Keep your construction log digitally – every site day documented as evidence

Foremen and site managers write the daily report right on site in the app: weather, crew, work performed, obstructions and photos. Jobilino suggests personnel, equipment and material from your own time tracking, scheduling and warehouse withdrawals. Closing the day freezes the report as a PDF – with version history, verification code and plausibility check.

  • Daily report on site in the app instead of from memory in the evening
  • Closing the day archives the PDF – every correction stays visible as its own version
  • Obstruction notice under VOB/B § 6 straight from the daily report
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A construction log is the continuous, day-by-day documentation of what happens on a site: who worked, what was built, what the weather was like, which equipment and materials were used and what disrupted the schedule. It is the single most important piece of evidence in claims, extensions of time and defect disputes. Jobilino keeps the construction log where it is created – on site, in the app, connected to time tracking, dispatch planning and the warehouse.

Why the construction log usually fails when it matters

Almost every construction company keeps a log – on paper, in Word or in an Excel template. The problem only shows two years later, when the client disputes an obstruction and the record fails to convince at exactly that moment.

  • The report is written on Friday from memory – and reads in court as a reconstruction, not as documentation
  • A Word or Excel file can be changed at any time without anyone seeing that it was changed
  • Obstructions end up as a side note in the remarks instead of as a formal notice on the client’s desk
  • The hours in the report do not match the hours in time tracking – and nobody notices in time
  • Paper sheets sit in the site container, in a van, or cannot be found at all when they are needed
  • Rain days and stoppages are not recorded at all – and the gap in the log later looks like negligence

The solution: a construction log built from your own site data

Jobilino assembles the daily report from what the company records anyway – and the close-out turns it into a document whose changes remain fully traceable.

The construction log in Jobilino is a collection of daily site reports – one per site and calendar day. It is recorded on site in the employee app or at the desk: weather with temperature and precipitation, start and end of work, the crew deployed, the work performed and everything that disrupted the schedule. Entries are structured into ten fixed kinds – from material and equipment through daywork and inspections to obstructions, interruptions, defects and special incidents.

Jobilino takes on most of the legwork: crew from time tracking on the construction site and from dispatch planning, equipment from trips and shifts, material from that day’s warehouse withdrawals – all as suggestions the site manager reviews and adopts. The report always remains their statement: the system suggests, it never asserts.

Before the close, a plausibility check compares the report against that day’s operational data and flags discrepancies – people who clocked in but are missing from the report, diverging hours, or material withdrawals nobody entered. Closing the day then freezes the report as an archived PDF. If it is corrected later, a new version is created with a mandatory reason; the previous one is kept and the new document itself states which version it replaces. That traceability is exactly what separates a digital construction log from a file on a server.

Where the VOB/B is agreed in your construction contract, a documented obstruction becomes a formal notice under § 6 para. 1 VOB/B in one click – consecutively numbered, referring to the daily report as evidence, with text frozen at the moment of issue. Sending it and proving receipt remain with you. You hand out the month as a PDF or Excel file, and an individual day optionally through a time-limited link the client confirms by name. All data is stored GDPR-compliant on servers in the EU, and the construction log is part of the same platform as time tracking, scheduling and inventory – one login, one project master, no second piece of software.

What a digital construction log delivers

Timeliness instead of reconstruction

The report is written on the construction day, on site. Timeliness is the criterion the evidential weight of a construction log hangs on – a report written three weeks later is treated by the other side as a reconstruction.

Changes stay visible

A closed report cannot be overwritten. Corrections create a new PDF version with a mandatory reason – the previous version remains readable.

Claims are not lost

An obstruction in the daily report becomes a formal notice immediately. Issuing it without delay secures your extension of time and damages – failing to do so forfeits both.

Less effort than paper

Personnel, equipment and material arrive as suggestions from time tracking, scheduling and the warehouse. The site manager reviews and adds instead of starting from scratch every day.

Contradictions surface at once

The plausibility check compares report and time tracking before the day is closed – not when an expert witness finally lays both side by side.

Evidence years later

Daily reports, photos and archived PDFs are never deleted automatically. They remain available after the defects liability period expires – which is exactly when they are needed.

How the construction log works with Jobilino

  1. Switch the log on per site

    One switch in the project settings activates the construction log for that site. Three separate permissions control who may keep it, view it and reopen closed reports.

  2. Record the day on site

    The foreman opens the app, picks the site and enters weather, working hours, crew, work performed and photos – adopting suggestions from time tracking, scheduling and the warehouse in one click.

  3. Check and close the day

    The plausibility check reports discrepancies against operational data. Closing the day makes the report immutable and archives it as a PDF with a version number.

  4. Countersign and secure claims

    Site management countersigns the report. Documented obstructions become a numbered obstruction notice under VOB/B § 6 as a document in its own right.

  5. Hand out the month

    Export the period as PDF or Excel – only closed days are exported. Individual reports are shared with the client through a time-limited link.

