, if masonry contractors aren’t thorough in completing their daily reports, the consequences can be dire. Masonry contractors have unique challenges: long hours, techs and foremen to coordinate, material deliveries to manage, and key stakeholders to keep happy. When the work needs to get done, a daily report will likely not be completed until the end of the day.

On the upside, there are benefits to making sure your report is a detailed account of your daily activities:

1. Daily reports are vital for transparency. Detailed accounts of the workday give stakeholders an accurate picture of the project status, possible delays, and whether or not you are staying within the budget. It also allows you to build rapport with team members and clients to minimize misunderstandings about what’s going on at the jobsite. It provides visibility over any potential problems, like a sudden increase in costs, worker shortages, or if a milestone was missed—and why.
2. It protects masonry contractors from contract disputes. A comprehensive daily report can also protect your company from legal issues. According to a recent report from Arcadis, construction disputes increased significantly in 2020. The most common cause of construction litigation is failure to understand and/or complete the contract. Clarity around contractual obligations through a regular, detailed report is the best way to prevent issues. When something goes wrong onsite, notifying the appropriate parties immediately is crucial for a speedy recovery to get back on track. To protect themselves from liability claims and other risks, masonry construction companies should write daily reports that provide an accurate assessment of daily activities. If your daily reports (usually in paper format) aren’t carefully maintained, it could spell big trouble in the event of a claim.
3. It helps you identify potential opportunities. Writing a detailed report can help you see where your processes can be improved (e.g., when more workers or materials are needed for a specific activity). Recurring problems can be highlighted and long-term solutions found. The daily report process can make or break a project by highlighting potential problems before they escalate into large-scale issues.

What to include in daily reports for masonry contractors

Creating daily reports is one of the masonry contractor’s most important tasks for tracking everything throughout the project pipeline—and it must be accurate. When producing daily reports, make sure to include all the information about the work completed that day. A detailed work report will also help ensure the project meets masonry code requirements.

So, what are the main sections to include in your report? Here is a brief list: 

1. Job Details: The first section should identify the project, documenting the name, job type, and number. The report should also include which phase of the project is active. 
   
2. Weather Conditions: The weather can be a critical factor when working with masonry. Therefore, the report should include the day’s weather conditions (temperature, precipitation, humidity). If the weather is negatively impacting the work, it should be noted here, and in the potential delaying events section. 
   
3. Work Completed: Note the progress made on the various daily project tasks. What activities took place? What is the status? Take the time to provide detailed explanations.
   
4. Crew List: List which crew members were on the jobsite that day. This is essential as there may be rotations within the crew. A daily updated crew list ensures you know who is accountable for what. To make it easier, organize the list by type of worker. Include the number of workers on each team and the total number of hours worked by each. If visitors enter the worksite, record this information as well.
   
5. Equipment Used: Take note of all equipment present on the worksite, which machines were used, and for how many active hours. If a piece of equipment was delivered that day, it should be noted here. What happens if you bring a piece of equipment, but it was not used that day? Record that too, with a detailed description of the equipment model and its working condition. 
   
6. Materials: Conduct a daily inventory of the materials used, deliveries received, and any delays, defects, or missing shipments. 
   
7. Incidents and Delays: Note any occurrences that may delay the work in two sections, here and in the section corresponding to the task. For example, if a machine malfunctions, record it under equipment and here. 
   
8. Significant Event(s): Record any unusual event, regardless of the potential to delay work or not. It may be something that occurred outside of the job site, like a road closure or traffic delays. 
   
9. Site Safety Observations: Note any safety concerns or problems.
   

Digital reports vs. Paper reports: Which is better?

Traditionally, daily reports were done on paper. This caused some major problems:

• Lack of efficiency due to the amount of time it takes to create a new document, print it out, walk around collecting signatures, collate the sheets of paper, and mail them for delivery.
• Low security since documents are kept both in files at each foreman’s office and onsite (usually in binders).
• Errors and lost documentation due to incomplete daily reports and insufficient manual paper filing processes. Additionally, reports coming from different sources may not be formatted consistently and may contain conflicting information. 
• Inability to immediately access information that is needed on the job site.

Fortunately, the days of manually completed daily reports are coming to an end. More and more subcontractors are turning to construction management software to simplify creating and sharing detailed daily reports.

A dedicated app centralizes all the information your team needs in one place. It enables masonry contractors to improve efficiency in tracking orders, adding milestones, and monitoring project progress in real time. Contractors can also use their phone to take pictures and videos, and upload them with the click of a button.

Daily reports are immediately accessible and can be easily edited and saved until they’re ready for review by managers or the finance team. This also reduces mistakes by transitioning your manual paper processes to a cloud document and field management platform that can be accessed from anywhere and provides the security to keep your data safe and secure.

How eSUB Construction Software can help 

Leveraging a technology solution standardizes daily reporting and helps prevent human error. The old manual method relies on memory and filling papers out correctly. eSUB is a software solution created specifically for subcontractors. It helps you create and share detailed and accurate daily reports right from the field—gather data, fill out the report, and digitally sign it from the job site. Add photos, attachments, links, and all the information you need. Then send the report to anyone who needs it.

If you’re looking to standardize and streamline your daily reporting through a single platform, schedule a demo to learn how eSUB can help.