The government is unlikely to agree with the electronic construction log

Prague - The parliamentary proposal to introduce an electronic construction diary for projects arising from public contracts is likely to face government opposition on Monday. This follows from a draft position for the government meeting. Government legislators point out that the digitization of construction administration is part of a planned new amendment to construction law. The proposal is signed by deputies from the Pirate Party, ANO, KSČM, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09, STAN, and SPD, as well as some independent deputies.

The construction diary is a written record of the construction process, which should contain information about the individuals working on the site, climatic conditions, work performed, and materials supplied. It should be accessible on-site to all authorized persons, and entries should be made continuously every day without leaving blank spaces.

According to the Pirates, the electronic management of construction diaries should have almost zero costs but would enable the addition of visual attachments, automatic availability, and remote access. The Pirates expect the diaries to streamline, accelerate, and centralize the control of construction work. "In the past, there have been several cases where, during an accident, the construction diary mysteriously disappeared, and the investor - the state - ended up in a dead end, unable to complain about the work or sue," said Pirate deputy Ondřej Polanský earlier. The proponents state that entries in the diary are often changed retrospectively or that multiple diaries are kept simultaneously.

The deputies want to include the obligation to maintain an electronic construction diary in the Public Procurement Act. However, the government points out that this law should not regulate the obligations of the builder already governed by construction law. The proposed amendment to the construction law, according to the government, does not take into account the fact that the existing law already allows for the electronic form of the construction diary. A condition is that all individuals who have access to it must also have an electronic signature. The proposed three-month period from the announcement of the law to its effectiveness is also deemed unreasonably short by the government.