Book companion resource · Rubric
Contractor Close-Out Rubric
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← Back to toolkit · Browse by chapterThe plant's record of what the contractor actually did. Written by a plant technician. Filed in the plant's CMMS. Without it, the institutional memory walks out the gate with them.
Companion to: Fix the System, Chapter 12. Who uses it: the plant-side technician assigned to oversee the contractor work. When: before the contractor leaves the site, at the end of the job, with the contractor present for review. Time to complete: 20 to 30 minutes. Filed where: the plant's CMMS, attached to the asset record the work was performed on. Not in a contractor folder. Not in a project folder. On the asset itself.
Header
Work order number: ____________ Asset tag: ____________
Contractor company: ______________________________________
Contractor crew lead: ______________________________________
Plant-side technician (author of this close-out): _____________________
Date work started: ____________ Date work completed: ____________
Plant-side contact during the work: _____________________
Section 1 — What was requested
One paragraph. The scope as given to the contractor at mobilization. Copy from the work order if the original scope was clear; rewrite if it wasn't.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Section 2 — What was actually done
One to two paragraphs. Verified by the plant-side technician. Not reported by the contractor.
Include: any scope added or dropped during the work, any substitutions approved in the field, any sequence changes, the final state of the asset.
If the answer is "exactly what was requested," say so in one sentence. If not, say what changed and why.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Section 3 — What was found
Any conditions discovered during the work that were not in the original scope.
This is where the plant captures what the contractor saw that was not the job. It is often the most valuable section of the close-out.
Examples of what goes here: corrosion worse than expected, upstream valves leaking, bearings in adjacent equipment showing early wear, gaskets installed against spec, pipe supports loose, documentation on file that did not match the asset as found, hidden damage from a prior repair.
List each finding on its own line. For each, note whether a work order has been opened (or needs to be) to address it.
| Finding | Work order opened? | WO # | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
Section 4 — What was installed that differs from spec
Any non-OEM parts, any substitutions, any redesigned components, any temporary repairs that are not yet permanent.
Name specifically. Include part numbers, manufacturer, drawing references where applicable. A "miscellaneous substitute" line is not acceptable — it fails a future planner.
| Spec'd part / component | What was installed | Part # | Reason for substitution |
|---|---|---|---|
If temporary: what triggers the permanent replacement, and when? ______________________
Section 5 — What the contractor recommended for follow-up
Any follow-up work the contractor recommended: monitoring, re-inspection, replacement, procedure update, training.
Recommendations translate into plant work orders before the contractor leaves. Not open-ended suggestions. Not a paragraph in a contractor report. Work orders, with owners and due dates, in the plant's language.
| Recommendation (plain language) | WO # opened | Owner | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
If no follow-up: say so explicitly in one sentence. A blank section is ambiguous.
Section 6 — What we learned that changes the standard
If anything.
The test: does something about this job change what the plant will do next time? A procedure, a standard, a failure code, a PM interval, a training requirement, a spare-parts holding, a vendor evaluation.
If yes, name it. Name the owner. Name the due date.
| Lesson | What changes | Where it goes (procedure / training / failure code / PM / standard) | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
If nothing changes, one sentence: "Nothing learned beyond routine. Standard procedure held."
A recurring "nothing learned" across multiple jobs on the same asset is a signal the plant is not looking hard enough, not a signal the jobs were uneventful.
Review and sign-off
Contractor review
The contractor reads the completed close-out. Agrees, or contests specific items. Disagreements are noted in a sentence next to the item, not resolved by rewriting the plant's record.
- Contractor agrees with close-out as written.
- Contractor contests specific items (listed below).
Contested items: _______________________________________________
Contractor crew lead signature: _____________________ Date: ____________
Plant sign-off
Plant-side technician signature: _____________________ Date: ____________
Plant-side contact (permit holder) signature: _____________________ Date: ____________
File location
- Attached to CMMS record for asset tag ____________.
- Arrival checklist attached to this close-out.
- Work orders from Sections 3, 5, and 6 opened in CMMS before this sheet is filed.
- Any procedure / standard / training changes from Section 6 submitted to the owning function within 7 days.
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