A one-page job charter for a trade contractor: what we sold, to whom, by when
The estimator remembers why the price excludes a difficult access area. The foreman receives a start date and a set of drawings, but none of that explanation. The first request from the general contractor therefore looks like ordinary work to the crew.
Give the foreman and office a one-page job charter before mobilization: what your company sold, the boundaries of that scope, the planned hours and dates, the working contacts, billing responsibilities and the main risks. Use it as a readable handover summary linked to the actual subcontract and estimate. It should help people recognize a question early, not replace the documents that define the agreement.
Translate the sale into a useful crew briefing
- Describe the included work plainly. Identify the areas, systems and phases your company priced. Add the main exclusions and interfaces, using the agreed subcontract as the reference rather than the estimator’s memory.
- Show the working allowance. State the agreed subcontract price in the controlled office copy, with planned crew hours and production assumptions for the foreman. Keep confidential price or margin details in the company’s commercial copy when they are not needed for the field briefing.
- List the dates that affect mobilization. Include the intended start, access sequence, sample or approval needs and key handover dates. Mark an unconfirmed general-contractor forecast as such so the foreman does not present it as a commitment.
- Name the contacts and decision limits. Show who directs the work, who receives technical questions and who can approve commercial changes for your company. Explain where the foreman sends a request outside the sold scope.
- Connect field records with billing. State who collects tickets, quantities or other required support and who prepares the application. Link the actual billing requirements so a one-page summary does not omit a condition.
- Brief the three main risks. Pick the specific assumptions most likely to disturb this job, such as shared access, incomplete substrate or work ahead by another trade. Give each a check or escalation action rather than a generic warning.
Action list
What the foreman should leave knowing
- The included areas and main boundaries.
- The hours and production assumptions to watch.
- The opening sequence and unresolved dates.
- Who receives technical and commercial questions.
- Which field records the office needs.
Check your understanding
The price changes after the charter was issued, but the field sequence stays the same. Does the charter need attention?
