Automation · Construction site documentation and proof

Construction site documentation is not paperwork, it is your evidence.

Automating construction site documentation means: the site foreman records the day once on the phone, everything else sorts itself out. Weather, crew size, equipment, photos and hindrances attach to the right project and the right date, without anyone typing up notes in the evening. If a dispute arises six months later, you open the day and see what happened.

Free initial analysis Use cases

The problem

The proof is missing exactly when it is worth money.

On site, everyone knows what happened. Six months later, no one remembers, and then what counts is not what happened, but what was documented.

01The site diary is written from memory on Fridays for the whole week, so it records what people still remember, not what actually happened.
02Photos sit in the galleries of five different colleagues, with no project, no building element, and no way to later work out which wall it was.
03Hindrances get discussed at the site fence and settled with a handshake, but never reported in writing, which means the claim is effectively gone.
04The crew's timesheets arrive in a batch at the office at month end, by which time the deadline for countersigning has long passed and no one remembers the work.

Use cases

What we automate specifically for construction site documentation.

Five workflows that we build again and again for building and trade businesses. It is not about quantities and invoice amounts, but about proving that something happened, when it happened, and who saw it.

The site diary writes itself from the day's events

In Annex 10, the HOAI lists the basic service „documentation of the construction process (for example a site diary)“ for service phase 8, but it prescribes neither paper nor a specific format. So the entry may be created digitally. The foreman selects the site in the morning, and the rest fills itself in: weather for the site address, crew present from time tracking, equipment, the day's delivery notes. What he adds are the two sentences no system can know, namely what went wrong.

Saving 3-5 h of catch-up work per week

Photos with timestamp and location, sorted instead of collected

Every photo gets its time, coordinates and project attached the moment it is taken and lands in the day it belongs to, not in a folder with 400 unsorted pictures. The evidentiary value of an image depends on the time and place of capture being traceable and the image staying unchanged since, so we store it immutably in the project file instead of the gallery. Anyone who sorts the pictures only once a dispute arises sorts them too late.

Effect Every image dated, located and assigned

Notice of hindrance under section 6 VOB/B, out the same day

Under section 6 (1) VOB/B the contractor must notify the client of a hindrance in writing without delay, and if he fails to give notice, he is only entitled to have it taken into account if the client was obviously already aware of the fact and its hindering effect. That is precisely why the notice is time-bound and cannot be made up for later: a verbal remark at the site fence usually does not save the claim. When the site manager reports a hindrance in the form, the system generates the notice from the day's data, attaches photos and weather conditions, and sends it out with proof of receipt, the same day.

Effect Claim secured instead of forfeited

Condition record before it gets covered up

Section 4 (10) VOB/B provides that the condition of parts of the work must, on request, be jointly established by client and contractor if those parts will be removed from inspection by further execution. For everything that gets backfilled, plastered over or covered, the appointment before closing is the last chance for proof that never exists again afterward. We attach the reminder to the construction schedule rather than to a person's calendar: when backfilling is due, the system requests the joint inspection and records it with photos and signature.

Effect Proof secured while the building element is still visible

Crew timesheets daily, not at month end

Under section 15 (3) VOB/B the client must return hourly wage slips he has certified without delay, at the latest within 6 working days of receipt, and hourly wage slips not returned in time count as approved. This deadline only starts running from receipt, so a stack of slips in the vehicle works exclusively against you. The foreman records the crew's hours on the phone at the end of the shift, the system submits them the same day, logs receipt, and passes the same data on to payroll and invoicing.

Saving 6-working-day deadline runs from day 1 instead of from month end

Tools

What we build this with.

We choose the tool for your use case, not for our partner program. Your construction software stays where it is.

Hub

n8n, hosted on German servers on request

n8n connects the site app, project file, weather service and payroll system, and makes sure a photo from a phone lands in the right project without anyone lifting a finger. Because site photos and personnel data are sensitive, we run n8n self-hosted on German servers on request, so no image leaves your premises. You can see in every run which step did what.

n8n at NordFlux

Project file

Microsoft 365 and SharePoint as the construction file

If you already use Microsoft 365, SharePoint becomes the construction file: one library per project, version history, role-based access, and storage that never silently overwrites the proof. Approvals for notices and records run through Power Automate, so the site manager signs off in the Teams chat. You typically do not need any additional licenses for this.

