Roadblocks to Creating Turnover Packages
August 12, 2019
Creating a turnover package is essential to closing out every project, but without a standard format for the turnover package, this process can easily become a huge pain for a project team. Project teams want to make the project owner happy, but since each owner has different priorities (and will therefore want their turnover package structured differently), it can be difficult to navigate. So how can a team streamline such a personalized process?
There are a few standard workflows a GC can follow depending on the experience of their client.
In an ideal world:
- Owners who know exactly what they want and how they want it provide the project team with a template of the table of contents for their turnover package.
- The project team sets up a folder structure on their computer that mirrors this template, and stores documents in their respective folders as they’re collected during closeout.
- After the collection phase, the GC uses the template and the folder structure to assemble the turnover package exactly to the owner’s standards.
- They add a cover page, the actual table of contents, and the project directory before reviewing the whole package.
- Once the package is verified, the owner decides if they want an electronic copy (USB, hosted link, CDs, etc.) or a printed version.
A time consuming and tedious process, but relatively straightforward.
However, more often than not, a project team does not have a template provided by the owner, and this is where the real complications lie.
Usually, the project team will still follow the same approach of setting up a folder structure on their office computer, but the folders might be organized by subcontractor, or by CSI divisions, or some other category. The team will still collect documents as usual, and create a draft cover page, table of contents, and other necessary usage files for the whole package. But, after this initial assembly, it’ll be a back-and-forth with the owner to finalize how the package will be organized, what it will look like, what turnover format it will be in, and every other previously-unspecified detail. A lot of time and labor goes into this inefficient process, especially when project teams are scurrying around to collect documents from hundreds of different people and turn them into an acceptable package all before the final project completion date.
As technology becomes more prominent in construction, project teams are moving away from the time-consuming, manual creation of turnover packages, especially when they’ll have to be recreated multiple times to meet an owner’s needs. There are tools and platforms out there, like Pype eBinder, that streamline that process in project closeout, making it easier for GCs to incorporate an owner’s revisions into the turnover package. Using technology like this, project teams will be prepared to meet an owner’s needs on every project, every time.