Project Documentation and Communication

How construction teams create, send, control and keep the records that run a project and protect everyone on it, following one Ottawa general contractor through a mass-timber library under CCDC 2 2020: why contemporaneous records matter; document control, ISO 19650-style naming and the common data environment; correspondence, transmittals and timely Notice in Writing; daily reports and site diaries; requests for information; submittals and shop drawings; meetings and minutes; photos, video, inspection and test records; change, delay and claims-ready records; payment records under Ontario's Construction Act, including proper invoices, holdback, prompt payment and adjudication; closeout and handover documents; and records retention, legal holds and a project documentation plan.

CON-375 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 3 min

Offered by HSM University · Construction Management

This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.

What you'll learn

  • Explain the families of project documentation, the jobs records do, and why contemporaneous records made in the ordinary course of business carry weight.
  • Set up and run a document control system and common data environment with structured naming, revisions, status codes, distribution and an audit trail.
  • Write formal correspondence and transmittals, and give timely Notice in Writing under CCDC 2 2020 and its supplementary conditions, counting deadlines correctly.
  • Prepare daily reports and site diaries that are specific, quantitative, factual and complete, and reconcile them with subcontractor reports and weather data.
  • Write requests for information that get fast, useful answers, manage the RFI log, measure response times and recognize answers that are changes.
  • Plan, review, track and expedite submittals, flag deviations, and work back from on-site dates to set submittal start dates.
  • Run effective project meetings and write minutes with numbered, carried-forward action items, and understand the limits of minutes as a contractual record.
  • Plan and manage photos, video and reality capture as evidence, and keep inspection, test, non-conformance and safety records in a complete quality file.
  • Keep change, cost and schedule records that support changes, delays and lost-productivity claims, and assemble a claims-ready file.
  • Prepare payment applications and proper invoices, manage holdback, statutory declarations and Ontario's prompt payment, lien and adjudication deadlines.
  • Plan closeout early and deliver deficiency lists, as-built information, operation and maintenance data, commissioning and training records, warranties and final payment documents.
  • Apply a records retention schedule, preserve records under a legal hold, archive records securely, and prepare a complete project documentation plan.

Course content

12 lessons · 4 h 3 min total · final exam

  1. 1 Why documentation matters 21 min · quiz
  2. 2 Document control and the common data environment 22 min · quiz
  3. 3 Correspondence, transmittals and written notice 21 min · quiz
  4. 4 Daily reports and site diaries 20 min · quiz
  5. 5 Requests for information 19 min · quiz
  6. 6 Submittals and shop drawings 20 min · quiz
  7. 7 Meetings and minutes 20 min · quiz
  8. 8 Photos, video, inspection and test records 20 min · quiz
  9. 9 Changes, delays and claims-ready records 20 min · quiz
  10. 10 Payment records, prompt payment and adjudication 20 min · quiz
  11. 11 Closeout and handover documents 20 min · quiz
  12. 12 Records retention and the project documentation plan 20 min · quiz
  13. E Final exam 20 questions

Requirements

Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.

Description

How construction teams create, send, control and keep the records that run a project and protect everyone on it, following one Ottawa general contractor through a mass-timber library under CCDC 2 2020: why contemporaneous records matter; document control, ISO 19650-style naming and the common data environment; correspondence, transmittals and timely Notice in Writing; daily reports and site diaries; requests for information; submittals and shop drawings; meetings and minutes; photos, video, inspection and test records; change, delay and claims-ready records; payment records under Ontario's Construction Act, including proper invoices, holdback, prompt payment and adjudication; closeout and handover documents; and records retention, legal holds and a project documentation plan.

Part of the Construction Management stream, typically taken in year 3.