NOTE This standard establishes the requirements for documenting the progress of the Work, including the construction schedule, periodic progress reports, photographic and video records, and survey and layout data. (1.1)

NOTE Progress documentation is the contemporaneous evidentiary record of how the Work advanced against the plan. (1.2)

NOTE A current schedule, a defensible photo set, and a complete set of daily reports are the difference between a project that can substantiate a delay or change with hard data and one that argues from memory. These deliverables exist to manage the Work in real time and to preserve a record that survives later dispute; both purposes fail if the documents are produced sporadically or after the fact. (1.3)

NOTE The construction schedule required by this standard supplements, and shall not contradict, the Contractor's scheduling obligations under the General Conditions of the Contract. (1.4)

NOTE The general conditions (for example, AIA A201 Article 3.10) establish the contractual baseline that the Contractor prepare and maintain a schedule. This standard adds format, content, submittal-timing, and update requirements on top of that obligation; where a conflict appears to exist between this standard and the executed general conditions, the general conditions govern. (1.5)

NOTE On public-sector projects, agency-specific scheduling and reporting guides take precedence over this standard where they conflict. (1.6)

NOTE Federal and state agencies (for example, USACE or a state department of transportation) publish their own scheduling specifications and software conventions. Where such a guide applies to the project, it governs over the corresponding requirement here, and this standard fills only the gaps the agency guide leaves open. (1.7)

NOTE This standard does not cover quality-control documentation. (1.8)

NOTE Progress photographs show overall site conditions and percent complete; they are not a substitute for the pre-pour, pre-cover-up, and deficiency photographs required by Quality Requirements. Inspection and testing records, non-conformance reports, submittal logs, and RFI tracking are governed by Quality Requirements and Submittal And Quality Procedures. Closeout deliverables, as-built drawings, and punch lists are governed by Closeout Procedures. (1.9)

NOTE Manufacturer and software-vendor file-format conventions for scheduling and field-documentation platforms are technical data, not consensus standards, and are referenced by capability rather than by brand in this standard. (2.3)

NOTE The Contractor shall submit construction progress documentation through the Owner's designated project management platform unless the Architect approves an alternative delivery method in writing. (3.1)

NOTE A single agreed platform (a construction-management system, a shared document repository, or an Owner-specified file transfer service) is what keeps the record coherent. Photos emailed as ZIP archives, schedules sent as one-off PDF attachments, and reports kept only in a field binder fragment the archive and are nearly worthless when the record is needed years later. (3.2)

NOTE Action Submittals (3.3)

NOTE Action submittals are documents the Architect or Owner reviews and acts on before the corresponding work or reporting cycle proceeds. (3.4)

NOTE Informational Submittals (3.5)

NOTE Informational submittals are recurring records the Owner retains as evidence of progress; they are received and filed rather than approved. (3.6)

NOTE The Contractor shall designate a qualified scheduler responsible for preparing and maintaining the construction schedule. (4.1)

NOTE On projects that require a true critical-path schedule, the person maintaining it must understand network logic, float, and progress measurement. A schedule maintained by someone who treats it as a drawing rather than a logic network produces a document that cannot demonstrate the critical path and is useless for delay analysis. (4.2)

NOTE Aerial imagery is now routine on large sites, but the regulatory burden (airspace authorization, remote-pilot certification, and operating rules) sits with the operator, not the Owner. Specifying drone imagery without assigning this responsibility leaves a compliance gap. (4.6)

NOTE The construction schedule is the central planning and progress-measurement instrument of the project, and every other progress deliverable is calibrated against it. (5.1)

NOTE The schedule answers two questions at once: what happens next, and whether the project is ahead of or behind plan. A schedule that is not updated on a disciplined cycle stops answering the second question, and a schedule with no locked baseline can never answer it at all because there is nothing to measure slippage against. (5.2)

NOTE Schedule Type (5.3)

NOTE The choice between a bar-chart (Gantt) schedule and a critical-path-method (CPM) network analysis schedule is the first scheduling decision. A bar chart shows what happens and roughly when; only a CPM schedule, with logic ties between activities, can demonstrate the critical path, calculate float, and support a defensible delay analysis. CPM is the appropriate choice above a contract-value threshold and on any project where schedule disputes are foreseeable. (5.4)

NOTE Where a CPM schedule is required, the schedule shall be a true network analysis schedule with logic ties between activities, and a relabeled bar chart shall not be accepted as a CPM schedule. (5.4.2)

NOTE Baseline Schedule (5.5)

NOTE The baseline is the locked, Owner-accepted plan. It is submitted separately from, and after acceptance becomes the fixed reference for, every subsequent update. Without a locked baseline distinct from the working schedule, measuring slippage degenerates into an argument because the goalposts move with each update. (5.6)

NOTE Schedule Updates (5.7)

NOTE The update cycle is how the schedule stays honest. Monthly updating is the common default and is adequate for steady-state projects; fast-track work, or any project where float on the critical path has eroded, needs a tighter cycle because a month is long enough for a problem to become unrecoverable before it surfaces. (5.8)

NOTE Schedule Narrative (5.9)

