Current Practices of Collecting and Utilizing Daily Work Report Data and Areas for Improvements

A significant amount of data including ongoing construction activities, work quantities, resources utilized by contractors, and site conditions is collected in highway construction sites on a daily basis by resident engineers. This data is commonly known as daily work reports (DWRs) in the U.S. Although a lot of time and effort is invested in collecting the DWR data, its utilization has been very limited. This paper discusses current practices of collecting and utilizing DWR data among various Departments of Transportation in the U.S., and discusses the challenges and opportunities for better collection and utilization of the data. An extensive literature review and two nationwide surveys in the U.S. were conducted as a part of this study. Finally, it provides a set of recommendations to effectively address the challenges identified and maximize the benefits of utilizing DWR data such as supporting various decisions for highway project development process. The findings of this study are implementable ideas that can aid DOTs in making data-driven decisions throughout the project development processes in the future.