Automate Microsoft 365

AI agent

The voice message becomes the daily report

A foreman types nothing on site, but he talks. An AI agent takes the voice message at the end of the shift, turns it into the daily report in your structure, and flags what sounds like a hindrance. The agent writes a draft, your site manager is the one who approves it: you keep control over what ultimately reaches the client.

See AI agents

How we work

The 30-day model.

We build the first workflow live in 30 days, at a fixed price instead of an open timesheet. You know what it costs before the start, not after.

Day 1: Free initial analysis

60 minutes, no obligation, with the founder and not with an account manager. We walk through a real construction process and look for the spot where you last lacked proof.

Week 1: One site, one proof

We take exactly one document, usually the site diary or the notice of hindrance, and exactly one active site. After that, the fixed price for the rest is set.

Weeks 2 to 4: Building with the crew, not at a desk

We build the workflow and test it with the people who use it, with gloves on and in the rain. Whatever the foreman cannot operate in 30 seconds gets thrown out.

From day 30: Live, with an SLA

The workflow runs on a real construction site, with an agreed response time if something jams. You then decide whether the next workflow gets added.

Not quite the right fit

Is it about quantities instead of proof?

This page is about documentation and proof: what happened, when, and with which photo. If instead you want to record quantities at the building element, determine them under VOB/C and hand them over to billing via GAEB, the quantity survey page is the right place to start.

See quantity survey

Free initial analysis

Which proof did you last lack?

In 60 minutes we walk through a real construction site and look for the spot where your documentation breaks down. Free, no obligation, no preparation needed on your part.

Book an appointment kontakt@nordflux.de

60 minutes with the founder, no account manager in between
Fixed price before the start instead of an open timesheet
Your construction software stays, your data on German servers on request

Frequently asked questions

What builders often ask about construction site documentation.

Is a digital site diary even valid as proof?

Yes, because there is no formal requirement for the site diary. In Annex 10, the HOAI lists the basic service „documentation of the construction process (for example a site diary)“ for service phase 8, but prescribes neither paper nor a specific format. What matters is not the medium, but that the actual construction process can later be reconstructed from the records. A digital entry created on the day itself and left unchanged afterward is more solid than a handwritten weekly summary.

Does a notice of hindrance have to be in writing, or is an email enough?

Section 6 (1) VOB/B expressly requires prompt written notice. Whether a simple email satisfies this written form is disputed in practice and also depends on what your construction contract says about it, so we will not promise you a certainty no one can give. We solve this pragmatically: the system generates a signed PDF, sends it with proof, and logs dispatch and receipt in the site diary. Which form your contract requires is for your lawyer to clarify, not your automation partner.

How do site photos automatically get assigned to the right project?

Through location and time, not the discipline of your colleagues. The phone knows the coordinates when the photo is taken, and because we have the site addresses on file, the system knows which project the colleague is currently on. Where the assignment is not clear, for instance with two sites on the same street, the system asks once instead of guessing. A wrongly assigned photo is worse than none at all, because in a dispute the whole file loses credibility.

Does the documentation help if we fall behind due to weather?

Only if you can prove the weather was exceptional. Under section 6 (2) no. 2 VOB/B, weather conditions that had to be normally expected when the bid was submitted do not count as a hindrance, so frost in January is not an argument. That is why we log the actual weather data for each site address every day and compare it against the long-term averages from the German Weather Service. That way, if in doubt, you have a solid statement on whether this November really was out of the ordinary, instead of a mere claim.

What does it cost to automate construction site documentation?

That depends on how many systems we connect and how cleanly your construction file is structured today, which is why we name the figure after the initial analysis, not before. What is fixed: you get a fixed price before the start, not an open timesheet. We deliberately start with one workflow and one site so you can see the benefit before deciding on the rest. The initial analysis itself is free and takes 60 minutes.