Infrastructure progress certificates

Before

The civil contractor was working on one road section and two bridges. The site measure lived in the resident engineer's book, the consultant's approval in a separate letter, and head office's certificate in a third spreadsheet. Between the three, the second bridge's concrete quantity had two numbers. The consultant had approved one, and the certificate carried the other. The client held payment until they matched, and the matching took three weeks of letters.

Escalation and materials on site were calculated apart as well. Whoever built the certificate had to remember which minute was still unsigned. If the signature arrived late, the item was either dropped or sent without evidence. Both caused trouble later.

What was built

Each measured item has the site quantity, the quantity the consultant approved, and the certificate amount on one row. Until the consultant approves, the row does not enter the client's copy, but it stays on the internal copy as waiting for approval so it is not lost. The minute is attached to that row.

Escalation is calculated from that period's index, and materials on site come from the store receipt of that section, not from a company-wide floating account. If the site quantity differs from the consultant's quantity by more than the allowed margin, the row locks before it is sent and the reason for the difference has to be written.

A working day

The resident engineer records the second bridge's concrete quantity and attaches the minute to that row. The consultant approves or corrects the figure the following week. Head office opens the certificate and only approved rows go to the client's copy. A row whose signature has not arrived yet is on the internal report and is not forgotten.

That period's escalation sits beside the amount. The bridge materials show the receipt for that section. The client meeting starts from this table, not from three letters each carrying a different number.

The result

Payment did not wait on matching two numbers, because the site quantity and the consultant's quantity are on one row and the difference is written before anything is sent. An item without a minute no longer goes to the client.

The road and the two bridges still have a heavy certificate. The weight is not from gathering measures, letters, and spreadsheets in three places. Each row has one thread: quantity, approval, amount.