PROJECT DIARY

The Project Diary is a summation of all of the daily activities on a project. This diary
should be written so that it will represent the status of the project each calendar day to
anyone reviewing it in future years.
The Project Diary should consist of a Project Diary summary sheet (Form CU-D),
followed by all of the original Inspector’s Daily Reports. The Project Diary sheets should be
bound between two Project Diary cover sheets to an approximate thickness of 1-1/2 inches.
It is not necessary to bind Project Diaries by month. These cover sheets are preprinted with
the required project and book information on the outside front cover, significant dates, and
Resident Engineer review on the inside front cover, and instructions for the diary preparation
on the inside back cover.
An entry should be made for each day, beginning with the date work began and
carried to the date the project is completed and accepted for maintenance. This entry should
also be made on the Project Diary summary sheet (Form CU-D). This form can also be used
for periods of project inactivity or No Work entries. The date of the Preconstruction
Conference, utilities beginning work, or any other such date deemed important by the
Resident Engineer should be included in the first diary and can also be recorded on the
Project Diary summary sheet (Form CU-D) where appropriate.
It is the Lead Project Inspector’s responsibility to ensure that all pertinent
information is included from the Inspector's Daily Reports to become part of the
Project Diary. The Lead Project Inspector should review all Inspector's Daily Reports to
ascertain their legibility, accuracy, completeness, etc., as part of the daily review process.
These reports should be written with ink or lead pencil hard enough to prevent smearing, yet
dark enough to be legible without reading difficulty. Clarification or expanded comments
may be added to the daily report if needed but should be dated and initialed by the
individual making clarification.
Most days will require more than one Inspector’s Daily Report for the various
operations, such as grading, pipe, bridge, seeding, etc. The Project Diary summary sheet
(Form CU-D) should be completed by the Lead Project Inspector to list these reports under
Contractor/Subcontractor and Description of Operation. This should give the Resident
and others reviewing the diaries a quick overview of the Contractor/Subcontractor’s
operations on the project that day.
The Lead Project Inspector should compile the Project Diary summary sheet and the
Inspector’s Daily Reports and submit them to the Project Engineer daily. The Project
Engineer should review the Project Inspector’s summary and the daily reports and provide
details of significant occurrences, such as details of operations, significant conversations,
field meetings, Contractor requests and Engineer directives. The Project Diary summary
sheet (Form CU-D) contains specific information regarding delays to the Contractor and
work in dispute.
Information required for the Project Dairy Summary Sheet (Form CU-D) includes the
following items, referenced by number on the example form:

1. Contract Number: The contract number assigned to the project for construction
purposes.
2. Day and Date: The day of the week and calendar date should be shown in this space.
Holidays should also be identified as part of this line.
3. Weather: This should be a descriptive term that best describes the weather condition for
the project that day, such as rain, thunder storm, cloudy, clear, etc. The effects of the
weather, if inclement, on each operation should be shown on the individual Inspector’s
Daily Report.
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 Example:
If showers occurred only on a particular portion of the project and did not interrupt all
operations, this should be noted on the Inspector’s Daily Report.

4. Temp: The high and low temperature covering the 24-hour period for that day. This
information may be taken from a local weather channel, local paper, or field
measurement.
5. Contractor/Subcontractor and Description of Operation: These sections are
provided to identify the Contractor(s) and types of construction activity occurring on the
project that day. This section is not intended to be used to rewrite the Inspector’s Daily
Reports, but to list or summarize the daily reports. The Contractor/Subcontractor(s) on
the project should be listed with the construction activity.
6. Delays to Contractor’s Operations: This item should be checked Yes or No for each
day. If there are delays, a follow-up explanation is needed on the following line, such as
heavy rains, too wet, no stakes, etc.
Note any conditions tending to delay the work and the termination or correction of
these conditions. Also note any unforeseen difficulties encountered on the project, such
as utilities not relocated or not shown on plans, right-of-way difficulties, insufficient or
erroneous stakeout, insufficient personnel or equipment, interference by another
Contractor or Subcontractor, incorrect or insufficient supply of materials, etc. This is
very critical information.
Delays to the Contractor’s operations that are caused by the Department should also
be documented to provide an accurate and factual record of the delay. Department
personnel often hesitate to document their errors or Department-caused delays in the
diary because they feel this is a reflection upon them or it is helping the Contractor. It is
the Department’s responsibility to document all facts so that the Contractor is properly
compensated by additional compensation or additional contract time for all that he is due
under the terms of the contract. It is also imperative that documentation be placed in the
Project Diary as to the time and date that the delay to the Contractor's operations was
resolved or removed and the Contractor was no longer prevented from performing the
subject operation. Even though the Contractor may choose not to commence this
operation immediately after removal of the encumbrance, the time and date that the
conflict was cleared to the point that he could resume operations must be documented in
the diary.
7. Was Any Work Performed Today In Dispute? This entry should be checked either
Yes or No for each day. If there is disputed work being performed, a follow-up
explanation is required on the next line. Disputed work would be any work that has the
potential for a claim. This explanation should identify the work and nature or basis of the
dispute, such as pipe installation - deeper than bid, fine grading - wasting surplus
shoulder material, etc.
8. Compiled and Signed Daily by the Lead Project Inspector: The Lead Project
Inspector should review all sections of the Project Diary for completeness and accuracy.
He should sign the form in this space to signify its acceptability as the Project Diary for
that day. This review should be made daily and submitted to the Resident Engineer’s
office within two days.
9. Reviewed By: The Project Engineer should review all sections of the Project Diary
summary sheet and Inspector’s Daily Reports for completeness and accuracy. He should
initial the form in this section to signify its acceptability as the Project Diary for this day.
This review should be made weekly.

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10. Project Inspector’s Comments: This section allows the Lead Project Inspector to
provide comments or further explanation of today’s activities such as delay to the
contractor’s operation or work performed in dispute. This section can also be used as the
master diary summarizing what operations were performed.
11. Project Engineer’s Comments: This section allows the Project Engineer to provide
comments regarding the project such as the following:
 General comments upon status and condition of work
 Instructions given or received
 Contact with property owners
 Coordination of stakeout or inspection performed
 Detailed explanation of any delays or conflicts to the Contractor’s operations
 Any coordination performed as to sampling or testing
 Contact with utilities or city representatives
 Any decisions rendered
 Requests by the Contractor

The preceding information is intended to be used as a guide in preparing the Project

Diary. This is considered to be the minimum amount of project information needed and is
not intended to limit other project data that the Resident Engineer feels pertinent. The
Resident Engineer and/or Project Engineer may also include a daily report if this method
would provide a better tool for documenting daily administration activities.
In summary, the Project Diary is one of the most critical and important project
documents. It is the Resident Engineer’s responsibility to ensure that all pertinent data is
placed in the Project Diary. Any comments the Resident Engineer feels would clarify the
status of the project to someone using the diary at a later date should be made. All entries
that would aid a person checking the final estimate or reviewing a Contractor's request for
additional compensation or time extension should be indexed in the front of the Project
Diary.
The General Statutes provide that project diaries are not public records until after the
final estimate is paid. Accordingly, the general public and Contractor should not be allowed
access to the Project Diary, the Engineer’s Weekly Report or the Inspector’s Daily Reports.
An exception to this is when there are claims or legal actions not between the Department
and the Contractor. See Public Information in the Records and Reports section of the
Construction Manuel.
The foregoing is a general concept of what the Project Diary is and what needs to be
placed in it. The Resident Engineer should use his judgment based upon his individual
circumstances as to how he can best provide a factual record of the project in the Project
Diary.

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 Example
Project Diary

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