Construction meeting notes should do more than record what people said. They should document decisions, assign action items, and help keep the project moving.
In Episode 43 of What the RFI?, I walk through how I prepare for, run, and document my construction site meetings.
Start With a Good Agenda
I prepare my agenda before heading to site and send it to the team, usually the day before.
During the meeting, that agenda becomes my meeting notes. I take notes live instead of trying to recreate the conversation when I get back to the office.
My typical agenda covers:
Attendance and general items
Construction schedule
Changes and pricing
Submittals and shop drawings
RFIs
Owner, contractor, architect and consultant items
Action items
Next meeting
The goal isn’t to create a transcript. Record what matters, what needs to happen next, and who is responsible.
Keep the Meeting Moving
I try to keep construction meetings between 30 and 60 minutes.
If an issue can’t be resolved within a few minutes, sidebar it with the people who actually need to be involved. There is no reason to have the entire project team sit through a detailed technical discussion.
And before moving on from each section, ask one simple question:
Any new business?
Every Action Item Needs an Owner
Avoid vague notes such as:
Door hardware to be reviewed.
Instead, identify who is responsible for the next step.
Clear action items make your construction meeting notes useful and make the next meeting much easier to run.
Use AI as a Second Set of Ears
I also run Granola AI during my meetings.
It doesn’t replace my formal meeting notes. I still take those myself. Granola simply gives me a second record to reference if I need to confirm what was discussed.
Try Granola AI with my referral link
Get the Notes Out
When I get back to the office, I block time to clean up the notes and complete my own action items.
Then I distribute the meeting notes the same day whenever possible.
Don’t overthink them. Keep them clear, assign responsibility, and get them out.
Run better meetings. Take better notes. Keep the project moving.
Episode 43: How to Run a Construction Site Meeting + Take Better Meeting Notes
In Episode 43 of What the RFI?, I share my screen and walk through my actual process for preparing an agenda, running the meeting, tracking RFIs and submittals, and creating construction meeting notes.
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