ABSTRACT
The client has a need and a responsibility to consider and define what is expected for the post-construction activities of commissioning, operation and maintenance. Construction projects are generally 'enabling', whether through construction of a building that will provide user facilities, or of infrastructure that will help enable society to function. It can be argued that nothing is of greater legacy value to society than investment today in good infrastructure for the benefit of future generations. Modern contracts such as the New Engineering Contract (NEC) have aligned information-management systems to help achieve tracking of instructions and acceptance. The way in which data and information is assembled and used is therefore an important aspect of controlling the project out-turn and whether it is successful. Design can be assembled as a 3D model, 4D when linked into construction planning and linked into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or Building Information Modelling (BIM) databases linked to records of approvals and performance.
