What is the difference between LARD and a paper site diary?
A paper diary requires you to carry it, write in it from memory at end of day, attach photos separately, and file it somewhere nobody loses it. LARD is on your phone, logs each entry in 15 seconds by voice or photo as events happen, timestamps everything automatically, and generates the PDF with one tap. Both hold up as records. One is considerably easier to maintain accurately.
What happens to paper diaries in disputes?
Paper diaries hold up well when the original can be produced, entries are clearly dated, written at the time, and legible. They start to have problems when entries are undated, written from memory rather than at the time, or the diary has been lost or damaged.
Paper diaries also carry no attached photographic evidence unless photos were separately filed and cross-referenced with specific entries, which rarely happens consistently in practice. A diary entry referencing a delay with a photo taken at the time is significantly stronger than either alone.
Is digital evidence as strong as paper?
Yes. Electronic records are admissible under Australian evidence legislation. A digital diary producing timestamped, cloud-stored PDF reports shows automatically when each entry was made. Paper can't prove that.
The question adjudicators and courts ask is whether the record was made at the time and hasn't been altered. Digital records with timestamp history answer both questions more cleanly than undated handwritten notes.
What about handwriting versus typed or voice records?
Legibility is a genuine problem with paper diaries under pressure. End-of-day handwriting after a long shift is often poor. Voice-logged entries produce clean, typed text regardless of how tired you are. The quality of the record doesn't degrade as the week goes on.
In disputes, legibility and completeness are both weighed. A 10-word handwritten note for a significant delay event is a weak record. A 60-word voice log captured at the time it happened is a strong one.
What if I lose my phone?
Your diary is in the cloud, not on the device. LARD syncs records when connected. Losing your phone doesn't mean losing your diary. Entries, photos, and generated reports are accessible from any device via your account. Paper diaries have no backup. When the site office floods or the diary goes missing, that record is gone.