Expert article
Site documentation: what belongs to it, who keeps it and with what
Seven components, four parties under a duty, one body of evidence. And the four mistakes that make it worthless.
Expert article by Open Experience GmbH. As of: October 2026
What is site documentation?
Site documentation is the continuous, dated record of what happens on the construction site: the site diary with weather, staff and work performed, photos with location and time, defects with deadline and responsible party, records of site walks and acceptances, quantity measurements and delivery notes, and the drawing revision that was built. It proves to the client, to the contractor and, in a dispute, to the court what was in which condition and when. For the site supervisor, the site diary is a basic service of service phase 8 under the German HOAI; for construction companies, the duty follows from the contract and from the evidence rules of VOB/B.
Legal framework: Germany (Civil Code BGB, construction contract rules VOB/B, fee schedule HOAI). Other countries have different rules, and contractual agreements take precedence over the standard periods named here.
What belongs to site documentation
Seven components that arise on almost every construction site. Who keeps them depends on the role; what they are needed for later is on the right.
| Component | Contents | Who keeps it | Evidence for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site diary | Date, weather, companies present and staff, equipment, work performed, obstructions, instructions | Site supervisor under the HOAI; the contractor's site manager for the contractor's own work | Construction sequence, obstructions, daywork |
| Photo documentation | Captures with location, time and context, above all before building elements are closed up | All parties, each for their own evidence | Condition at a point in time |
| Defect list | Location, description, image, responsible party, deadline, status | Site supervisor, the client's site management | Notice, running of the period, sign-off |
| Site walk and acceptance records | Attendees, findings, reservations, deadlines | Site supervisor | Acceptance, reversal of the burden of proof, start of the period |
| Quantity measurement and delivery notes | Dated quantities, established jointly; dated deliveries | Contractor and site management together | Billing under § 14 VOB/B |
| Drawing revision | Which drawing revision was released when, and which was built | Site supervisor, designers | Execution according to the released design |
| Safety documents | Health and safety plan, briefings, safety file for later work on the structure | Coordinator under the Construction Site Ordinance, contractor | Occupational safety, § 3 BaustellV |
Rows one to four are created daily on the construction site and carry most of the weight in a dispute. Quantity measurement, drawing revision and safety documents often run in other systems and are linked to the project file.
Who has to document
There is no general statutory duty to keep site documentation. There are four duties from four directions, and together they cover almost every construction site.
- The site supervisorThe site diary is a basic service of service phase 8 (HOAI Annex 10.1), as are documenting the construction sequence and recording defects. If the diary is missing, a basic service is missing, and the fee can be reduced.
- The construction companyVOB/B demands evidence at three points: obstructions must be notified in writing without delay (§ 6), quantities are measured jointly (§ 14), and daywork is evidenced with daily daywork sheets (§ 15). All three presuppose continuous documentation.
- The clientAfter acceptance, the client bears the burden of proof for defects and is liable to neighbours for damage caused by the construction work. Securing evidence before construction starts and keeping photo documentation of their own are therefore in the client's interest, even when a site supervisor has been commissioned.
- The coordinator under the Construction Site OrdinanceOn sites with several employers, the coordinator organises occupational safety and compiles the safety file with the details for later work on the structure (§ 3 BaustellV).
The duties overlap. In practice, the site supervisor keeps the project file and the contractors deliver their evidence into it.
Four mistakes that make documentation worthless
Most construction sites have too much material and too little evidence. The reason is almost always one of these four.
No date, no location
A photo without a timestamp and a position on the plan only proves that somewhere, at some point, something looked like that.
No context
The image sits in a folder, the defect in a spreadsheet, the site walk in an email. Years later, nothing fits together any more.
Written after the fact
A diary filled in on Friday for the whole week is not a continuous diary. Courts can tell the difference.
Gaps in the expensive places
Waterproofing, reinforcement, insulation: what was not photographed before closing up can only be proven by opening the element again.
Which app is suitable for construction documentation?
One in which the four mistakes above cannot technically occur. That can be checked on six points, in any demo.
- Location and time come automaticallyEvery capture carries a timestamp and a position on the plan without anyone labelling anything.
- The plan orders everythingPhotos, defects and site walks hang on the floor plan, in the BIM model where needed. Finding something again then means tapping on the plan.
- Diary, photos and defects in one project fileThree systems mean entering everything three times and, in a dispute, searching three times. One project file per project keeps the context.
- Offline in the shellCapture without a signal, synchronise later. Otherwise the documentation has gaps exactly where it counts most.
- Export with timestampDaily reports, records and defect lists come out as PDF, dated and traceable as unchanged, even long after access to the software has ended.
- Servers in GermanyWhere the data is stored and who may see it is stated on the vendor's website. For public-sector clients, add the data processing agreement.
Which vendors describe which of these, with prices, hardware of their own and server location, is set out in the market comparison of ten vendors.
Templates to start with
Anyone still working with paper or Excel can keep three components properly straight away: the daily report as Word and PDF with three completed site days, the acceptance record under VOB/B in seven parts, and the defect list as Excel with a status model and a deadline traffic light. All three without sign-up, from the working aids in the knowledge hub.
Site documentation with Open Experience
Construction Photos, Construction Diary and Construction Defects keep one project file per project: photos with location and time on the plan, the daily report with readings from the weather station on site, defects with a deadline and free access for the contractor. The DIGIBAU 360 helmet camera captures whole floors in a single site walk, and the Construction Webcam records progress from outside. The data is stored on servers in Germany.
Frequently asked questions
Is site documentation mandatory?
For the site supervisor, yes, as a basic service of service phase 8 (site diary, documentation of the construction sequence). For construction companies it follows from the contract and from the evidence rules of VOB/B for obstructions, quantity measurement and daywork. There is no general statutory duty for every construction site.
Which app can I use for construction documentation?
One that files photos with location and time on the plan, keeps the site diary and defects in the same project file, works offline and produces dated PDF reports. Open Experience offers that with Construction Photos, Construction Diary and Construction Defects; which other vendors describe what is shown in the market comparison, with sources.
What is the difference between site documentation and the site diary?
The site diary is one component of site documentation: the daily report on weather, staff, work performed and occurrences. The documentation also covers photos, defects, records, quantity measurements and the drawing revision.
Are photos enough as site documentation?
No. A photo proves a condition once its location, time and context are established. Who performed which work, which instruction was given when and which deadline was running is in the diary, the record and the defect list.
How long must site documentation be kept?
At least until the end of the warranty periods, which for buildings is four years under VOB/B or five under the BGB from acceptance, and because of suspension, fresh starts and secondary liability considerably longer. Ten years is a common yardstick in practice.
Who may see the documentation?
That is governed by the contract. Usually the client receives the site supervisor's project file and each contractor sees the records that concern it. Good software maps exactly that with roles.
Sources and legal basis
The legal statements in this article are based on the primary sources listed below. The article is not a substitute for legal advice in an individual case.
- HOAI, Annex 10, service phase 8: site diary and documentation as basic services
- VOB/B (2016 edition), official text of the German building ministry: § 6 obstruction, § 14 quantity measurement, § 15 daywork sheets
- § 3 Construction Site Ordinance (BaustellV): coordination, health and safety plan, safety file for later work
- § 640 German Civil Code (BGB), acceptance: from here on the client bears the burden of proof for defects
One project file per project, a little fuller every day.
45 minutes on your project: photo, daily report, defect, record, once through the real workflow.