Summary
Construction projects generate an enormous amount of information. Drawings, specifications, certifications, O&M manuals, warranties, inspection records, asset information, maintenance schedules, and compliance documentation all play a critical role in delivering and operating a building successfully. Yet despite advances in technology, many organisations still manage this information across multiple systems, shared drives, email inboxes, spreadsheets, and paper records. The result is often frustration, inefficiency, and risk. Information becomes difficult to locate, difficult to trust, and difficult to maintain. As the industry increasingly focuses on building safety, compliance, and the principles of the Golden Thread, centralising project information has become more important than ever.
The Problem: Information Is Often Everywhere
Most construction professionals have experienced the same challenge.
You need a document.
You know it exists.
But finding it becomes a project in itself.
The drawing may be stored on a shared drive.
The warranty may be in an email attachment.
The commissioning certificate may sit in an O&M manual.
The asset information may be held in a spreadsheet.
The latest version may be somewhere else entirely.
This fragmented approach creates unnecessary delays and introduces significant risk.
Why Fragmented Information Creates Problems
Wasted Time
Teams spend countless hours searching for information rather than using it.
A facilities manager needing a maintenance certificate should not have to search through hundreds of folders to find the correct document.
Increased Compliance Risk
When information is difficult to locate, organisations struggle to demonstrate compliance.
Missing documentation can create problems during:
- Audits
- Inspections
- Regulatory reviews
- Building safety assessments
Poor Handover Experience
One of the biggest challenges in construction is project handover.
Information may technically be provided, but if it is delivered through thousands of PDFs and folders, it becomes difficult to use effectively.
The result is frustration for building owners and facilities teams.
Loss of Knowledge
People leave projects.
Contractors change.
Facilities teams evolve.
When information is not centralised, valuable knowledge often disappears with the people who originally managed it.
The Link to the Golden Thread
The Golden Thread is fundamentally about ensuring that accurate information remains available throughout the lifecycle of a building.
This becomes difficult when information is:
- Stored in multiple locations
- Not maintained
- Difficult to access
- Dependent on individual knowledge
A fragmented information strategy is the exact opposite of what the Golden Thread is trying to achieve.
The Golden Thread requires:
- A single source of truth
- Accessible information
- Accurate records
- Ongoing maintenance
Without these foundations, building information quickly loses value.
What Good Looks Like
Organisations that manage information effectively typically have:
A Single Source of Truth
Users know where to go for information.
There is no uncertainty about which version is correct.
Structured Information
Documents are linked to assets, locations, systems, and maintenance records.
Information is organised logically rather than stored in disconnected folders.
Easy Search and Retrieval
Users can locate information in seconds rather than hours.
Ongoing Information Management
Information remains accurate long after practical completion.
Changes, maintenance activities, and updates are captured over time.
Why O&M Manuals Need to Evolve
Traditional O&M manuals have served the industry well for many years.
However, they were never designed to be dynamic information management systems.
Many O&M manuals become:
- Outdated
- Difficult to navigate
- Hard to maintain
- Rarely used after handover
Building owners need more than a collection of documents.
They need a living source of information that evolves alongside the asset.
How View Helps Create a Single Source of Truth
This is where View helps organisations transform how building information is managed.
View takes traditional O&M manuals and turns them into a structured digital building information platform.
Instead of navigating through hundreds of folders and PDF documents, users can access:
- Asset information
- O&M records
- Certifications
- Warranties
- Compliance documentation
- Building records
all from a single location.
By centralising information, View helps organisations:
- Improve information accessibility
- Support Golden Thread requirements
- Improve handover quality
- Reduce time spent searching for information
- Create a reliable source of truth
Building Information Doesn't Stop at Handover
One of the biggest misconceptions in construction is that information management ends when a project is completed.
In reality, the operational phase often lasts decades longer than the construction phase.
Assets are maintained.
Equipment is replaced.
Compliance inspections take place.
New information is generated every day.
Without proper maintenance of building records, the value of the information collected during construction quickly deteriorates.
Why Maintain Complements the Golden Thread
Whilst View provides access to building information, Maintain helps ensure that information remains accurate throughout the life of the asset.
Maintenance records, inspections, compliance activities, and service histories all form part of a building's ongoing story.
Maintain enables organisations to:
- Manage planned maintenance
- Record servicing activities
- Track inspections
- Maintain compliance evidence
Together, View and Maintain create a connected approach to information management that supports both the construction and operational phases of a building.
Conclusion
Construction projects generate vast amounts of information, but information only creates value when it is organised, accessible, and maintained.
The days of storing project information across multiple folders, drives, spreadsheets, and emails are becoming increasingly difficult to justify, particularly as building safety and Golden Thread requirements continue to evolve.
Organisations that centralise their information gain better visibility, stronger compliance, improved handovers, and more effective building management.
Because when critical information is needed, nobody wants to spend hours trying to find it.
Posted on 10 Jun 2026
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Online Building Information
View transforms O&M with a data-driven system that makes gathering and accessing building information smarter than ever.
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