The Practically Pain-Free Daily Report

Not many people love doing paperwork. For many construction workers who are used to being active and on-the-go, completing the daily report is the last thing they want to do. But it’s a critical part of the job that, when done well, can increase communication, decrease project delays and reduce risk. There are several key parts that make up a useful daily report for management teams.

So, what is a daily construction report? Think of it as a record that provides a first-hand report of everything — from weather conditions to safety reports — that occurred during the day. Daily reports for construction detail jobsite activity, work completed, materials delivered, materials used, challenges and solutions, delays, and comments about anything else that impacted the project that day.

Daily reports are essentially a journal entry for construction teams and are critical to the project’s success. They provide subcontractors and the project management team of a trade contractor with a daily activity summary that keeps them informed of the project progress and aids them in proactive decision making. If something goes wrong, analyzing the daily reports to review the construction activity can help them pinpoint the problem and make informed adjustments to their job costing efforts.

A comprehensive daily report can help ensure workers get paid for the hours spent on the job, including overtime. And, if there’s a problem that went undetected until after the project is completed, and your team is called on the carpet for it, a quick review of the daily reports can set the matter straight. And if it comes to it, daily reports also enjoy the status of legal evidence. They can be used to resolve litigation disputes in the courtroom.

How Are Construction Reports Created?

Daily reports for construction are a critical component of a project. Yet sometimes the reporting is haphazard, pulled together at the end of a long construction day from sources such as texts, emails and even a handful of scribbled notes. Often, there are no notes to work from and details are dependent upon the foreman, or whoever is creating it, remembering exactly what happened.

If the project manager has multiple foremen submitting individual reports, he or she must wade through all of them, some of which have been created using the pen-and-pencil style and may be illegible. Paper daily records may be incomplete, and they can get lost during the course of the day. Using an editable PDF is an improvement over pen and paper, but not by much. Like the pen-and-pencil daily log, it will likely get filed away. It isn’t actionable or easy to access when information it contains is needed at the jobsite. Other reports may be created using a variety of software solutions, none of which are compatible with one another.

Reports created in different ways will likely be formatted inconsistently and they may contain different and sometimes conflicting information. The project manager has to try to mesh them together into one cohesive report he or she can then deliver to the general contractor and other stakeholders. All of these scenarios can make it difficult for the project manager to collect and assemble all the pertinent information. It can add an hour or more to the workday to create and send out to the stakeholders, the general contractor and others who need to be kept in the loop.

The daily report is a headache many project managers deal with every single workday. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right project management software and artificial intelligence for construction, you’ll be able to automate the process and improve your organization. 

Maximize Your Results with Construction Daily Reporting Software 

One solution that makes everyone’s lives easier is using a software program, like eSUB’s Daily Reporting Software for Construction, to create reports on a daily log app. It’s easy for everyone to use and greatly streamlines the process of creating daily reports.

One of the most robust features of a software system is its centralized hub. This holds communications from everyone in one location. And all that information can be captured in real-time, in any location, using mobile devices. You don’t even have to enter all the information via a keyboard. You can use the “talk to text” function or copy information from previous reports and insert it into the current daily report. You can also add field notes, photos and blueprints so everything about the project is in one convenient location.

Daily reporting software can also track labor activity and hours and track the job progress against estimates of labor productivity. It provides the team more transparency and visibility on the job site so workers can respond to issues quicker and more efficiently. 

Overcoming Workers Objections

While the benefits of using construction daily reporting software are many, some companies hesitate to implement it. Why? Maybe they have a “don’t fix it if it isn’t broke” mentality: They’ve gotten by without it in the past and still managed to make a profit, so why bother?

Here’s why. In the future, efficiency is going to take centerstage for construction companies that want to grow and stay competitive. And consistency across the board can help boost those efficiencies. During times of labor shortage, it’s more difficult to recruit talent, so construction companies need to be more efficient with the employees they have. Here at eSUB, the construction daily log software helps them do that. Plus, as they begin to recruit more workers, they’ll already have the technology in place to be able to manage them more efficiently.

eSUB’s daily reporting software allows you to tie a cost code to a specific foreman or group of workers. Cost codes indicate the job a worker or workers was working on and how long it took to accomplish and then assigns a cost. By using cost codes, you can effectively manage costs and time, and the data collected can improve your team’s productivity and efficiency.

Perhaps they’re reluctant to learn something new. Or maybe they’ve looked at a software program that came with all the latest “bells and whistles” but was so difficult to use, they knew it wasn’t for them.

eSUB knows workers can be apprehensive about learning something new. That’s why eSUB designed its platform to be super user-friendly with a web browser and daily log app. In addition, eSUB offers training to familiarize your workers with all the features and benefits and how to use them. With eSUB construction daily reporting software, your team will get onboard quickly and you can maximize your return. And, in the future, eSUB’s responsive customer service team is available to answer any questions.

So, while few construction workers love completing reports, if you make it easy for them, you’ll increase your chances of getting more thorough and meaningful information in a more timely fashion. That’s what you need to manage construction projects more efficiently. And that’s what you’ll get with eSUB’s professional daily reports for construction software.