Free construction daily report template

What goes on a construction daily report

• Header: project, report number, date, who prepared it, the area or floor, and the job address.
• Crew and trades on site: your crew, hours and start and stop times, visitors, and every trade with its headcount, hours and what it worked on.
• Weather: high and low temperature, conditions, and whether the weather affected the work.
• Work completed: percent complete, milestones reached, work done today, work in progress, what's up next, and any delays, problems or questions.
• Materials and equipment: deliveries received, equipment on site, and anything damaged, missing or short.
• Inspections: each inspection, the inspector or agency, whether it was scheduled, and the result: pass, fail or partial.
• Safety: the toolbox talk topic and who attended, the PPE checked, and any injuries or near misses.
• Changes and cost impact: extra work, change requests or delays that affect cost or schedule.
• Sign-off and next steps: notes for the office or owner, who prepared and reviewed the report, and tomorrow's actions with an owner for each.

Why the daily report matters

When there's a dispute about a delay, a change, a missed delivery or who was on site, the report written that day is usually the best record you have. It also tells the office and the owner where the job stands without a phone call, and gives tomorrow's crew a clear list of what's still open.

Tips for a daily report people actually read

• Write it on site, the same day. A report written a week later from memory is worth much less.
• Use names and numbers. Which trade, how many people, how many hours.
• Log anything that costs time or money, even if it seems small. That's where change orders start.
• Attach photos. One photo of the work in place answers most questions before they're asked.

Questions builders and trades ask