Communication Protocol — General SOP

SOP ID	SOP-GEN-005
Version	1.0 · Effective TODO(confirm) date
Owner	Site Manager
Applies to	All crew, all sites
Review	Annual

1 Channels: Sync vs Async

What	Channel	When
Immediate safety / scope blocker	Phone call	Now
Status, completed tasks, photos	Live Task Board + daily log / channel (async)	As you go
End-of-shift report to owner	Structured message / voice note (async)	Before owner sleeps
Same-day field-to-owner	Never email	—

One messaging channel per active job site. Every meeting/decision produces a written artifact within 24 hours — no artifact, it didn't happen in the record.

2 Pre-Task Brief (PTP) Agenda

Before every distinct activity (10–15 min, site manager leads, all crew present):

What we're doing — specific task, location, sequence.
Hazard scan — risks specific to this task & site right now (not generic).
Controls & precautions — concrete mitigation for each hazard.
PPE — what's mandatory before this task starts.
Roles — who does what; who's spotter; who runs equipment.
Coordination — other trades, deliveries, access constraints, facility staff tonight.
Scope boundary — where the task stops; what condition forces a pause & re-brief.
Questions — "What concerns do you have? What did we miss?"
Sign-off — each crew member confirms understanding; site manager logs names + time.

🔁 Re-brief on change

If conditions change materially mid-task (site condition, scope request, equipment): STOP and re-brief before continuing.

3 Escalation Path

Tier	Who → who	When	How / response
1	Worker → Site Manager (on-site)	Safety hazard, unclear instruction, material/tool shortage, deviation	Direct verbal; if SM unavailable, stop that task. Response within the hour.
2	Site Manager → Owner	Scope change above field authority, injury/near-miss, regulatory contact, client conflict	Call if urgent; structured message if not. Owner acks within ~2 hrs (night: async log for non-emergencies).
3	Owner → External	WorkSafeBC reportable incident, contractual dispute, client authorization for overrun	WorkSafeBC portal / written notice. Serious incidents are time-bound (immediate notice; see Quality & Safety).

🛑 Immediate stop-and-call

Any imminent risk of serious injury → worker stops, calls site manager; site manager calls owner; owner decides on re-entry. No production pressure overrides this.

4 End-of-Shift Debrief

Written by the outgoing lead, read by owner (async) and incoming lead before next shift. Five fields, under 10 minutes if logged throughout:

Work completed — tasks finished, to what standard, which zones.
In progress / state of play — started-not-finished; exact condition left.
Blockers & issues — what slowed/stopped work; field decisions made & why; owner follow-ups.
Safety events — incident, near-miss, hazard observed; toolbox talk conducted.
Ready-for-next-shift — what incoming crew needs to know; site warnings; material/equipment status.

🌙 Owner night report

When the owner is off-site, they get a structured end-of-shift report before sleeping — not a check-in. Goal: the owner can reconstruct the whole shift and make next-day decisions from the written record alone.

Related SOPs

🧭

Role Definitions

Who escalations go to

📝

Execution Log

Where decisions get recorded