Deliver Owner-Ready Turnover Packages with Confidence

Continuously Capture Project Documentation to Avoid End-of-Project Stress

Every $1 billion in project value generates between 30,000 and 40,000 documents, making locating materials on any project, but particularly complex capital construction projects, a large and time-consuming task.

Owners require extensive documentation to operate and maintain their assets. At project closeout, contractors are responsible for delivering turnover packages to the project owner. Compiling that information late in the project adds unnecessary risk to closeout as teams are forced to locate, validate, and organize documentation after work is complete, rather than capturing it as work occurs.

 If not compiled properly, turnover package documents may:

• Be incomplete;
• Include incorrect or outdated document versions; and
• Omit required information.

Manually compiling turnover packages at closeout increases the likelihood of delayed final acceptance, extended closeout timelines, and withheld final payment.

“What’s funny about our industry is that you could have a job that’s a million dollars and a job that’s a billion dollars. The document management process is still as complicated on a million-dollar job as it is on a billion-dollar job. You still have to do all the same things.” – Curtis Smith, Project Controls Manager for Sundt Construction, discussing the importance of document control processes.

Establish a Document Management Process During Preconstruction

Most turnover packages fail to meet owner expectations because the project team did not create a system to collect documents while work occurred. Instead of treating owner-ready turnover packages as a last-minute task, successful contractors make them part of the workflow from the beginning.

Prioritizing document management with turnover in mind during preconstruction strengthens long-term asset management and operational readiness. Trusted documentation ensures:

• Smoother closeout and final acceptance;
• Complete and accurate turnover packages;
• Reduced back-and-forth during owner review; and
• Lower contractor and owner risk at project completion.

Utilize Document Control Capabilities That Support Turnover at Scale

Modern document control capabilities make creating turnover processes more efficient and less risky compared to traditional paper-based turnover packages.

Effective document control depends on configuring project-specific workflows that manage, route, and organize documents from the beginning of a project. These capabilities must scale across disciplines, contractors, and phases without adding administrative burden to field teams.

 Essential document control capabilities include:

• Electronically filing all documents to the correct location and including all markups verified to the work in the field.
• Creating checklists based on documents the owner identifies and includes in the quality plan. As work is completed in the field, crews reference and report items on the checklist.
• Organizing and accessing documents by type, work-package, location, system, discipline, and subcontractor.

When teams follow consistent document control workflows throughout the project, contractors and owners can trust documentation is complete and accurate.

Automating the documentation turnover process supports:

• Faster, more successful project completions;
• Better relationships with owners; and
• Increased profits through decreased risk and increased productivity.

Use a Single Source of Truth to Protect Document Accuracy and Completeness

To support accurate turnover and closeout, all stakeholders must trust they’re reviewing the correct, updated information they need when they need it.

• Craft workers need to know their plans reflect all recent change orders.
• MEP subcontractors need assurance they’re working from the same plan versions so systems will align.
• Jobsite leaders need confidence that they reviewed the most recent documents and sign-offs.
• Inspectors complete assessments efficiently thanks to updated and accurate plans.

Without confidence in document versions, work slows down while project stakeholders confirm information. At best, project managers waste time answering questions that would be avoided if stakeholders were confident in the document version. At worst, mismanaged documents lead to disputes down the line when systems don’t align, and document trails are unclear.

Build Systematic Trust with Asset Owners

When contractors can quickly verify information and deliver organized, complete documentation to owners, they build confidence in the turnover process. Owners trust the information provided at handoff reflects the final, as-built condition of the asset and is ready to support operations and maintenance.

All project stakeholders need quick access to the information required to keep all parts moving forward with the end goal–project completion and turnover–in mind.

Role-Based Document Access Improves Project Owner Confidence

Controlling document access is an extremely important and often undervalued aspect of managing complex project information, especially on a busy capital construction project with many stakeholders needing access to a variety of project documents.

