Why it matters
Without AI, diaries and daily reports can become lengthy, inconsistent, or delayed, risking missed conditions, unreported hazards, miscommunications with clients, and post-excavation backlogs.
From design to safety
Design
AI supports planning documentation
The system reads written schemes of investigation, survey datasets, context sheets, and plan indexes to generate risk-aware diarised plans, trigger QA tests, and ensure auditability and traceability from inception, with cross-checks against HER entries and compliance timelines.
- Field notebook
- Weather station
- Survey map
- Context sheet
Build
Real-time log comprehension
During trench setup and excavation, it parses daily entries, weather shifts, and progress marks to maintain Harris matrix updates, flag data gaps, prompt on-site QA, and guide corrective actions, including cross-referencing drawings, strip maps, and sample plans.
- Field notebook
- Weather station
- Daily progress board
- Photogrammetry camera
Operation
Automated daily summaries
It summarises diary entries, cross-checks against milestones, compiles client-ready reports with photos and photogrammetric updates, and preserves provenance for each context sheet and specimen record, while tracking decision logs for viewing by HER officers.
- Progress board
- Staff attendance tablet
- Context sheet
- Photogrammetry camera
Maintenance
Archive and QA continuity
The AI aligns diary records with post-excavation assessment templates, verifies archive deposition readiness, schedules re-scanning of photogrammetry, and links HER changes to project records and specimen logs, maintaining chain-of-custody evidence.
- Archive deposition box
- Weather station
- Context sheet
- Daily progress board
Safety
Watch for hazards and compliance
It tracks trench safety notes, buried utilities, contamination, and UXO flags, routes items to the qualified person for sign-off, and maintains a transparent safety audit trail for regulators, with automated contingency notices.
- Weather station
- Field notebook
- Staff attendance tablet
- Photogrammetry camera
Part by part
- 1
Field notebook
- Watch for
- handwriting legibility, missing pages, illegible ink
- AI action
- OCR reads entries, flags missing pages, auto-tags by date and context
- 2
Weather station
- Watch for
- data gaps, sensor drift, extreme readings
- AI action
- Detects anomalies, alerts supervisor, triggers weather-adjusted plans
- 3
Staff attendance tablet
- Watch for
- missing check-ins, unassigned shifts, role gaps
- AI action
- Verifies coverage, flags gaps, prompts reallocation
- 4
Daily progress board
- Watch for
- out-of-sync milestones, skipped entries, duplicate notes
- AI action
- Summarises progress, reconciles with schedule, generates client-ready update
- 5
Photogrammetry camera
- Watch for
- incomplete coverage, calibration drift
- AI action
- Checks overlap, confirms calibration, flags gaps for re-shot
- 6
Archive deposition box
- Watch for
- missing context sheets, incomplete chain of custody
- AI action
- Ensures links to context, creates deposition checklist
Worked example
Site diary and daily report summarisation for a 7.2 ha development with 3 periods
Illustrative scenario with sample data.
In a development-led excavation, daily diaries and weather notes must be turned into concise reports for the client and HER submission, with photogrammetry context and plan references.
Signal in
Date: 2026-11-01; Weather: mild; Wind: 6 km/h; Diary: context sheets 12, trench 4, finds: 2; Staff: 8 on site; Photogrammetry run: 1200 photos; Progress: trench 3 excavated; Plans: trench 4 plan index updated.
System out
Daily report generated: summaries of context progress, weather impact notes, staff allocations, and a photogrammetry brief; highlights for client update and next-day tasks; flagged missing context sheets and plan changes awaiting QA.
Human sign-off: Project manager reviews the daily summary, approves the client update, and signs off for HER submission readiness; planning archaeologist approves archive deposition readiness and safety flag confirmations.
How to roll it out
Phase 1
Weeks 1 to 2
Baseline diary integration with written scheme, initial weather feeds, and standard daily report templates; establish audit trail and QA workflow.
Phase 2
Weeks 3 to 6
Automated summaries enhanced with photogrammetry data and early client reporting workflows; QA checks on context sheets, plan indices, and plan changes.
Phase 3
Weeks 7 and beyond
Full automation of routine summaries with escalation paths to the qualified person for safety, archive, and HER readiness; continuous improvement loops.
Where people stay in charge
- Decisions about safety, regulatory compliance, and HER submissions must be made by the qualified person or body responsible for sign-off.
- All archive deposition and deposition-checklists must be reviewed by the designated archive officer before deposition.
- Audit trails, including time-stamped edits and reviewer IDs, must be maintained for every daily report and diary entry to satisfy regulatory scrutiny.
Questions owners and crews ask
What data feeds power AI diary summarisation on site?
The system ingests field diaries, weather station readings, context sheets, survey data, and photogrammetry outputs to generate concise summaries and flag anomalies, with provenance stamps for each entry.
Who approves the daily report outputs?
The project manager or client representative signs off daily report summaries, with final HER and archiving decisions from the lead planning archaeologist or curator, and a quarterly records review by the HER officer.
How does AI handle missing diary entries?
AI detects gaps, timestamps, and prompts staff to fill missing notes; it generates provisional summaries with notes for missing content, including escalation to site supervisor when critical gaps remain.
Can the system flag safety hazards automatically?
Yes, it flags unresolved hazards or service conflicts for the qualified person to review and escalate for trench safety or contamination controls, with automatic notification to welfare and site management.