Why you need to provide a comprehensive digital building manual at practical completion

As a builder, or a building owner, you have a duty of care to the occupants of that building to ensure their health and safety is guaranteed.

This can only be ensured if the building is built - and maintained - as designed which, in turn, can only be ensured with adequate and comprehensive documentation.

Disasters like the Grenfell Tower fire in London, the Opal Apartments in Sydney and the Lacrosse Building in Melbourne's Docklands could all have been avoided had appropriate verification and documentation of the building process been implemented.

Apart from the moral obligation however, there will soon be a legal obligation to ensure that comprehensive documentation is provided at handover - or subsequent sale - of a building.

Those found in breach of these requirements may find themselves suffering severe financial penalties, through fines or litigation. Costs which will far exceed the cost of providing the documentation in he first place.

Even beyond the legal requirements, builders and building owners could face costly civil action if their processes - and documentation - is found lacking.

Providing comprehensive building documentation need not be costly - indeed it is very inexpensive when the appropriate systems and processes are implemented.