Role-based access to documents provides the information teams need to do their job, ensuring all stakeholders, including owners, can access the data they need quickly and easily. Role-based access facilitates:

• Faster access to relevant documents for review and verification;
• Reduced confusion on busy jobsites caused by outdated information; and
• Greater consistency and accuracy in documentation prepared for turnover.

Achieve Accessibility Without Sacrificing Confidentiality

Permission-based document access restricts unauthorized users’ ability to view or alter confidential information or data unrelated to their scope. Restricting access to certain documents:

• Secures drawings to prevent unauthorized viewing or alteration;
• Prevents viewing or altering work-in-progress drawings prior to approval;
• Allows only authorized stakeholders access to protected contracts;
• Protects proprietary designs and systems from being viewed by competitors; and
• Prevents stakeholders from accidentally moving or deleting documents.

Access control makes sure stakeholders view information they need to keep the job on track, while protecting proprietary information and keeping contractor and owner data private.

Gain Owner Confidence

Viewing all project documentation in one place throughout the lifetime of the project, while understanding data and confidential information remain secure, makes owners feel more in control of the construction process and more confident in the contractor.

Instead of waiting for the final turnover package at the end of the project, owners are confident work is progressing as planned, resulting in less friction during final handoff and a stronger client and contractor relationship.

Automate Turnover Package Assembly to Speed Up Closeout

Using manual processes to create turnover packages for capital construction projects is a labor-intensive task that can take days or even weeks. Manual processes create uncertainty around turnover packages and bottlenecks in collecting data.

Manually compiling a turnover package requires:

• Searching emails and shared drives;
• Digging through filing cabinets for up-to-date documentation;
• Contacting subcontractors that finished their scope months ago for missing information; and
• Formatting documents into owner-specific standards.

Too much time accrues collecting paperwork, potentially delaying project completion and frustrating owners with antiquated and unreliable systems.

Automate to Simplify Turnover Package Preparation

Automated document capture, organization, and packaging streamlines turnover package assembly. In fact, collecting project data in batches while automatically extracting attributes reduces document capture time by 75%.

Automated workflows speed up the assembly process by storing documents in secure locations and automating data collection, document capture, and packaging. Document management systems allow team members to easily access documents when needed.

When construction teams plan for the turnover package during preconstruction, project stakeholders upload all documents and information the owner requires in the correct location from the beginning. Contractors assemble turnover packages quickly because the data is trustworthy, up-to-date, easily accessible, and formatted correctly to owner standards.

Confidently delivering comprehensive turnover packages to the exact owner requirements builds trust with the project owner, often resulting in repeat customers and a stronger bottom line.

Strong Document Control Creates Predictable Turnover Packages

Waiting until the end of a project to consider the turnover package results in unnecessary challenges. Teams that spend too much time searching for information needed are exhausted and frustrated at the end of the project.

Failing to consider the turnover package throughout the project can lead to major consequences with the owner as well, including:

• The time spent searching for documentation and formatting data can delay project completion.
• The contractor can incur the costs from delays.
• The owner can quickly lose confidence in the contractor they trusted to deliver their building.

Strong document control results in organized turnover packages that meet all client and regulatory expectations. Achieving this level of consistency and predictability requires document control capabilities designed to manage documentation at scale across the entire project lifecycle.

Provide Performance Confidence Across the Project Lifecycle

When teams use a purpose-built document control software throughout the project lifecycle, they deliver accurate owner-ready turnover packages that check all agreed-on boxes. Document control solutions designed for complex, documentation-intensive projects support defined lists, parameters, and workflows that automatically generate required turnover documentation.

The contractor can be confident the package generated contains all information needed, because project stakeholders worked from a single source of truth on a secure platform. Owners trust the contractor delivered the documents needed to manage their new asset.

Owners want to work with contractors that make the construction process, including delivering the turnover package, smooth and reliable. When owners receive an organized turnover package that facilitates quick access to documentation for years to come, they trust the contractor’s systems and processes.

A strong document control workflow supported by technology that results in a smooth turnover process demonstrates the contractor is capable of delivering complex construction projects, which improves its reputation and supports repeat work with every project owner.