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The Building Blocks of a
Professional Field Report
Field reports
 also called site reports, observation reports, progress reports, or construction activity
reports — are used for documenting observations during regular site visits.

 Comprehensive field reports that give all parties involved a clear overview of
the project status, planning, agreements made, and actions required, are
crucial to the smooth running of any construction project:
1. They help you spot irregularities early on in the process before
they escalate to something that gets hard to reverse.

2. They reduce the risk for misunderstandings, costly mistakes, and

frustrating delays, especially when many different people and
companies are involved.

3. They will help you avoid costly, time-consuming, and energy-

draining discussions and legal procedures. Especially when the
reports are well documented, and include clear photos.
Bottomline:In the end, effective communication through
precise field reports decreases misunderstandings and
errors, enhancing the profitability of the project. When we
were developing the original edition of ArchiSnapper, we
spoke with dozens of architects about the format,
organization, and content of their field reports. The same
components appeared frequently, as well. The main
components that make a field report thorough and accurate,
improve planning and communication, boost your
professional image, and shield you against claims are what
we want to discuss in this post.
Here is an overview of the building blocks of a
professional field report:
1. Report number
A distinct number is necessary in order to identify a report (both now and in the future). Usually,
the project number and the report sequence number are combined to create the report number.
Consider "Project XYZ-5."
And This denotes the fifth field report for project XYZ.
A handy point of reference for future communications is the distinct report number. It was decided
that..., as stated in report XYZ-5.

2. Report heading
The title is succinct and direct. With a title like "Field report 5 for project XYZ," it should be
immediately evident what the report is about.

3. Project details
Project specifics Name and address of the client, a succinct project summary, and the project
number If someone gets your report, they'll want to know which project it pertains to right away.

Often the report will also be sent to the customer, and it shows courtesy and respect by putting their
name and project description clearly at the beginning of the report.
4.Date and time
Clearly record the date and time of the site visit. This adds a date stamp to the content of
the report, and could be useful later for later discussions.

5. Project status
A high-level description of the status of the project, and other general impressions.
Many architects add a picture to the status to give the reader a global view of what the job
site looks like at this stage of the project.
North American architects, engineers, and contractors typically add weather conditions to
the project status.
Below is an illustration of how the 5 elements mentioned here above – report title and
number, project details, date and time of site visit, and project status – are displayed in a
report generated with ArchiSnapper:

6. Approval of the previous report

The site meeting is often started by asking if there are any comments on the previous site
report. Include this in your field report, for example: “There are no comments on the
previous field report dated 09/30/2020.”
7. Planning
A construction project is a process in which different stakeholders get involved in a specific
order (for example structural work, plumbing, electricity, flooring, paintwork, …).
To avoid delays, it is important that the different stakeholders have a view on when they are
expected to start their activities.
Therefore, the field report often includes information about the planning of the works. Which
activities have already been completed and which are in progress? What are the next phases,
and when will they start?
This allows each stakeholder to get an idea of when they need to start and to adjust their
planning accordingly.
Tip: With ArchiSnapper you can make a project planning in the form of a GANTT chart and add it
to the report. Check here for more info.

8. Practical information
Often the location, date and time, and people invited to the next meeting, or any other practical
information, are mentioned in the field report.
9. People present
Each field report will also typically include a contact table with the details of the parties
involved, like their names, roles, and contact information.
This way, everyone can see the complete list of parties involved.
Typically, this table also indicates the persons that are present on-site at the time of the visit,
and also which parties received the report, the distribution list.

Tip: The list of contacts with contact details, the people who were present on-site, and the
distribution list can easily be combined into one table.
Below is an illustration of how the elements mentioned above
can be displayed in a field report:
10. Observations on the status, progress, and deficiencies of the work
This is the core of the report. These items represent the status of the project as a whole and of the
various ongoing tasks.
Observations should also include deficiencies or non-conforming work: write a very clear description of
what is wrong, why it is wrong, and what should be the next steps to solve it.
Also, assign items to the parties involved. If no one is assigned, deficiencies often don’t get solved.
Observations in a field report are often classified into different categories (the different trades).
For example:
•Foundations
• observation 1
• observation 2
•Roof
• observation 1
• observation 2
• observation 3
…
Each of these items is then further detailed with elements like a number, status, date, description,
photos, assignee, location on a floor plan, and more.
Here are some best practices on accurately documenting
observations in a field report.
Add Structure
If a report follows a clear and known structure, it is easier for the brain to process
it. We know where to look for information, and act upon it.
Try to use the same headers and subheaders, the same formatting each time to
structure your reports, and make it easy for the parties involved to scan through
it and take out the information that is important to them.

