Why a fixed agenda helps
A progress meeting is one of a series. The value is in the series: anyone reading the tenth set of minutes should be able to find the same subjects in the same places as the first, and see how each one moved. A fixed agenda does that. It also stops the meeting skipping the awkward subjects, because health and safety, programme and commercial items are on the page every time.
A standard agenda
| No. | Section | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attendance and apologies | Who is present, for whom |
| 2 | Previous minutes | Agreed, or corrections |
| 3 | Health, safety and welfare | Incidents, near misses, inspections, upcoming high risk work |
| 4 | Programme and progress | Progress against the programme, look-ahead, critical items |
| 5 | Design and information | Information required, technical queries, approvals |
| 6 | Procurement | Orders, lead times, deliveries |
| 7 | Quality | Inspections, tests, non-conformances |
| 8 | Commercial | Variations, early warnings, instructions (often minuted separately if sensitive) |
| 9 | Risks and early warnings | New and open matters, and the actions agreed |
| 10 | Any other business | Anything not covered above |
| 11 | Next meeting | Date, time, place |
Projects change the order and names, and many hold commercial matters in a separate meeting. What matters is that the agenda stays the same from one meeting to the next.
The minutes layout
Number each item by its section: 4.1, 4.2 and so on. When a subject comes up again, it keeps its number, so 4.2 in the fifth set of minutes is the same subject as 4.2 in the fourth. A new subject gets a new number.
Each item that needs doing gets three columns:
- Action Lead: the named person responsible, only where someone was given or took the action.
- RAG: red, amber or green, for whether the action is on track.
- Action Due: the date it is due, only where a date was given.
Leave Action Lead and Action Due blank rather than guessing. A blank is honest; an invented owner reads as agreed.
Writing them up quickly
Most of the time in progress minutes goes on sorting what was said into the right sections. Note Metric does that sorting from the recording: choose the Progress Meeting meeting type and the minutes come out in the standard construction minutes layout, in sections with numbered items, Action Lead, RAG and Action Due, ready to check and issue as Word, PDF or text. Owners and dates appear only where they were spoken.
Questions
How long should a progress meeting take?
Long enough to cover the agenda and no longer. Keep detailed technical or commercial discussions for their own meetings and record only the outcome and actions in the progress minutes.
Should subcontractors attend the main progress meeting?
That depends on the project. Many contractors hold separate subcontractor progress meetings and carry the key points into the client progress meeting. Record who attended either way.
What does RAG mean in minutes?
Red, amber, green: red for an action that is late or at risk, amber for one that needs attention, green for one on track. Agree what each colour means on your project and use it the same way every time.
Where do early warnings go?
In their own section, and in the early warning register if the contract has one. Under NEC4 the project manager keeps the Early Warning Register and revises it after each early warning meeting.
Sources
- CIOB, Code of Practice for Project Management for the Built Environment, 6th edition: project management practice through construction, including progress reporting
- Society of Construction Law, Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd edition: why progress records and updated programmes matter
- NEC, NEC101 early warning webinar (PDF): clause 15, the Early Warning Register and early warning meetings
- HSE, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 guidance: the duties that put health and safety on every agenda
Our summaries of these documents are not their wording: read the source before relying on it. This guide is general information, not legal advice for a particular case. Note Metric and AI Metric Ltd are not affiliated with or endorsed by any body named here.