Construction Project Documentation: Evidence, or it Didn’t Happen

Behind every great construction project is a vast quantity of documentation. From initial project design and tendering through to delivery, practical completion and handover, documentation is the lifeblood of the building process.
Unfortunately, it is also potentially one of the major weaknesses for a project team. If documentation is incomplete, mishandled, inaccurate or mislaid, the consequences can include delays, additional project costs in rework or in the worst case, expensive construction disputes or project non-compliances.

When it is well-managed, however, it can be the secret weapon for achieving excellence across quality, timeliness, cost control, safety and innovation.

What Does Project Documentation Mean?

Formal project documentation incorporates all shared information, agreements and process paperwork required for a project. It ensures transparency, creates a record of decisions, addresses regulatory requirements such as National Construction Code compliance and constitutes the official record of who did what, when, how and who signed off on it. 

Specific documentation types include:

• Contracts (e.g., main contracts, subcontracts)  
• Project specifications  
• Bill of Quantities (BOQ)  
• Drawings and plans (blueprints, revisions)  
• RFIs (Requests for Information), submittals, and change orders  
• Site logs, safety reports, and inspection records . 

What are the Challenges with Construction Project Documentation?

Accuracy and document control are two of the main challenges that can compromise documentation. Incomplete or missing detail, inadequate review processes or failure to complete required documentation in the first place can all occur. 

Finding the time to properly examine documentation can also be a problem. This is particularly risky when it comes to contracts. 

For example, some contracts may specify a builder is not allowed to have delays for severe weather. It is high risk to accept this type of clause, because in some years weather may suspend works for a total of up to 30 days over a two-year construction project timeframe, and instead of being allowed an extension, the builder may be hit with a liquidated damages claim of a specific number of dollars per day for delays. 

Other High-stakes Types of Documentation:

• Drawings - ensuring coordination, and wrangling the sheer number of them throughout the project lifecycle from initial scope to as-built is time-intensive. And the risks associated with them not being adequate include increased costs, non-compliance, time delays and reworks. 
• Specifications are also critical documentation, and it is vital to ensure they are fit for purpose and include any necessary referencing to relevant ISO or AS/NZ Standards, National Construction Code requirements or other regulatory requirements. 
• Bills of Quantities and Estimates created by the Quantity Surveyors are a key piece of documentation in terms of correlating plans and programs to scope and budget. 
• RFIs – Requests for Information are crucial in the submittals, design development and approvals process. 

In terms of project documentation, ensuring all the right people have signed off on reviews or approvals is a challenge. Time moves fast on the building site, and any project manager or site supervisor will be navigating around 20 different subcontractors and consultants. Remembering to take time to chase someone to complete, submit or review documentation including their contract can end up last on the immediate to-do list.  

This opens up all manner of potential areas for conflict, including subcontractor or consultant pushback on Head Contractor expectations, because the original contract was not properly scrutinised, signed and returned. 

Or there are the smaller issues, such as procurement documentation may have been sent by email but focus slips around following up whether the email was seen, and any requirements actioned by the receiver. 

Using Technology Reduces Risks around Documentation

On any construction project, time is of the essence. Managing detail therefore needs to be as efficient as possible, to liberate time and focus for managing the delivery of works and achieving contractual obligations.

Having an effective document control system is like a superpower to help ensure everything flows as smoothly as possible and the hard evidence of a credible paper trail is achieved.

The systems can provide automated notifications attached to due dates – instead of the project manager having it on their to-do list to do the notification.

The due dates can be given extra strength if they are attached to a requirement for an item to be closed out by the person who sent the original document.

Digital document management also helps with retrieval of information. This is a major time saver compared to searching an email inbox or hunting through files to find a crucial document.

The really big win is having all documents in one place.

With millions of dollars riding on most major projects, having all documentation in one place and ensuring all necessary evidence relating to design, program, contracts, compliance, milestones and completions is key to reducing the risks of conflict or dispute.

The goal of every project manager is to get to the final pieces of the documentation chain – the Certificate of Practical Completion and the Certificate of Occupancy. That’s when the team can breathe a sigh of relief that their contractual obligations have been met.

In Australian construction, it is all about risk management. You need everything in writing and being able to rely on a system as a record that if something like a dispute ever happens you can very quickly go back and find that record, and you have an audit trail of evidence to show that you did the right thing, is essential validation.

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