Add photos
Take pictures to illustrate or clarify your observations. Pictures say more than
1000 words. Pictures also increase the readability of your report.
No one reads a report consisting of plain text, but you can be sure that people who
receive your report and scan it quickly will take a look at the pictures and
drawings in your report.
That’s because pictures are so easy to “read”. Avoid writing pages of text. Instead
use pictures and sketches to convey the message to your readers.
Optionally, you can also add captions, date stamps, and geo-locations to the
images.
Use clear and easy to understand language
Field reports are important information, but they are no juridical documents either. Try to
write out clear and complete sentences that everyone can understand. Formulate it as you
would explain it to someone who knows nothing about a project, like a friend.

Number your observations

Don’t forget to number the items in your field report. This makes it easy to refer to later on
and to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. We have seen that many architects use the
“report number” followed by the “observation number”. For example, item 3.7 means item
seven of the third report.

Show the item locations on a floor plan

Show involved parties exactly where a problem is located by placing numbered pointers on
the floor plan. Or sketch on the floor plan for extra clarification.

Status, date, tags, and more

Many architects also add other details to make items even more unambiguous and accurate,
such as the status of the observation (OK or NOK), the date by which it should be resolved, or
an additional tag, for example, “Urgent.”
Here is an illustration of how observations are displayed in a field report created with ArchiSnapper. We
see an item, Baseboards, with a status (NOT OK), a number (1.1), an assignee (Steve Wood), pictures
showing what exactly the problem is, an indication on the floor plan where the problem is located, a label
(action required), and a date:
11. Documents
During a construction project, lots of documents are requested from the various stakeholders. If you need to
receive documents from other parties, you could also list them in the site report.
Mention the assignee and a deadline, so everyone knows which documents they need to supply and by when.
12. Disclaimer
This is important. Protect yourself from possible claims and lawsuits. Including a standard disclaimer in each
report might save you lots of trouble, time, and money sooner or later.

If you don’t know where to start, here is a standard text that you could use:

Disclaimer: Inspections performed by the Architect/CM under this

contract have been conducted under the limited conditions as described
by site observations in the AIA Documents A201, General Conditions of
the Contract for Construction, as referenced in the Owner-Architect
Agreement.
Information contained in this Field Observation Report by firm name
has been prepared to the best of our knowledge according to observable
conditions at the site. This information will be approved record unless
written notice to the contrary is received within seven (7) calendar days
of the issue date of this document. Written corrections shall be reported
to observer at firm name. Oral rebuttals will not be accepted.
Here is an illustration of how the above elements – documents to receive disclaimer, and also
a signature – are represented in a field report created with ArchiSnapper.
13. Corporate Branding
Finally, let’s not forget to add some corporate branding such as your company name, logo,
address, and your contact information. This contributes to a professional image.
However, don’t overdo your branding.
Remember, the main goal is a simple, clean, and structured field report. Adding too many
special effects and gimmicks will only make your field report less easy to understand and draw
attention away from the core message.

Tip: Add your written signature at the bottom of your site report; it gives your site report a personal
and professional touch.
 How to draft your field reports efficiently? – There’s an app for
that!
That's a lot of information to include in every field report, for
every project, We can hear you saying. There are so many
tables, citations, images, and notes to process. — How on earth
we going to fit this into our schedule?

You're in luck since those days of architects visiting sites with a notebook
and camera in hand, writing everything down in Word once they got back
to the office, transferring their images, and matching the appropriate
observation are long gone. These days, you may aid yourself with this by
using digital tools. We created ArchiSnapper in 2012. a user-friendly but
effective tool made especially for making site reports.

Today, over 10,000 users are saving hours of time while

generating professionals field reports with all the elements we
mentioned here above.
With the formatting options you can create site reports with your
own branding that radiate professionalism.
End…Thank you!!
 GROUP 2
Construction Methods and Project
Management
INSTRUCTOR: Engr. Lyan Ruth Santiago

BALDIVICIO, MARK IVAN F.

CASTILLO, JO LOREN T.
FERRER, JIMBHERT D.
JOSE JENALYN F.
MIRANDA, KARL JOSEPH ALESON B.
PENULLAR, MELCHOR M.
SILVA, MONIQUE A.