NOTE The narrative is where the numbers acquire meaning. A schedule update by itself shows that dates moved; the narrative explains why, what it does to the critical path, and what the Contractor intends to do about it. A monthly narrative is the standard vehicle for this on institutional and public projects. (5.10)

NOTE Look-Ahead Schedule (5.11)

NOTE The update cycle is too coarse to coordinate the daily and weekly work of multiple trades. A short rolling look-ahead schedule, refreshed on a fixed day each week, is the operational plan that fills that gap. On projects using pull-planning or lean methods, the look-ahead is the primary coordination tool and percent-plan-complete becomes a leading progress metric. (5.12)

NOTE Recovery Schedule (5.13)

NOTE When the Work falls behind, the schedule must show the path back. A recovery schedule is the Contractor's written plan to regain lost time; the specification must state the trigger condition and the deadline, or the obligation is unenforceable. Negative float on a critical activity, or a missed Contract milestone, is the usual trigger. (5.14)

NOTE Earned-Value Reporting (5.15)

NOTE On large or cost-reimbursable projects, schedule status alone is not enough; the Owner needs to see schedule and cost performance together. Earned-value metrics provide that combined view and are commonly required above a contract-value threshold or on construction-manager-at-risk and federal contracts. (5.16)

NOTE Photographs are the lowest-cost, highest-density record of site conditions, but only if they carry the metadata that makes them usable as evidence. (6.1)

NOTE A geotagged, timestamped photograph tied to a known work area can place a condition at a point in time and space; an undated, unlabeled image proves almost nothing in a delay or change dispute. Metadata is not an optional nicety on a progress photo set, it is the property that converts a snapshot into a record. (6.2)

NOTE Pre-Construction Record (6.3)

NOTE The condition of the site, adjacent property, and existing improvements before work begins is the baseline for every later claim of damage or disturbance. This record must be captured before mobilization, while the as-found condition still exists. (6.4)

NOTE Progress Photographs (6.5)

NOTE Periodic progress photographs document overall site conditions and percent complete on a regular cadence. Weekly photography during active construction is the common default; a monthly cadence is acceptable only on slow-moving or phased work where little changes week to week. (6.6)

NOTE Photograph Format and Metadata (6.7)

NOTE The file format and embedded metadata determine whether a photo set is archival and evidentiary or merely decorative. JPEG with intact EXIF data (GPS coordinates and timestamp) is the practical standard; a minimum resolution prevents unusably small images. (6.8)

NOTE Fixed Construction Camera (6.9)

NOTE A fixed time-lapse or interval camera provides a continuous, hands-off record of a large or high-activity site and a marketing-grade time-lapse at completion. It is increasingly standard on large urban sites, and the ownership and access rights to the imagery must be settled up front to avoid a dispute at project close. (6.10)

NOTE Aerial Photography (6.11)

NOTE Drone imagery captures site logistics, earthwork volumes, and roof and structural progress that ground photography cannot. Where it is required, its frequency should be set deliberately, and the regulatory responsibility rests with the operator as stated in Quality Assurance. (6.12)

NOTE Video records motion, context, and the relationship between elements that a still photograph cannot, and is most valuable at the pre-construction stage and at major enclosure and systems milestones. (7.1)

NOTE A pre-construction walk-through video captures existing conditions comprehensively; milestone videos at topping-out, enclosure, and rough-in preserve the state of work just before it is covered. Video without a defined coverage scope, resolution, and delivery format, however, produces walk-throughs of incomplete areas or files too low in quality to be useful. (7.2)

NOTE The daily construction report is the granular, day-by-day record of who was on site, what they did, and what conditions prevailed, and it is the single most important document in substantiating or defending a delay claim. (8.1)

NOTE A daily report that says "worked on site" is worthless; one that records crew counts by trade, weather, equipment, work performed, materials received, and any delay with its cause is the contemporaneous evidence a delay analysis is built from. The value of the daily report is entirely a function of the discipline and completeness with which its fields are filled in. (8.2)

NOTE A daily construction report is not required for a day on which no on-site construction activity occurs, unless the Contract Documents require continuous daily reporting. (8.5)

NOTE Each daily construction report shall log any delay, stoppage, or interference, with its cause, duration, and the trades and activities affected. (8.12)

NOTE Survey and layout records document where the Work was actually placed and tie the constructed condition back to the Contract control. (9.1)

NOTE Layout that proceeds from the established project control, and survey records that capture as-placed locations of buried and embedded work, are the data that later feed the as-built record. Progress survey records belong here because they are produced contemporaneously; the final as-built deliverable itself is governed by Closeout Procedures. (9.2)

NOTE Survey and layout work affecting Contract control or requiring certification shall be performed under the responsible charge of a licensed land surveyor where required by the jurisdiction. (9.6)

NOTE The Contractor shall deliver all progress documentation through the Owner's designated platform in the specified formats and shall not substitute an ad-hoc delivery method without written approval. (10.1)

NOTE Ownership of and access rights to all progress documentation, including photographs, video, and construction-camera imagery, shall be settled in the Contract and shall not be left to resolution at project close. (10.3)

NOTE Disputes over who owns and may access the documentation, especially imagery from an Owner-hired or Contractor-hired construction camera, are entirely avoidable by stating ownership and access rights up front. Left unstated, they surface at exactly the moment the record is most needed. (10.4)