Construction log features at a glance

One report per site and day

Every daily report belongs to exactly one project and one calendar day. Duplicate reports for the same day and reports dated in the future are ruled out.

Ten fixed entry kinds

Work performed, material, equipment and machinery, daywork, inspections and acceptances, obstructions, interruptions, defects, instructions and special incidents.

Weather and working hours

Weather condition, min/max temperature, precipitation note plus start and end of work – the entries that matter in a claim for an extension of time.

Own crew and outside firms

Your own employees by name with hours, subcontractors as a gang with company name, trade and headcount – cleanly separated instead of lumped into one row.

Suggestions from live operations

Crew from time tracking and dispatch planning, equipment from trips and shifts, material from that day’s warehouse withdrawals – adopted group by group.

Photos of progress

Images belong to the day and travel into the archived PDF. Photos taken in the app are marked as camera captures.

Plausibility check

Compares the report against time tracking, scheduling and the warehouse: missing or additional people, diverging hours, clock-ins outside the stated working window, unrecorded material withdrawals and equipment.

Close-out with PDF archive

The close archives the PDF with a version number. Every later download returns exactly that file – two printouts of the same version are guaranteed identical.

Reopening with a reason

Corrections are possible but never invisible: reopening requires a reason, is logged, and the next close produces a new version.

Countersigning by site management

The closed report is countersigned internally as a second pair of eyes – with name and timestamp on the document.

Obstruction notice under VOB/B § 6

An obstruction or interruption entry becomes a numbered letter with cause, effect and a reference to the daily report. The text is frozen at issue.

Document non-working days

Weather stoppages or site closures are recorded as such. A documented rain day is an argument – a gap in the log is not.

Automatic evening draft

In the evening Jobilino prepares a draft from recorded data for every site with activity – visibly marked as unreviewed and never closed automatically.

Reminder for missing days

If work was done but no report was closed, Jobilino notifies those responsible – in the system and as a push, once per day and site.

Monthly export as PDF and Excel

The period as a coherent construction log. Only closed reports are exported – a reliable month-end check.

Client link with acknowledgement

A time-limited link the client opens without signing in and confirms by name. A new link invalidates the old one immediately.

Verification code and document hash

Every closed report carries a verification code and its SHA-256 hash. Recipients check without signing in whether their copy matches the original – and whether a newer version exists.

Three separate permissions

Keeping, viewing and reopening are granted individually. The foreman writes, commercial management reads along, and only a few may change a closed report.

Two things that separate a site diary from a file

Closing the day turns a report into a document – and most of the entries come from data your business already records.

How closing a day works: version 1 is archived as a PDF and becomes immutable. After a reopening with a stated reason, version 2 is created and refers to version 1, which stays readable. Each version carries a verification code and a SHA-256 hash.

Correcting is allowed, correcting invisibly is not

Closing the day archives the report as a PDF and makes it immutable. A later correction requires a stated reason and creates a new version that names the one it replaces – the old version stays readable. Every version carries a verification code and its SHA-256 hash, so a recipient can check without signing in whether their copy matches the original.

Overview of the entries in a daily site report and where they come from: personnel, plant and materials are proposed from time tracking, planning and the warehouse; weather, work carried out, obstructions and photos are entered by the site manager.

The report largely builds itself

Personnel comes from time tracking, plant from trips and shifts, materials from that day's warehouse withdrawals – each as a proposal the site manager reviews. Weather, work carried out, obstructions and photos are entered by them. The system proposes; it never asserts. The report stays their statement.

The construction log in context

The construction log does not stand alone – it reads the data your site produces anyway, and writes back into none of those systems.

Time tracking

Clocked hours and crew size are adopted as a personnel suggestion and checked against the report at close. Time tracking remains authoritative for payroll and invoicing.

Scheduling and dispatch

The planned crew and the assigned vehicles are available as suggestions – even before anyone has clocked in.

Warehouse

Material withdrawals for this site are suggested with quantity and unit. If a withdrawal is missing from the report, the plausibility check points it out.

Mileage tracker and fleet

Vehicles and machines that were on site that day can be adopted as equipment entries.

Employee app

Pick the site, record the day, take photos, close the day – right where the work happens. Corrections to closed reports are deliberately reserved for the web interface.

Notifications

Prepared draft, missing daily report: Jobilino gets in touch in the system and by push – with those responsible, not with everyone.

Construction log by industry

A digital construction log has the biggest effect where several sites run in parallel and claims, obstructions and construction periods have to be proven regularly.

Frequently asked questions about the construction log

What is a construction log?
A construction log is the continuous, day-by-day documentation of what happens on a construction site. It records the crew deployed, the work performed, weather and temperature, equipment and material, and everything that disrupted the schedule – obstructions, interruptions, defects, instructions and special incidents. It serves as evidence in claims, extensions of time and disputes about work performed.

