Handing over a building is becoming an increasingly complex process. In the period prior to handover, duties have historically been limited to administrating the Building Contract. Post handover, duties have included assisting the building user during the initial occupation period or undertaking a review of Project Performance as well as the conclusion of contract administration tasks.
The introduction of a number of new initiatives and procedures means that the post-handover period and related duties have to be considered and managed differently and acknowledged earlier in the design process. Before looking at these, it is essential to consider the importance of Practical Completion and to address some of the issues that arise from the completion of a building and its handover to the client.
Why is Practical Completion important?
Practical Completion is an important point in a project for two reasons. From the client’s perspective, it is the point when possession of the completed building can take place and the building can be occupied for use. From the contractor’s perspective, the granting of Practical Completion triggers a number of aspects of the contract, including the release of retention and the transfer of insurance obligations and it is the date beyond which certain damages cannot be claimed. These issues are covered in greater detail in publications such as Law in Practice: The RIBA Legal Handbook.
While the handover process should theoretically be straightforward, in practice it can be fraught. For example, if the contractor is running late, a request to hand over the building before the contract administrator is satisfied that it is ‘practically complete’ might be made in order to limit any damages. Conversely, a client may have to move from one building to another or may have other reasons why the completion date in the Building Contract is a business imperative, or partial posession and a phased handover may create contractual and operational complexities. While programme contingencies should have been allocated in the Project Programme, these may already have been utilised, creating pressure all round.
There is no firm definition of ‘practically complete’. Case law suggests that it means not 100 per cent complete and, while many contractors aim for ‘zero defects’ at handover, it is inevitable that a number of defects, or snagging, will remain. This is particularly the case on design and build projects where the transfer of risk makes it difficult for the contractor to apply for extensions of time. A project must certainly have a certificate of completion granted before it can be handed over and compliance with health and safety requirements would form a necessary part of this process. Otherwise, the acceptable degree of incomplete work or snagging may depend on how crucial handover is to the client. Put another way, the client’s need to have beneficial occupation can blur the Practical Completion process.
Aside from completion of the built works, there are several new subjects that increasingly influence this handover process. These are detailed below.
Intelligent building systems
Many buildings now contain a number of intelligent building services systems. While such systems can result in a building that has reduced whole life costs, and one that is a better building in environmental terms, such systems:
- • have to be commissioned to ensure that they are running effectively and as specified and designed
- • require explanation and training in order to be run effectively
- • need operating manuals to be prepared to set out longer term requirements and for reference after training
- • may need to be monitored to ensure compliance with contractual parameters, or Project Outcomes, for environmental performance, and
- • need fine tuning, including seasonal commissioning, in order to work as designed.
All of these activities must be considered, planned and integrated into the Project and Construction Programmes so that the expectations of each member of the project team are clear. For example, there is no point in a contractor achieving what they believe to be Practical Completion if the building services do not work as planned or the users have still not been trained in how to successfully run the services installations.
While the considerations listed above primarily impact larger projects, on smaller projects more efficient environmental controls are being specified more frequently and certain passive solar devices may need explanation if they are to work effectively. The principles set out will therefore increasingly apply to smaller projects.
A further complexity is introduced where the client for a building is not the end user. This creates a further break in continuity between design and construction processes and the ultimate user of the building, who may have the greatest interest in the functionality of the building systems.
Asset management
The ability of the client to utilise the building information model or, more likely, the federated model (see Chapter 6) creates new opportunities for all of those involved in the design and construction of a building. The most fundamental shift is that the design work that is produced by the design team has historically been used solely for construction or for development by designing subcontractors whereas, moving forward, it will increasingly be used beyond construction for the operation and maintenance of the building. Of course, verifying or matching the ‘drawn’ information to the completed building is just the beginning of new processes that will harness and utilise the initial design for long-term maintenance and operational objectives.
‘As-constructed’ Information
Requests for design team members to produce ‘as-built’ drawings at the end of a project can lead to protracted discussions because these designers do not necessarily have detailed and specific knowledge of what was actually constructed in order to verify such a status. However, if the client is to utilise information after Practical Completion, new ways of verifying such information will be required. ‘As-constructed’ Information is the term used in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
Of greater interest is the information contained in the model. Clients, and in particular the UK Government, are increasingly requesting that models be delivered electronically at handover in formats suitable for integration into CAFM (computer-aided facility management) systems. COBie is one such format and the UK Government’s current preferred means for achieving this objective. These formats are designed to ensure the incremental development of information in the model as greater definition of the design occurs at each stage and as products and components are finalised and their operational and maintenance information defined. As CAFM systems become more commonly used, the requirement to provide such information at handover will increase.
