Capital projects generate physical assets and the engineering information needed to maintain and modify those assets for years to come. Drawings, specifications, calculations, models, and change records often remain in use long after construction is complete.
Document control helps preserve the accuracy and usability of that information throughout the asset lifecycle. Without it, organizations spend valuable time searching for documentation and recreating engineering work that should have been addressed during the project.
At Access Sciences, we help organizations manage and govern the information that supports critical business operations and capital assets.
The Hidden Risk of Untrusted Information
Document control is often viewed as an administrative function focused on managing files and revisions. Its larger purpose is to help people trust the information they use.
When engineering information cannot be trusted, organizations may face:
- Difficulty verifying what was installed
- Conflicting or outdated records
- Time spent recreating engineering work
- Increased project and operational risk
- Delays caused by missing information
Project Closeout Is Not the End
A common misconception is that engineering information is primarily valuable during design and construction. Much of its value emerges after project completion.
A well-managed turnover package becomes the foundation for:
- Maintenance and reliability activities
- Future renovations and expansions
- Regulatory and compliance requirements
- Operational decision-making
- Future capital projects
The quality of that information directly affects how efficiently future work can be planned and executed.
As BJ Fulgham, Access Sciences Manager of Document Control, explains, project documentation should become “the foundation for the next project.”
An Owner Perspective
Owners and contractors often have different relationships with project information. Contractors are focused on delivering a successful project. Owners are responsible for operating and maintaining the asset for years after construction ends.
For owners, document control is not only about collecting records at turnover. The information must also be delivered in a form that supports future use. What works for a project team isn’t always what an owner needs years later when maintaining or modifying an asset.
Engineering Information Requires Active Management
Engineering information does not become useful simply because it has been collected and stored.
To remain reliable, information must be:
- Accurate and consistent
- Traceable across revisions
- Delivered in a usable format
- Aligned with established standards
- Reflective of what was built
- Accessible to future users
As Angela Tilton, Access Sciences Manager, Engineering Information, describes it, her team doesn’t simply store drawings. “We read them, interpret them, merge them together, and build a library out of all the pieces we get.”
This work makes the information usable for the next person who needs it.
Tilton has seen organizations pay “two, three, four times” for information they had already purchased because it wasn’t delivered in a form they could trust or reuse. Those costs rarely appear on the original project budget. They accumulate over the life of the asset.
Construction Ends. Information Doesn’t.
A project delivers both a physical asset and the information that supports it. The long-term value of that asset depends on information people can trust.