Dashpivot article – What does a clerk of works do
What does a Clerk of Works do?
What does a Clerk of Works do?
A Clerk of Works (CoW) is responsible for ensuring that construction work adheres to the agreed specifications and standards set by the client and the contractor.
They act as a quality inspector and oversee the work on-site to ensure it's carried out to the desired quality, using the correct materials, and in the correct manner.
What are the responsibilities of a Clerk of Works?
When understanding what does a Clerk of Work do, it's important to know what is expected of the core duties and responsibilities.
- Site Inspections: Regularly inspect various stages of the construction process to ensure that the work aligns with the project's plans and specifications.
- Quality Assurance: Monitor the quality of materials and workmanship to ensure that they adhere to the agreed standards and specifications.
- Record Keeping: Maintain detailed and comprehensive records of the construction's progress, any issues or deviations observed, actions taken, and any recommendations provided.
- Reporting: Produce regular reports to update the client or the client's representative on the status of the work, any concerns, and deviations from the agreed-upon specifications.
- Liaison: Act as a bridge between the client and the construction team, ensuring clear communication about the project's quality requirements and expectations.
- Issue Resolution: Identify and document any discrepancies between the work and the project's specifications and ensure they are rectified.
- Safety Oversight: Ensure that construction adheres to all safety regulations and that all activities prioritize safety. This might include ensuring compliance with environmental and other regulatory standards.
- Material Checks: Examine and approve (or reject) materials delivered to the site to ensure they meet quality standards and project requirements.
- Advise on Technical Issues: Provide technical advice and guidance on construction methods, potential challenges, or best practices.
- Final Inspection: Conduct a thorough inspection once the construction project is nearing completion to ensure all work has been executed as per the agreement and to identify any defects that need addressing before handover.
The Clerk of Works plays a vital role in ensuring that a construction project is completed to the client's satisfaction in terms of quality, safety, and adherence to the original plans and specifications. They act as the client's eyes and ears on the construction site, providing an essential layer of oversight and quality control.
What reporting does a Clerk of Works do?
A Clerk of Works is integral to ensuring construction projects adhere to stipulated specifications and quality standards. One of the core responsibilities is to provide accurate reporting on the progress and quality of the work. Here are the typical reports a Clerk of Works produces:
- Clerk of Works Report: This is perhaps the most central report produced after site inspections. It comprehensively covers observations about:
- Quality of work and its adherence to specifications.
- Workmanship details.
- Deviations or non-compliances.
- Materials used and their suitability.
- General progress and potential delays.
- Any other site-specific concerns.
- Daily Logs: A day-to-day record of activities on the construction site, capturing details like weather conditions, number of workers, tasks accomplished, materials received, equipment in use, and other noteworthy events.
- Defect Lists: Documents that detail defects, shortcomings, or areas of non-compliance identified during inspections. They often suggest remedial actions for these issues.
- Safety Inspection Reports: Focused on the safety aspects of the construction site, these reports identify safety violations, potential hazards, and recommend corrective measures.
- Material Test Reports: If the Clerk of Works oversees tests on construction materials (e.g., concrete strength tests), they'll produce or validate reports detailing the results and compliance with project requirements.
- Non-compliance Reports (NCRs): Formal reports highlighting instances where construction work deviates from the project's specifications or accepted industry standards.
- Progress Reports: While often the domain of project managers, a Clerk of Works might contribute, especially regarding quality and compliance aspects of the project's progress.
- Snagging Lists: As a project nears completion, a Clerk of Works compiles a list of minor defects or issues (snags) that need rectification before project handover.
- Handover Reports: Prepared at the project's conclusion, these provide a summary of the project's adherence to specifications, any outstanding issues, and recommendations for future maintenance or required actions.
- Photographic Evidence: Regular photographs document the progress, highlight defects or issues, and offer a visual record. This evidence is invaluable for quality assurance and potential dispute resolution.
- Meeting Minutes: When attending project meetings, especially those centered on quality assurance or problem resolution, the Clerk of Works might be tasked with recording discussions, decisions, and action points.
The primary aim of these reports is to provide a thorough and documented record of the construction process, focusing on quality and compliance. This documentation ensures transparency, offers a basis for decision-making, corrective actions, and holds various parties accountable throughout the project's duration.
See an example Clerk of Works report below.
Use this free digital Clerk of Works report template for your next project
Digitise your Clerk of Works reports
Use a digital clerk of works report template to standardised your reports with all the information you need captured first time.
The clerk of works report comes pre-built with all of the fields and sections you need to capture detailed project progress.
Customise the report to your specific project, team or reporting needs with the drag and drop form builder, adding pre-filled dropdowns, tables and required fields as needed.
Share your completed clerk of works reports as perfectly formatted PDF or CSV with your company logo and brand colours.
Create automated workflows for Clerk of Works processes
A digital Clerk of Works report app can help to quickly and easily record Clerk of Work reports on site via your mobile or tablet.
Access your digital Clerk of Works form with all of the pre-built fields and sections to save on back and forth information gathering.
Take photos on site with automatic geotagging, timestamps and photo markup and attach them directly to your clerk of work reports.
Reduce double handling of clerk of works reports by seeing an overview of completed reports in Timeline or Register views.
Use automated workflows to plan ahead clerk of work reports with each step creating notifications for the responsible party to conduct or sign off the report.
Improve project performance with detailed analytics on clerk of works reports.
Non-conformance report (NCR) template
Document those painful non conformances with this powerful template.
Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) template
No one plans to fail, they fail to plan. Ensure your projects are a success with this ITP.
Snag List template
Don't let snags get in the way of project completion.
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