Handover: Managing project information when the show's over
We obviously talk a lot on this blog about the benefits of using collaboration systems during projects, but what about at a project's end? The Handover process - where all the documentation relating to the built asset is transferred from the project team to the client/developer ready for operations - is an important process when a project draws to a close.
A comprehensive handover is essential as it provides operators and those responsible for defects liability with the data they require for asset management - from where electrical cables and gas pipes are positioned to the specifications of door frames and lighting fixtures. If there are flaws in this process, clients can end up wasting time and money trying to source or reproduce documentation, and can be exposed to risks relating to health and safety and other compliance standards. Over the years, I've heard numerous horror stories about this data being missing, and new fit-out contractors drilling around live utility cables - not good!
We're working on a large, multi-faceted development in the Persian Gulf at the moment which involves several separate packages as part of one master development. Combined, the project teams have generated several million drawings, documents, tenders and correspondence items, which, under the developer's insistence, have been stored and managed using a collaboration system. Now that contracts are coming to an end, this is looking like a very smart move.
Because all data from across the program has been managed using a collaboration system, the developer is finding the usually fraught handover process a relative breeze. For the first time, they are sure that all the participants are able to contractually complete the formal handover. For them, this means three things: 1) All contractual conditions are met, 2) All documentation, from as-builts to variation requests, is stored in one secure, online archive, and 3) Document retention regulations are followed in a very cost effective manner. And this has all been done at the click of a button, with no need for vast paper archives.
Labels: Good practice
