The full visit report is the record. The weekly summary is what the client actually reads. It should fit on one screen, lead with what changed since last week, and make the two or three things that need the client's attention impossible to miss.
Consultants tend to write the summary as a shorter copy of the visit reports. That is the wrong job. The project manager or plant manager reading it does not want a condensed list of everything you saw. They want to know whether things are getting better, what is overdue, and what they personally need to push on this week.
What goes in, in this order
1. The headline
Two or three sentences in plain language. "Fall protection on the east elevation is now consistent after two weeks of findings. Housekeeping on Level 1 is the open issue: five items, two past due." If the client reads nothing else, they read this.
2. Needs your attention
Overdue corrective actions and any high-severity open items, each with the owner's name. This is the section that gets things fixed, so keep it short enough that nothing hides in it.
3. Closed this week
Items fixed since the last summary, ideally with before and after photos for the significant ones. This section is how the client sees the value of your visits, and it gives credit to the crews doing the work.
4. Trend
One simple view over time: findings by category per week, or open versus closed. Trends answer the question clients rarely ask out loud: "is paying for this working?"
5. Positives
Good practice you observed, with the crew or sub named. A summary made only of problems trains the reader to skim.
- Every individual observation. Link to the full report instead.
- Boilerplate about your firm and scope. They know who you are.
- Items with no change since last week, unless they are overdue.
Use the client's words and format
If a client has its own area names, risk categories, or report template, use them. A summary that maps onto how the client already runs its sites gets forwarded internally. One that uses your firm's internal categories gets filed.
Send it on the same day every week
Consistency matters more than polish. A summary that arrives every Friday afternoon becomes part of the client's routine; one that arrives when you get to it does not. That is also the strongest argument for not writing it by hand: the weeks you are busiest in the field are the weeks the summary slips.
Stop writing it from scratch
Everything in a good weekly summary already exists in your visit data: what was found, what was closed, what is overdue, and who owns it. The only part that needs a human is the headline and judgment about what matters. In Safely Track the weekly summary is drafted from the week's visits and corrective actions, in the client's format, for you to edit and send. See how it works for consulting firms.