Documents & records
Field directive
A field directive is a written order given on the job telling the contractor to proceed with something before it's been captured in a change order or a fully priced directive. It often comes from the owner's rep, architect or engineer. It keeps the field moving on minor changes and urgent conditions. Its value, and its risk, is that it authorizes action ahead of the contract mechanism, so it must be written and logged, not spoken and forgotten.
Run it with the Photo Gate
Every checklist in the library runs with the submit button locked until its photos exist.
Why it matters
Work performed on a directive still has to be paid for and, if it adds scope, reconciled into a change order. A directive captured only as a verbal instruction is where scope creep and unpaid extra work begin. Written and logged, it's the trail that connects a field decision to its eventual cost and to any as-built change it caused.
How it shows up on site
A field directive that carries cost or time impact should flow into a construction change directive or change order rather than dying in a superintendent's notebook. Documenting the directed work, including a photo of the condition that prompted it, is what supports the reconciliation later.
Related terms
- Change orderA signed amendment to the contract that changes the scope, price or schedule, agreed by owner and contractor before the changed work proceeds.
- Construction change directive (CCD)An owner-signed order directing the contractor to proceed with a change before the price or time impact has been fully agreed.
- Request for information (RFI)A formal written question from the contractor to the design team when the drawings or specs are unclear, conflicting or incomplete.
- Daily construction reportThe dated record of what happened on site each day: crews present, work done, weather, deliveries, inspections and issues.
- Redline drawingsConstruction drawings marked up by hand in the field to record every change from the plans as work is installed, forming the raw source for the as-builts.
- Closeout manualThe compiled package handed to the owner at project completion: as-builts, O&M data, warranties, approved submittals and final records.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.
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