Construction services · Operations
Construction project startup
Get from a signed contract to a crew on site without missing permits, site rules or what was promised in the estimate. The client shares the site details through a shared link, and nobody mobilizes until permits, the safety plan and the schedule are in place.
- Duration: 2 to 4 weeks
- How often: For every new project
- Steps: 9 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
The project manager learns about an exclusion when the client asks for something that was never priced.
Site contacts, access rules and drawings arrive by phone in the week before the start.
The crew turns up and finds a permit missing or the site not ready.
The preconstruction meeting agenda is rebuilt from scratch for every project.
With it
The estimator walks the project manager through the estimate, and the promises and exclusions are recorded on the run.
The client shares contacts, site rules and links to the issued drawings through one link.
Nobody mobilizes until the operations manager approves that permits, the safety plan and the schedule are in place.
An AI agent drafts the agenda from the run, and the project manager corrects it before the meeting.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
The client signs the contract. The project manager starts a run with the project name.
- 1
Turn the job over from estimating
Hidden from the shared linkDay 1Project manager · Team
Hold the turnover meeting with the estimator: walk through the estimate, the assumptions, the exclusions and what was promised to the client. Then send the client representative the shared run link.
Checklist
- Estimate and assumptions explained
- Exclusions and allowances listed
- Long-lead items flagged
- Shared link sent to the client representative
Fields to fill in
- Project name (required)
- Link to the signed contract (required)
- Link to the estimate (required)
- Promises and exclusions to remember (required)
- 2
Share the site details and contacts
Days 1 to 5Client representative · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client representative names the site contact, describes access hours and site rules, and shares links to the issued drawings and to the permits and approvals they are responsible for.
Checklist
- Known utility locations shared
- Delivery access confirmed
Fields to fill in
- Site contact phone (required)
- Access hours and site rules (required)
- Link to the issued drawings (required)
- Link to permits and approvals held by the client
- 3
Check drawings, permits and insurance
Week 1Project engineer · Team
Open every link, check that the drawings are the issued revision and that every permit and approval needed to start is in place. If something is missing, mark the run as blocked and note what.
Checklist
- Drawings are the issued revision
- Permits needed to start are in place
- Insurance certificates are current
Fields to fill in
- Missing items
- 4
Build the schedule and order long-lead items
Weeks 1 to 2Project manager · Team
Build the baseline schedule, put the first trades under subcontract and order the materials with long lead times.
Checklist
- Baseline schedule built
- First trades under subcontract
- Long-lead orders placed
Fields to fill in
- Link to the baseline schedule (required)
- Long-lead items and delivery dates
- 5
Prepare the site safety plan
Week 2Safety manager · Team
Write the site-specific safety plan: the site's hazards, emergency route and assembly point, first aid, the nearest medical facility and the rules every trade must follow.
Checklist
- Site hazards assessed
- Emergency procedures set
- Site rules for the trades written
Fields to fill in
- Link to the site safety plan (required)
- 6
Draft the preconstruction meeting agenda
Week 2Agenda writer · AI agent
The agenda writer drafts the preconstruction meeting agenda from the turnover notes, the client's site details and the missing items, and lists what the client still has to provide.
Fields to fill in
- Draft meeting agenda (required)
- Open items for the client
Checked by: The project manager corrects the agenda before the meeting in step 7.
- 7
Hold the preconstruction meeting
Week 2Project manager · Team
Correct the agenda, then go through the schedule, contacts, site rules, safety plan and open items with the client representative, the superintendent and the first trades, and record the decisions. After the meeting, send the decisions and the client's open items to the client representative.
Checklist
- Agenda checked and corrected
- Contacts and site rules agreed
- Every open item has an owner
Fields to fill in
- Meeting decisions (required)
- 8
Confirm the start date and the site handover
Week 2Client representative · Shared link
After reading the meeting decisions the project manager sent, the client representative confirms through the shared link the agreed start date and the condition in which the site will be handed over.
Checklist
- Meeting decisions received and read
- Open client items resolved
Fields to fill in
- Confirmed start date (required)
- Site handover conditions
- 9
Approve mobilization
Week 3Operations manager · Team
Check that permits, the site safety plan, the schedule and the client's confirmation are in place, and approve the move to site.
Checklist
- Permits in place
- Site safety plan in place
- Superintendent briefed
Fields to fill in
- Mobilization date (required)
Approval: Nobody mobilizes to site until the operations manager approves that permits, the safety plan and the schedule are in place.
Done when
Permits, the site safety plan and the baseline schedule are in place, the client has confirmed the start date, and mobilization is approved.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Agenda writer
Drafts the preconstruction meeting agenda from what the run has collected so far.
What it does
- Reads the turnover notes, the client's site details and the missing items on the run
- Drafts the agenda in the order set in its step instructions
- Lists what the client still has to provide
- Completes its step for the project manager to correct
Checked by: The project manager corrects the agenda before the meeting in step 7.
Questions this template answers
Hold a turnover meeting where the estimator explains the estimate, the assumptions, the exclusions and what was promised to the client. Step 1 gives that meeting a checklist and records the promises and exclusions on the run, so the project manager starts from what was sold.
Cover the schedule, contacts, site rules, safety plan, access and every open item, with an owner for each. In step 6 an AI agent drafts that agenda from what the run has collected, and in step 7 the project manager corrects it and records the decisions.
Ask for them in one list the client can fill in, instead of over several calls. In step 2 the client representative names the site contacts, describes access hours and site rules, and shares links to the issued drawings and their permits through a shared link.
Check every permit and approval needed to start before the crew is booked, and stop the run when one is missing. In step 3 the project engineer checks drawings, permits and insurance and marks the run as blocked when something is missing, and step 9 does not approve mobilization without them.
Make mobilization a decision with a fixed checklist instead of a date in the calendar. Step 9 is an approval gate: nobody mobilizes until the operations manager approves that permits, the site safety plan, the schedule and the client's confirmation are in place.
Run every new project through the same startup template, from turnover to mobilization. Steps 1 to 9 come with the same checklists and fields on every project, and the run shows who completed each step and when.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.