Document control

A construction project produces thousands of documents: drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals, shop drawings, reports, certificates and correspondence. Document control is the set of rules and the system that keeps them in order.

On larger projects a dedicated document controller runs it. On smaller jobs the project manager, contract administrator or site engineer often does it alongside other work. Either way, the process is the same: every document gets a number, a revision and a status, is issued with a transmittal, and is logged in a register.

Most builders now use a single online platform, sometimes called a common data environment, so the office and site see the same current documents.

Document control starts before the first drawing is issued. At project start-up, agree the numbering convention, revision and status codes, the platform everyone will use, who approves what, and how subcontractors will get access. Getting these rules into the consultant and subcontract agreements is far easier than enforcing them halfway through the job.

It also runs to the end. At completion, the same system should hold the as-built drawings, certificates, warranties and O&M manuals needed for handover.

For a deeper look, read Document Control in Construction: The Cost of Working From the Wrong Drawing.

• Numbering convention. A consistent naming and numbering system agreed at the start of the project.

• Revision control. Every change creates a new revision, and superseded versions are clearly marked.

• Status and purpose. Each issue shows whether a document is for information, review, tender or construction.

• Registers. Drawing, RFI, submittal and transmittal registers that show what exists and where it went.

• Access and approvals. Clear rules on who can upload, review, approve and issue documents.

• Distribution. Getting the right revision to the right people, including subcontractors on site.

• Retention and handover. Keeping records for the required period and handing over as-built information at completion.

Builders certified to the quality management standard AS/NZS ISO 9001 must control their documented information, which in practice means having a documented control process. Government and larger private clients often require that certification or an equivalent quality plan.

On projects that use building information modelling (BIM), clients may also specify information management under the ISO 19650 series, which sets rules for naming, status codes and a common data environment. Check the contract and the client's project requirements early.

• Building from superseded drawings. The most expensive document control failure. Old prints left on site are a common cause.

• Information living in inboxes. Drawings and approvals sent by email and never filed can't be found when needed.

• No agreed numbering. Mixed naming from different consultants makes registers unreliable.

• Poor handover records. Missing certificates and as-builts delay handover and the final payment.

• Subcontractors outside the system. If trades receive drawings by email or on paper while the builder works digitally, the two sets drift apart. Give subcontractors access to the same current documents.

• Uncontrolled markups. Sketches and markups passed around site that never become a formal revision or RFI answer leave no reliable record.