What is required at building handover?
Summary
In this article you will learn about:
- tasks that must be completed before building handover.
- What happens at practical completion.
- What is required at practical completion and after.
- How can View help you with this process.
In this article we will discuss what is required before and during building handover (practical completion) so that the building can be operated and maintained safely and effectively by the facilities management team.
Pre-handover
Before handover, a series of tasks must take place which will include:
- Proposed handover date is advised, and site visits arranged for the design team, client and their facilities and maintenance team.
- Draft O&M (Operating and Maintenance) manuals and record drawings are issued by contractors. These are then checked and approved by both the principal contractor and the project team.
- Maintenance arrangements are be organised.
- Training into the operation of building services is provided.
- Commissioning, tests, and examinations are carried out and completed and certificates are provided to evidence that these tasks have been completed.
Practical Completion
At practical completion, the client will issue a practical completion certificate which confirms all works have been carried out satisfactorily and releases the building into the client’s possession. There will also no doubt be a listing of outstanding issues and defect listing which will form part of the completion certificate. At this point, security, maintenance, and insurance becomes the client’s responsibility. All As-built contract documents are issued to the client including O&M’s, the Health and Safety files, Record Drawings, Building User Guide etc. At handover, the defects liability period begins.
Defects liability period follows practical completion and is usually 12 months. During this period, the principal contractor and their sub-contractors/suppliers are responsible for any defects and must rectify any issues under the building contract.
Operation and Maintenance Training
As well as providing the client with relevant As-built contract documents, adequate training must be provided to the operation and maintenance team prior to the Practical Completion date. To ensure that this is provided, the contract should include operational training from installation contractors.
All training sessions must be recorded and tracked to ensure all have had the required training to operate and maintain the building.
Building Manuals
A building manual is an operational guide for the building. The manual provides information from all O&Ms that an operator requires to operate the building effectively.
Building User Guides
A building user guide is an overview document that contains a number of summary information advice on the layout of the building, its infrastructure and control mechanisms, safety procedures, facilities management processes, and security information.
It is intended to be a simple explanation to the building and its functions and written from a non-technical perspective. For further information on building user guides, head over to BSRIA BG 26/2011 Building Manuals and Building User Guides.
Health and Safety File
This is a document required by law under the Construction (Design & Management) regulations 2015 (also known as CDM2015); a set of health and safety regulations that apply to every construction project undertaken in the UK.
The document is prepared by the Principal Designer and the principal contractor and their sub-contractors have a legal responsibility to pass relevant health and safety information and any other specifically requested information to the Principal Designer when requested.
The Hand Safety file will cross reference with the O&Ms, so failure to provide adequate information within an O&M may place a contractor in breach of CDM legislation.
For more information on Health and Safety files, please head over to our Health and Safety filed article.
Building Logbook
The role of a building logbook is to provide enough detail on the installed building services plant and controls, their methods of operation and maintenance, and other details that collectively enable energy consumption to be monitored and managed effectively. Its development is usually undertaken by either the services designers or the installing contractor depending upon specification and is written in a non-technical style. Its upkeep, once issued is the responsibility of the building owners and occupiers.
For a building logbook template, head over to CIBSE publication TM31.
Building Services Certificates
For practical completion to go ahead, you must receive all required certificates to safely operate the building. These certificates will usually be delivered as part of O&Ms.
Record Drawings
Prior to tender activities and during development of specifications, works start, the scope and format of record drawings required for maintenance of the building should be decided.
The ability to check record drawings and even modify them is useful in building operation and maintenance. Record Drawings should be provided in A3 paper copy and in both PDF and DWG. DWG formats allow for future modifications allowing you to keep your building information up to date.
Record drawings need to be managed correctly so that the user can quickly locate the drawing they need for a job. This is especially effective when properly cross-referenced within the O&Ms.
For further information on what drawings are required, head over to BSRIA Guide BG 6.
BIM Models
BIM stands for Building Information Modelling, and concerns the creation and management of digital information.
One aspect of BIM is graphical building modelling. This allows for data to be attached to any asset in the building for easy access. This data will include asset performance, dimensional data, maintenance history and task sheet.
The other aspect in non-graphical information includes specifications, surveys, contract documents and reports.
If a project has used BIM protocol, at handover, clients will be given an asset information model (AIM) which provides all information required to operate the building. This information can then be extracted and used in an in-house system. When modifications are made to the building, any information across all systems should be updated.
Auditing Handover Information
It is imperative that all handover information is assessed and approved before the building is taken on. Failure to do so could open a client to legal action or even corporate manslaughter. As a result, it is advised that assessments of the handover information take place at multiple intervals before handover. The assessments should be undertaken by a specialist adviser.
Liaison provides a full building information auditing service where we effectively act as a client's gatekeeper to ensure that all data held on View is complete. The service can also include production of consistent sub-contractor OM templates, audit tracking of building information draft issues (OM’s, Health and Safety file, Building Users guide etc) so ensuring the client is always aware of what record information is available, its status and most importantly, what is missing that could raise risk.
Storage of Documentation
Under CDM, by law, a building owner is required to have a secure and readily accessible Health and Safety file. It is also required to keep all O&M documents in a safe location and preferably not on site for security reasons.
We have created an online database that both reduces space used to store building information and reduces time spent finding a required document. Storing the documents online also removes the risk of damaging or losing critical information and leaves a revision audit trail. This means all information is always up-to-date and present on the system.
O&M Manuals
O&M manuals provide the building owner and facilities managers with all the information required to operate and maintain the building.
Information included within O&Ms include:
For more information on O&Ms and how our services can help you, please head over to our O&M article.
How can View help you?
View is an electronic portal designed to store not only building information such as building occupiers manuals and operation and maintenance manuals (O&Ms) but any documentation essential for the safe running and operation of a building e.g (have a look at the FM zone best practice, take a few examples). View has been designed to assist FM service providers with building operation and maintenance for both scheduled and unscheduled work.
All Zones to be included with some words on each as to what they provide – remember all contain both best practice structures and ability for end users to control their own folder structures to match their own business needs.
Record Zone
This area of View removes the need to keep multiple O&M paper copies and allows engineers to gain fast access to information about specific building equipment, to repair and maintain it.
