Construction

Supervision
TCOM 624
Lecture No. 3
(Soft Skills – Written Communications)

PROF. GENE U. MACABODBOD, DM.

 Written Communication in
Construction
Reasons why communications are written instead of transmitted
orally :
• It is more supportive of mutual understanding than oral
communication;
 Oral communication is subjected to many flaws that can distort or
block the understanding;
• Written word provides an unchanging record of the message;
 Message crafted today and written down will be the same
tomorrow, next week and next year;

• Written message gives an indication of approval;

 If a written message is sent from one party to another and the
receiving party does not respond on the basis that the message is
flawed or incorrect, it is assumed that the receiving party was in
agreement that the message was correct;
 Functions of Job Site Documentation
• Gather data;
 Data on how many hours a craft worker has invested in a specific
activity;
 Data on quantities of a certain type of work that has installed in a
given period of time;
• Transmits information to an entity off the job site or to another entity
on the site;
 Many people want a variety of information about what is happening
on the site (e.g. contractor wants progress reports from
subcontractors, owner wants to know how the project is progressing,
office needs to know about progress on work in relation to
investment on time, money and materials, other people want to know
about safety infractions, incidents, & accidents and etc.);

• Build a chronology of the construction process;

 Includes the job log, updated schedules, record drawings and
minutes from coordination meetings;
 Job Site Documentation
The Job Log:
• Is the primary record of the construction process;
 It documents major events on the site (a major event consumes a
significant amount of time and/or resources);
 It identifies responsibility and establishes accountability for what
happens on the site;

 Will trace the history of events on the job;

 Documents working conditions on the site and any conditions that

will have an effect on the work (e.g. weather, congestion in the area,
abundance and shortage of resources and etc);
 Explains why events occurred (factual information about events,
what , when and why it happened);
 Job Site Documentation
The Job Log:
• Job Log Contents;

 Date ;

 Weather ;

 Job Accidents;

 Safety Issues;

 Number of Workers;

 Major Equipment Used;

 Major Events;

 Visitors to the Job;

 Job Site Documentation
The Job Log:
• Job Log Contents;

 Subcontractor Progress ;

 Non-conforming Work;

 Decisions;

 Narrative of the Daily Activities;

 Verbal Instructions;

 Questions for Office;

 Signature and Date;

Example of a Daily Job Log Form
 Job Site Documentation
Time Cards:
• Are primary record of the investment of field labor;
 It most cases, it is considered as a way to document on how much
time a worker spends working for purposes of salary (or payroll);
 But most importantly, it serves as a cost control system so that
periodic report (generally weekly) for each job can be developed,
documenting how much & where labor was invested in the job for
the given period;

 The cost control system is the fundamental source in telling the

supervisor and the project manager how well the work is going on in
terms of budget and time;
 Also form as the basis for the company to develop a unit cost on
estimating (for future related jobs);
Example of a Weekly Time Sheet
 Job Site Documentation
Record or As-Built Drawings:
• Are primary record of the final product;
 Shows on how the job was built, reflecting the changes done in
response to job site conditions and situations, or changes made by
the owner or the design team ;
 During the service period of the facility, the owner or the manager
will need an accurate record drawing, if they will implement later
changes on the physical plant they owned;

 Contractors will need the record drawings when estimating or

building renovations or revisions to the facility ;
 Starting from the first day, anything that is built differently than
shown on the construction drawing should be noted on the record
set, since it is impossible to develop an accurate set of record
drawings after the work is completed ;
 Job Site Documentation
Field Authorizations:
• Are primary record of contract changes;

 It is a form that is used to document an oral request for change

that is issued in the field (the request requires to be completed right
away for work that is ongoing and that there is not enough time to
go through the formal change order process);
 Form must be simple indicating information such as time, date,
project, and who is requesting the work, which must be approved;

 It is a valuable tool enabling the supervisor to take control of a

situation in which field changes are requested (documents what was
requested, and by whom, that will establish as the basis for future
adjustment of time and cost;
Example of a Field Authorization Form
 Company Office Communication and
Documentation
• Memoranda;
 Is an individual informal written document for distribution within the
company;
• Letters;
 Is an individual, formal written document for distribution outside the
company, which is typically sent to a single person but can be
copied to others;
• Minutes;
 Provides an unchanging record of what occurred in a meeting
(whether it is a brief and informal meeting, a higher level planned
meeting, or a periodic meeting that occurs repetitively at regular
intervals;
 Company Office Communication and
Documentation
• Reports;
 Will summarize the status of the job or some aspect of the job (e.g.
testing reports, progress reports or reports on the current status of
cost and schedule);
• Electronic Mails;
Example of a Memorandum Form
Example of a Business Letter
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes
 Communications and Documentation
Developed Outside the Company
• Design Documents;
 Design drawings, specifications, and modifications & clarifications
that are made to correct, improve and add detail to the model;
• Production Documents;
 Documents (or schedules at a variety of level) that are developed by
the construction team to support the construction process;
• Procurement Documents;
 Starts with approval drawing and submittals provided by material
and equipment suppliers such as purchase orders and requisitions
for the procurement of materials and equipment;
End