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Typed once on the roof. Read all the way to the client.

Commissioning waits until 44 checks are done, with photos taken that day.

One system for Sunbird’s installation projects, in five steps, from the daily site report to the inspection before commissioning.

Client
Sunbird Solar
Work
Portals and internal tools
The CEO dashboard’s Projects card for the made-up Northgate Retail Park, week to Friday 2 October: Behind, 80.7% complete against 83.8% planned, the next milestone slipped to Tuesday 6 October, the team leader’s last site report, the next payment, the reason, and the pre-snag inspection not started, then what is asked of the CEO
The project as the CEO sees it on the dashboard, with the reason it’s behind. The project is made up. The system is real.

A week late by the time it reached the directors

Site news came in on WhatsApp and in daily calls. It reached the directors once a week, in a meeting that ran long and dealt with problems after they’d happened.

Now the team leader’s report sets the project’s progress the same day, and the directors can see it on the dashboard any day of the week.

From the site to the client’s report

  1. Step 1: Daily site report

    The team leader opens a personal link on a phone. There’s nothing to install and no password. They put in the workers on site, the work done on each task, how the day went, and photos. The photos are stored privately, behind the project manager’s sign-in. If a report is missed, the project manager’s Sites page flags it from the next working day.

    A team leader’s daily site report on a phone for the made-up Northgate Retail Park, Friday 2 October: workers on site, and the work done today on DC and AC cabling with each running total
    Team A’s report, Friday 2 October.
    The project manager’s Sites page on a phone: a missed day flagged for Team A this week, and the site at 80.7% against 83.8% planned, one task overdue, practical completion Friday 9 October, the pre-snag inspection not started
    The project manager’s Sites page, with a missed day flagged.

  2. Step 2: Friday update

    The progress figure and the status are already filled in from the week’s site reports. Here the status is Behind, because the DC cabling is past its planned finish. The project manager can change either from a phone, but has to give a reason.

    The Friday update on a phone: 80.7% from the site this week against 83.8% planned, DC cabling overdue, the day’s delay, and the status Behind, taken from the site
    Progress and status, filled in from the site reports.

  3. Step 3: Site programme

    Each task’s progress against its planned dates, kept up to date by the site reports. Every delay goes in a register with the hours lost and the reason. A task list can be saved and reused on the next job.

    Progress by task: five tasks complete, DC cabling overdue at 88% against its plan, and AC cabling behind at 75% against 88.2% planned
    Progress by task, against the plan.
    The delay register: material delays on Friday 2 October and Wednesday 23 September, and a weather stop on Thursday 10 September, with hours lost, workers affected and the reason
    The delay register.

  4. Step 4: Weekly client report

    A PDF in Sunbird’s branding for the client every week. The words are the project manager’s. The progress and photos come from site, and nothing internal goes in.

    Download the sample weekly report PDF, 355 KB

    Page 1 of the sample weekly progress report for the made-up Northgate Retail Park, week ending 2 October: 80.7% overall, 5.2% this week, forecast completion Thursday 15 October, previously Friday 9 October, the project manager’s summary and a site photo
    Page 1.

  5. Step 5: Inspection before commissioning

    When the installation is finished, the team leader works through 44 checks on site. Each is marked Done, with a photo taken that day where one is needed, or Not applicable, with a reason. The project manager reviews every item, sends back anything that needs fixing and approves it once it’s right. The approved inspection is saved as a PDF.

    Download the sample inspection PDF, 607 KB

    The inspection checklist on a team leader’s phone on Wednesday 14 October: a wide shot of the array taken, the first check answered, and 13 of 44 answered so far
    On site, Wednesday 14 October: 13 of 44 answered.
    Page 1 of the sample pre-commissioning inspection: inspected and approved by the project manager on Wednesday 14 October; 44 checked: 43 done, 1 not applicable, 1 corrected after review
    Page 1, approved Wednesday 14 October.

So far

  • 44

    Checks before anything is commissioned

  • 587

    Checks the system runs on itself. No change goes live until every one passes.

I built it on 23 and 24 October 2026, and the first Friday emails go out on 30 October. I’ll add what has changed once it has run for a month.

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Previous case: CEO dashboard and Monday briefingAll work

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