CoBie
The Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie) is a life cycle information exchange format that describes the spaces and equipment within a facility. BIM software is utilised to export COBie data during the design process (Information Exchanges). At project handover the information can be imported into any CAFM system used by the client, end user or facilities manager. When kept updated, such a system ensures that the accuracy of the BIM information is maintained.
Project Outcomes
The benefits of Project Outcomes have already been set out in Chapter 5. In the context of Practical Completion it is important to remember that certain Project Outcomes may be a contractual imperative and that others may require measurement or analysis to allow a client to provide an informed brief on a future project. The Handover Strategy should set out any requirements so that Schedules of Services can be agreed accordingly and adequate allowances made in the Project Budget if these services are not commissioned at the start of the project.
Benchmarking
As more data becomes available on completed projects it will become easier to assess and compare different projects, particularly where the data can be objectively compared (for example, comparing the amount of energy used on a number of buildings). For benchmarking to be implemented accurately, information will have to be recorded at the end of a project and the need for this task to be undertaken included in Schedules of Services. More importantly, benchmarking exercises will have to be implemented during the briefing stage so that realistic targets are set prior to design work commencing.
Conclusion
In summary, handing over a building requires a number of activities to take place prior to Practical Completion or occupation of the building. Traditionally, the handover process has related to the completion of the built works. However, a number of subjects now need to be considered and planned.
Once the building is in use, the information produced by the designers may be used for the management of the building (or asset). Other activities, to fine tune the building or to ensure that the building is being used as anticipated, might be required. Project Outcomes may need to be measured and reviewed and other post-occupancy exercises undertaken. These activities are varied: many need to be considered at the outset of a project to ensure that the design process delivers the briefed requirements and to make sure that adequate fee allowances are made for undertaking these tasks.
While the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 advocates the preparation of a draft Handover Strategy at Stage 1, to allow all of the tasks to be considered while the project team is being assembled, it is important to remember that it is the Schedules of Services and other contractual documents which determine the actual services to be undertaken by the project team with respect to handover and in-use activities.
Soft Landings
The Building Services Research and Information Association or BSRIA (www.bsria.co.uk) and the Usable Buildings Trust (www.usablebuildings.co.uk) have developed the Soft Landings Framework over a number of years. Further information can be accessed at www.bsria.co.uk/news/soft-landings-framework/.
Government Soft Landings (GSL)
The GSL framework is reflective of work that has been undertaken by BSRIA and the Usable Buildings Trust in their development of Soft Landings. The UK Government Construction Strategy aimed to improve public sector construction and contribute to both growth and efficiency savings by a number of means. A key area identified was the need to align design and construction with operational asset management, and encourage increased use of outcome-based specifications against clear performance criteria. GSL has been developed in order to meet these requirements (see www.bimtaskgroup.org/gsl-policy). The reason for the creation of an asset and its intended business purpose, or the ‘golden thread’, can often be lost in the construction process. GSL will be used to maintain this ‘golden thread’ and ensure its continuation into the building’s operative stage. In particular, it will focus on the following:
- • ensuring that GSL is implemented as standard for government projects
- • early engagement during the design process with end users, clients and facilities managers
- • continuing post-construction responsibility for the project on the part of the design and construction teams
- • implementing a contractual mechanism to ensure the above
- • establishing an appropriate handover process from construction to end user or facilities manager
- • Post-occupancy Evaluation or monitoring and tie back to ownership and lessons learned for future design.
Guidance will be presented in the form of BIM process maps to take projects through the four required areas of:
- • environmental performance: each project will have an environmental performance plan at the core of the design brief
- • building management: there will be a clear, cost-efficient vision and strategy for managing the facilities
- • commissioning, training and handover: the building will be delivered and handed over through a plan specifically designed to meet the needs of the end users, building managers, facilities managers and occupiers
- • performance effectiveness and efficiency: facilities must be designed to meet the needs of the project sponsor and occupiers and provide an effective, productive working environment.