One of the most important stages in the project lifecycle is the handover of the project to the client at the end of construction; it is essential that a well-organized, efficient and effective transfer of project information to the client be undertaken (Whyte et al., 2010). Generally, the handover of the ownership of the project from the contractor to client can affect the health and safety, reliability, standards of operation, maintenance, and operational cost of the built assets. The project handover period can be a very busy period for all stakeholders, from the contractors’ staff to the building owners and end- users. The contractor is typically responsible for the handover of key project-related documents as described in the contract, including built drawings, schedules, cost, spare lists, maintenance requirements, installed systems, and equipment details (Fallon and Palmer, 2007).
In the construction industry, the term “Handover” refers to an essential point at the end of a construction management after the completion of the physical construction of the
20 project. The term is often associated with main contractors responsibility to inform the client that the building is ready for occupancy by the end users (CIBSE, 2000). Generally, the interlinking between the project completion and handover is essential and inevitable (CIOB, 2010). The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) (2011) argues, from the contract point of view, that the finishing of the project has to be certified using Practical Completion Certificate (PCC), which should be issued by the Architect/Contract Administrator. A PCC is generally issued in the last stage of the project where the contractor delivers back the responsibility of the construction site to the owners. At this phase, the owner receives the completed project and takes the full responsibility for the insurance, security, operation, and maintenance of the built asset (CIBSE, 2000). Whyte
et al. (2010) believe that clients have regulatory requirements to ensure that there is high quality data about their built assets for safe operation. In this context, it is important to ensure data precision and extensiveness and that the data is up-to-date for continuing use in operations. However, the data types used for operations and facilities management vary from those used in ventures and this produces challenges for the handover processes.
The relation between the owner and the principal contractor forms, in essence, the handover process. The project manager or the appointment of a commissioning management specialist represents the contractor. This representation is based mainly on the project’s complexity and/or staff experience. Complex projects, where the work is carried out by several companies (in some stages, different companies work in the same package), face a serious issue to collect, organise, and deliver handover information by a single company. The distribution of the work and information can lead to some contractors being uninformed or updated on a huge amount of information. Sub- contractors who are responsible for specified components and manufacturers do not have to accept the mentioned arrangements beforehand (East and Brodt, 2007).
There is a need to collaborate more during big projects in terms of commissioning a champion who will fundamentally coordinate the collection and collation of the project information from the different sub-contractors. The handover of a project can be
21 considered the most sensitive period for all of the parties participating in the project, especially the owner who is usually preparing to move into the completed built asset.
However, Saulles (2005) revealed that the contractor is obligated to accomplish the project on time according to contractual terms. The fragmentation of the construction industry, in addition to the time limits, can lead to an inadequate project completion process (Saulles, 2005). As a result, the emerged gaps in the procedure can produce poor levels of documentation. East and Brodt (2007) noted that the common practice of collecting the project information at the end or near end of the project could lead to gaps in the required information, although the information is available at the start of each stage of the venture to be applied and delivered by the sub-contractors. Generally, the most common factors that produce poor deliverables are the pressures and time constraints due to the waiting time until the end of the project (East and Brodt, 2007).
One of the main reasons for time-consuming activities in the project handover process is the heavy reliance on the use of 2-D paper drawings (Wu and Issa, 2012). Whyte et al.
(2012), however, identified that leaving some experts in the project before the completion and before the project handover has deep negative effects. According to Wu and Issa (2012), such negative effects will generate difficulties that will be experienced by the owners throughout the building’s lifecycle and whenever there is a need to extract data from maintenance and operation manuals. The use of BIM will, therefore, reduce or eliminate these challenges. The instruction of BIM on all construction projects will help capture data that can be accessed by all parties to the project during the pre- construction and post-construction phases of the project.