Is a construction log mandatory?
No law in Germany or Austria imposes a general obligation on the contractor to keep a construction log. It becomes binding in three ways. First contractually: the construction contract requires it explicitly – the most common case. Second through the scope of services for site supervision: in Germany, documenting the construction sequence is part of site supervision under HOAI service phase 8. Third, in practice, through the burden of proof: anyone asserting an obstruction, an extension of time, daywork or a variation must set it out and prove it – which rarely succeeds without day-by-day records. The VOB/B itself does not prescribe a construction log, but § 6 para. 1 requires an obstruction to be notified without delay, which is hard to substantiate without ongoing documentation. Your specific construction contract always governs. This text is general information and does not replace legal advice.

What belongs in a construction log?
A complete daily site report contains: date and site, start and end of work, weather with temperature and precipitation, the crew deployed – separated into your own employees and subcontractors –, the work performed, equipment and machinery used, material consumed, daywork, inspections and acceptances, plus obstructions, interruptions, defects, instructions given and special incidents. Photos of the construction progress increase the evidential weight considerably.

Who keeps the construction log?
Usually the foreman or the site manager of the contractor – the person who actually experienced the day on site. In Jobilino, three separate permissions control who may keep the log, who may only view it and who may reopen a report that has already been closed. What works in practice: the foreman writes, site management countersigns, and only a few people may change a closed report.

What is the difference between a construction log and a daily site report?
The daily site report documents a single day. The construction log is the gapless collection of all daily reports for a site across the entire construction period. In Jobilino you record exactly one daily report per site and calendar day; the monthly and period exports turn those into the construction log itself.

Is a digital construction log suitable as evidence?
What matters is timeliness, completeness, identifiable authorship and traceability of changes. That is exactly what the construction log in Jobilino is built for: closing the day freezes the report as an archived PDF with a version number, every correction requires a reason and creates a new version while the previous one is kept. Every closed document also carries a verification code and its SHA-256 hash, with which a recipient can check without signing in whether their copy matches the original. A file on a server that can be changed without a trace does not achieve that.

Can I create an obstruction notice under VOB/B from the construction log?
Yes – with one important qualification: the VOB/B is not a statute but a set of standard contract terms. It applies only where the parties have agreed to it in the construction contract; with public clients that is the norm, with private clients not necessarily. Where it is agreed, the contractor must notify the client of an obstruction without delay and in writing under § 6 para. 1 VOB/B. If notification is omitted, the rights under § 6 survive only insofar as the obstructing circumstances were obviously known to the client (§ 6 para. 1 sentence 2 VOB/B). The extension of time (§ 6 para. 2) and any claim for damages (§ 6 para. 6) build on that notice. Where the VOB/B does not apply, German statutory construction contract law governs – for example § 642 BGB where the client fails to cooperate – and in Austria the ABGB plus, where agreed, ÖNORM B 2110; there, too, notifying the disruption without delay is the decisive practical step. Jobilino produces a consecutively numbered letter from the report entry, stating cause, effect and a reference to the daily report; the text is frozen at issue. Sending it and proving receipt are up to you – whether an email satisfies a contractual written-form requirement depends on the contract; when in doubt, send provable hard copy as well. This text is general information and does not replace legal advice.

Does the construction log work on sites without reception?
The daily report is saved online – unlike time tracking, which accepts clock-ins without a connection and submits them later. In practice this rarely matters: a report can be kept open as a draft for as long as you like and added to, and the close normally happens at the end of the working day. You take photos on site regardless and attach them as soon as there is a connection again.

Can the client view and confirm the daily site report?
Yes. You can release an individual daily report through a time-limited link: the client opens it without signing in, reads the report, downloads the PDF and confirms receipt with their name – the note appears on the document. A new link invalidates the old one immediately. The acknowledgement is clean proof of receipt, but it is not a qualified electronic signature and does not replace formal acceptance; for that, the PDF contains signature blocks for site management and the client.

How long does a construction log have to be kept?
There is no dedicated statutory retention period for construction logs. Two other periods govern. First, liability for defects: in Germany, claims for defects in structures become time-barred after five years from acceptance under § 634a para. 1 no. 2 BGB; where the VOB/B is agreed, the period is four years under § 13 para. 4 no. 1 VOB/B. In Austria, the three-year warranty period under § 933 ABGB applies to immovable property, and ÖNORM B 2110 likewise provides for three years. Second, commercial and tax retention: six and ten years respectively in Germany (§ 257 HGB, § 147 AO), seven years in Austria (§ 212 UGB, § 132 BAO); ongoing proceedings extend this accordingly. In practice: at least until liability for defects expires, sensibly with a margin. That is why Jobilino never deletes daily reports, photos or archived PDFs automatically. This text is general information and does not replace legal advice.

Do we need separate software for the construction log?
No. The construction log is an optional module within Jobilino and uses the same projects, employees and equipment as time tracking, scheduling and the warehouse – one login, one master data set, no interfaces to maintain. It is activated per site with a switch in the project settings; no implementation project is required.

Start keeping your construction log digitally tomorrow

Pick a site, set the switch, record the first day – without an implementation project and without a second piece of software. Try it free and close your first daily report today.

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