August 13, 2013

When discussing the reasons why there is a need to keep meticulous notes on a construction project, it is often said that “Memories may fade, but paper only yellows.” Committing to memory events that occur on a project jobsite that may need to be recalled years later is not a good practice and one that can turn a legitimate request for time and compensation into a denial. Whatever form the information and data is kept – whether in electronic form or in hardcopy – contemporaneous documentation is worth its weight in gold.

The following checklist (while no means all inclusive) encompasses the basic project documentation that should be maintained for a job. The size and type of a project will obviously impact the amount of documentation that should be maintained. Larger projects require greater care in the preparation and maintenance of project documents, while smaller projects cannot economically support such extensive documentation.

a. Project descriptions and requirements;

b. RFPs;

c. Bid documents;

d. Proposal evaluations;

e. As-built drawings;

f. Shop drawings and submittals and logs;

g. Contract drawings;

h. Project specifications;

i. Bulletins and RFI’s;

j. Schedules;

k. Project diaries and construction daily reports

l. Photographs and videos;

m. Materials and soil reports;

n. Contracts (including General and Supplemental Conditions), Purchase

Orders and other agreements;

o. Change orders and change order logs

p. Job cost reports

q. Payment applications

r. Correspondence that documents decisions made in the design and building processes;

s. Meeting minutes;

t. Reports.

u. Punch lists and other close-out documents; and

v. Temporary and/or Final Certificate of Occupancy

Author:
John E. Clark, Esq.
Principal at Clark Guldin, Attorneys at Law

Represents real estate owners, developers, builders and designers throughout all phases of the development and construction process.Advises clients concerning construction of facilities for hospital and health care, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, commercial office, retail, industrial and manufacturing, and residential in both the public and private arenasRepresents clients concerning construction disputes, including construction claims and construction defects, involving mediation, arbitration and litigation. J.D. and B.A. degrees, Phi Beta Kappa, Rutgers University

For more information regarding contruction project documentation visit Lorman at www.lorman.com.  Lorman is a leading provider of continuing education for professionals in the contruction and development industries. Check out our live webinars, live seminars or ondemand courses and products.