A paper presented to a TUNS/Revay seminar in 1990.
It has been modified only to suit a web presentation format.

Published here September, 2001.
Introduction | Claim Avoidance | Claim Identification | Sources of Dispute
Claim Notification | Reserving Rights | Record Keeping | Typical Set of Records
Focus on the Last Two Groups | Managing the Records | Useful Tips

A Typical Set of Records

A good set of records that might be kept on a fair sized construction project could well include the following files. Note that these files are assembled into blocks of like subject matter. This approach greatly facilitates ease of filing and subsequent recall. This list may seem like a lot of files and records, but most of them are kept by the well-organized contractor anyway.

  1. Original Contract Tender Documents
  2. Issued for Construction set, and all subsequent revisions
  3. Instructions to contractor
  4. Contemplated Change Notices issued by the owner, Change Estimates, and Change Orders received
  5. Sub-contractor quotes, contracts, purchase orders and correspondence
  6. Shop drawings, originals, all revisions and re-submissions
  7. Shop drawing transmittals, and transmittals log
  8. Daily time records
  9. Daily equipment use
  10. Daily production logs, e.g. concrete pours etc.
  11. Material Delivery and Use Records, including expediting
  12. Accounting records: pay-roll, accounts payable and receivable, etc.
  13. Progress Payment Billings under the contract
  14. Daily Force Account Records, pricing and billings
  15. Contract Milestone Schedule or Master Schedule
  16. Short Term Schedules and up-dates
  17. Task schedules and analyses
  18. Original tender estimate
  19. Construction control budget
  20. Actual Cost Reports, weekly or monthly, including Exception Reports.
  21. Forecast-to-Complete Estimate up-dates
  22. Productivity Reports/Analyses
  23. Inter-office correspondence, including memos and faxes (all filed by topic).
  24. Contract correspondence
  25. Minutes of Contractual Meetings
  26. Minutes of Site Coordination Meetings
  27. Requests for information
  28. Notice of claims for delays and/or extra cost by contractor
  29. Government Inspection Reports
  30. Consultant Inspection Reports
  31. Accident Reports
  32. Daily diary or journal entries
  33. Notes of telephone conversations
  34. Progress Reports, weekly, monthly or quarterly
  35. Progress photographs
  36. Any other reports, such as special consultant reports
  37. A Filing Record of all the Record Files that are being maintained
Record Keeping  Record Keeping
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