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Mitigating Your Risk With Document Retention

construction document retention paperwork

Mitigating risk in a construction project is often the number one concern of project owners. With so many factors that can go wrong from the start of the project through closeout, finding ways to minimize risk is paramount to the success of your project. 

 

One of the most important components of your project is document retention. Every construction project has endless amounts of documentation – contractor agreements, submittals, plans, schedules, and RFIs just to name a few. Keeping track of all of these documents in one secure place is an excellent way to mitigate risk and avoid document loss.

Start of the project

To start off on the right foot, you’ll want to formalize a game plan of what documents will be coming from who. You’ll be working with architects, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, inspectors, and more and you want to be certain that you know what to expect from each group. Documents such as contracts/agreements, plans, and specifications, drawings, schedules, insurance policies/programs, progress/inspection reports, change orders, permitting, code compliance, and occupancy documentation, as well as communications, will all be coming in and will need to be saved and accessible. 

 

This is where having the right construction management software is essential. From the very beginning of the project, you’ll want software that can chronologically store all documentation that is easy for everyone to use and access, when and where they want. Owner Insite makes document tracking and organization easy for everyone to use and utilize, especially the project owners.

During the project

As the project gets underway, it can be easy for some documents and communications to fall through the cracks. Having high-level visibility to ensure everything is being recorded and saved in the project software will go a long way in making your project run smoothly. It is helpful to note all of the documents are continually updated, including meeting notes, on-site reports (photographs, weather conditions and progress notes), requests for information and responses, schedule updates and critical path, and change order records. These will need to be saved and easy to access as the project goes on.

End of the project

We’ve spoken about project closeout and how it is the most important step in your project. Now is the time when all of the work you’ve done throughout the project to protect and save your documents comes into play. As issues arise, as they often do during closeout, you’ll need to be able to refer back to your documentation. For example, if claims for construction defects should arise, you’ll need to track the defect’s source. Because you’ve been diligent about document retention and have been using software that makes it easy to recall and use your documentation, dealing with these kinds of issues will be easy and will greatly reduce issues and time spent resolving them. 

 

Owner Insite provides first-rate document retention to the project owners and ensures that all team members can easily access documentation in just a few clicks. Learn more about what our software can do for you by requesting a free demo today. We look forward to working with you on your next project!

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