A wet week and a late programme
Groundworks are more exposed to weather than any other trade. A wet week on clay turns the site into a swamp. Trenches fill, machines cannot track, and the drainage gang cannot lay. Your gangers make the call to stop, move to other work, or send people home. By the end of the month, you are behind the main contractor's programme, and their site manager asks why.
You know it was the weather. But what you have is memory and a rough idea that it rained a lot.
Why weather records are missing
Decisions about weather are made on site, early in the morning or when the rain starts, by a ganger who is thinking about the gang. Writing down the decision, the rainfall and the ground conditions is nobody's job. The main contractor's own diary may say something different. And whether weather affects your programme is a question of your subcontract, which is why the record matters.
- Stoppages are decided on site and not recorded.
- Time lost in part-days is not recorded at all.
- Rainfall data for the site is not captured.
- The effect on the ground after rain stops is not recorded.
- The main contractor is told verbally, if at all.
What unrecorded weather costs
When the programme slips, the discussion is about memory against memory. The main contractor's diary may show less weather than you remember. Any entitlement you might have under your subcontract depends on records you do not have, and what that entitlement is, is for your commercial team and advisers. And you cannot compare weather across jobs when you price the next winter job.
The weather log we build
- Recorded rainfall and temperatures for the site location are pulled automatically each day from a weather data service.
- The ganger records stoppages on a phone: start and end time, gang affected, reason such as rain, waterlogged ground or frost, and photos.
- Part-day stoppages and gangs moved to other work are recorded as well as full days lost.
- Ground conditions after rain, such as trenches flooded or site not trafficable, are recorded with photos, because the effect lasts longer than the rain.
- The main contractor's site manager is notified the same day with the summary and photos, and the notification is recorded.
- Lost time is totalled per site, per week and per month, with rainfall data alongside.
- Reports per site are produced for programme meetings and discussions with the main contractor.
| Day | Rainfall recorded | Stoppage | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Heavy | Full day lost | Trenches flooded |
| Tuesday | Light | Morning lost, gang moved | Not trafficable until midday |
| Wednesday | None | No stoppage | Pumping out drainage trench |
| Thursday | Moderate | Afternoon lost | Soft ground at haul road |
A record you can put on the table
Every stoppage is recorded on the day, with rainfall data and photos. The main contractor knows at the time, in writing. When the programme is discussed, your record is specific and dated. Part-days and ground effects, which are the hardest to remember, are captured. And across jobs you learn how much weather really costs, which helps when you price winter work.
Gangers are not asked to write essays. A stoppage takes a few taps and a photo, the rainfall fills itself in, and the notification to the main contractor is sent from what they entered. The record exists because it is quicker to make than to explain later why there is none.
Is weather an argument on your jobs?
- Rain stoppages are not recorded.
- Part-days lost are forgotten.
- The main contractor is told verbally.
- Programme discussions come down to memory.
- You do not know how much weather cost on your last winter job.