Visitors and deliveries in the daily report: who came, what they said, what arrived
The engineer visited, the lintel discussion happened and the steel arrived. The daily report contains three ticks but no times, locations or references. Six weeks later, the office cannot connect the visit with the instruction the crew relied on.
Record a visitor as an event and a delivery as a receipt observation. For the visit, identify the person, organization, purpose, location, timing and relevant discussion. For the delivery, identify the supplier, item, quantity observed, condition and ticket. Link existing attendance and receipt records rather than treating a tick beside a name as the whole story.
Give each event its own line
- Locate the visit. Record when the visitor arrived and left, using the attendance source or labelling times you observed. Identify who accompanied them and which area they reviewed. Keep only the necessary contact details in the appropriate approved register, not scattered through widely shared reports.
- Attribute the discussion. Summarize relevant words, questions and requested actions. Distinguish your account from a formal decision issued by an authorized person. Give the instruction or report reference if available; otherwise name who must confirm the outstanding direction.
- Describe the receipt. Record arrival time, supplier, delivery ticket, item identifiers and what was counted or inspected. State a partial check honestly. 'Six bundles received; contents not yet checked' is different from certifying the full order complete and undamaged.
- Connect the follow-up. Link the visit note, ticket, photographs and applicable receiving record. Name the person dealing with a discrepancy or missing instruction and the next action. A delivery signature's meaning must be checked through the actual receiving process; do not invent it in the daily report.
Review the day's sign-in and delivery entries before you finish the report. Ask about a person who signed in but has no recorded purpose, or a ticket that has not reached the receiving file. Maintain the records through approved access and privacy arrangements. The report should help someone retrieve an event without copying unnecessary personal information.
Common mistakes
- Converting a casual remark into an approved instruction.
- Calling a sealed load complete when only its packaging was counted.
- Leaving the ticket or visitor note on somebody's phone without a project reference.
Checklist
Close today's event lines
- Person or supplier and relevant purpose.
- Times, location and observation source.
- Words, items and checks described accurately.
- Attendance, ticket and photo references linked.
- Pending decision or discrepancy given an owner.
Check your understanding
Does recording that an engineer visited prove the work was accepted?
