Why Effective Record Keeping is Crucial in the Construction Industry

Record keeping is crucial for all businesses, especially construction companies. Contractors and subcontractors in the UK construction industry need to compile and maintain records of every project (both during and after the project has finished) for several reasons.

In this blog, we’ll explain more about what record keeping is (and what it entails), why effective record keeping is so important, and how long you should keep your records. We’ll also share our top tips on improving your record keeping.


What is record keeping?
Record keeping is the practice of keeping records and documents of construction projects to create a contemporaneous history of what happened during the project.

It involves creating, organising, and storing documentation that details activities and tasks undertaken and the cost of materials and services.

Although every construction project is different, you will be typically expected to keep a record of invoices, activities carried out on-site, safety records, site diaries, the cost of equipment and materials, and more.


Why is effective record keeping important?
Despite occasionally being time-consuming and seeming like a tedious task, there are many reasons why record keeping is so important and why you need to keep records of every construction project.

Here are some reasons why record keeping is important:

Track progress: Creating a contemporaneous history of the project like this helps create a paper trail and allows you to track the progress and calculate the next steps.
Manage resources: Not only does record keeping allow you to track project progress, but it also gives a clear overview of your resources and ensures better management of time, money and people. It can also be useful for future construction audits as you can determine the scope and cost of projects.
Remain compliant: Depending on the project, you might need to keep records as part of your legal or contractual obligations.
Mitigate risks: Frequent missing or inconsistent records result in avoidable risks and missed hazards. However, effective record keeping helps you mitigate risks and understand what happened, when it happened, and who and what was involved.
Helps with dispute resolution: Another reason why record keeping is so important is because it provides crucial information should a dispute arise. Having records can safeguard you against false claims, liquidation damages, or claims you’ve violated the UK construction industry’s guidelines.

As you can see, the benefits of effective record keeping vastly outweigh the time-consuming and tedious nature of the task, not only for your project but also for your business and the success of your company in the future.


What types of records should you be keeping?
We briefly mentioned some of the records you should be keeping, but by no means was that an extensive list.

Whether it’s emails, letters, memos, drawings, or any other kind of record format, here’s a list of what documents you must retain for every construction project:

The construction contract
Any key correspondence (such as the materials used or specifications)
Minutes from meetings
Survey, inspection and testing documentation
Cost reports
Material delivery and use
Insurance certificates and policy documents
All finalised drawings, plans and specifications
Invoices and/or timesheets
All building contracts, planning and practical completion sign-off documents.

The above list contains the bare minimum records you need to keep. Specific projects may require you to maintain and keep other records and documents (some of which may even be discussed in your contract).


How long do you need to keep records?
The next challenge to navigate is the length of time you need to keep the records. Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer to this; the amount of time you keep the records can depend on contractual requirements and legislation.

For example, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) require UK construction companies to retain certain records for six years after the completion of a project.

The Building Regulations 2010 require UK construction companies to retain records for 10 years after the completion of a project.

While the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires UK construction companies to retain certain health and safety records for three years after the completion of a project.



5 tips on how to improve your record keeping
Now you understand why record keeping is important and how long you need to retain documents, we’ve compiled some top tips to help you improve your record keeping.


Tip 1: Store records safely
Storing your records safely is essential, especially considering how many years you need to store them. That’s why you need reliable technological storage methods, such as cloud software, where you can store, share and find relevant information at any given time.


Tip 2: Keep it factual and accurate
If you want to improve your record keeping, you must ensure that everything you record is done factually and accurately. If a dispute were to arise, having accurate and factual records will make you more credible and help you succeed in a claim.

For example, one way to keep things more precise is to opt for timestamps on digital photos rather than verbally providing an estimated time of an event – this factual approach has much more credibility.


Tip 3: Establish good communication
Communicating your records and documents to clients/employers is just as important as keeping records in the first place. Effective communication of records helps prevent conflict. If all parties understand what is expected of them (i.e., what records they need to keep and when they need to communicate them), then disputes can be avoided.

We recommend you always share records in real-time and ask the recipients to confirm that they received them and are satisfied with the records.


Tip 4: Create a structure
Within your record keeping system, it’s a good idea to create a structure that allows for ease of searchability.

Disputes can arise at any time, and they can move quickly, so you need to be safe in the knowledge that you can pull up any specific project’s records within minutes. This might mean ensuring all your records are correctly labelled and tagged and keeping records in different project folders.


Tip 5: Keep clear and concise records
Your records must be clear and concise. This might mean removing all industry jargon in site diaries so there is no room for misinterpretation or ambiguity. It might also mean you ensure you not only log delays of materials but also the reason why they were delayed.

Despite technology being usually very reliable, there are instances where it fails us all, so we recommend keeping clear and concise digital and non-digital records. For example, photographs taken on a smartphone have a timestamp and GPS meta tag; however, if this information is no longer available, you might want to document the time and location manually.


Streamline your record keeping processes
Are you looking for more tips on how to improve your record keeping? Or perhaps you want support implementing effective record keeping strategies? We can help.

At Nexus Consult, we have extensive experience assisting contractors and subcontractors in streamlining their record keeping processes, enhancing their documentation systems and ensuring they remain compliant.

Contact our team of experts now to discover more record keeping improvement tips or to see how partnering with us can help you effortlessly streamline your record keeping process.