Construction – Construction project handover procedure

Construction project handover procedure

Construction project handover procedure

What does a construction project handover procedure involve?

All phases of a construction project are vital to the success of the project, including the project handover phase.

Sometimes, the project handover can be seen as the finish line, which allows some complacency and relaxation to creep in.

But the project handover phase is really important, and requires everyone to be well and truly on their toes.

Having a consistent and reliable construction project handover procedure can drastically lower the risk of handover and ongoing issues.

A good construction project handover procedure can mean the difference between positive stakeholder relations and messy disputes.

So what does a project handover procedure typically involve?

When a construction project is nearing practical completion, parties begin preparing for the project handover starting with:

Testing and commissioning - Up-to-date testing and commissioning data is really important in any project handover procedure. The asset owner or handover receiver should obtain all necessary construction certificates, as well as inspect and approve the as built documentation, operations and maintenance manuals and required inspections.

Defect management - The project handover procedure should involve discussion and agreement around the defects reporting procedure, as well as access arrangements (and insurance arrangements) for the contractor to remedy the defects.

Compliance reporting - The design manager (or similar) will review the project, functional design brief and project specs to assess performance and identify any ongoing design risks.

The project handover - Once the contractor has confirmed that the works defined in the contract is complete, the handover, including handover fundamentals like keys etc. is often performed on site in accordance with a final inspection.

So as you can see, there are a lot of moving pieces involved in a project handover, so how can you best manage your construction project handover procedure?

Getting your construction project handover procedure right

One of the most powerful tools you can use for ensuring that your project handover procedure is standardised and reliable is to codify the procedure in a project handover checklist.

Documenting your procedure like this guarantees that every project is handed over in the same way, and that nothing important gets missed.

It also enables your company to continuously improve the process over time, spotting and highlighting issues with the handover process, and then adding new items to the procedural checklist.

You'll see that the example below features many of the sections highlighted in the above project handover procedure.

The document features requisite record keeping information including project names and the person responsible for the handover, as well as sections and items for all of those important handover procedure items including:

  • The testing and commissioning data
  • The defect management information
  • The compliance reporting
  • Handover logistics

In addition, the document covers subitems within these categories, giving the person or a company a bulletproof way to ensure that the project is handed over properly.

Construction project handover procedure

Use this project handover procedure for yourself for free.

Staying perpetually prepared for your project handover procedure

The project handover process can be smooth and 'enjoyable', or a frantic nightmare.

While your construction project handover procedure will have some bearing on this, how you manage and deliver your project during the entire project lifecycle will have an equally powerful bearing on the success of your handover.

For some companies, the project handover phase is a scramble to get everything together and hand everything over while remaining on time and on budget.

Most companies which require this mad scramble are trying to pull records and information from multiple places and sources.

During the project, unstandardised templates and data has been flying around via word docs, spreadsheets and PDFs, and being stored on private hard drives and servers.

In contrast, companies who sail through the process have a single integrated management system where they can instantly search for and find all of their project information.

Construction documents checklist

A system like this (which you can try for free), consolidates all of your project information in once place, and ensures your data is all true and accurate.

All of your defect, testing and commission data is stored securely in a digital format, which can be sent via email or exported as PDF reports to send during the project handover process.

This makes handover communication quick and easy, and reduces the headaches associated with chasing and finding information which has been fragmented throughout the project.


A great construction project handover procedure is a neccesary but insufficient requirement of delivery consistently smooth project handovers.

Managing your information and project delivery in aan efficient and organised manner from day one is the best way to ensure pain-free project handovers.

People in 80+ countries use this construction management software to better manage all phases of their construction projects.

Sitemate users

See how you can easily streamline your systems and processes with Sitemate today

About Lance Hodgson

Lance is VP of Marketing at Sitemate. His aim is to bring awareness to a brighter future for the Built World where industrial workers and companies work smarter.

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