Job Book 9th Edition - Book - Page 294
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Stage 6 > Handover and Close Out
Initial occupation period / Soft Landings
Soft Landings activities during the initial occupation period and
Post-occupancy Evaluation are additional services. Where they
form part of the appointment, certain activities must be carried
out from the outset of the project. These activities are noted in
this book within the Appointment section of each stage.
For Soft Landings activities the architect should make visits
to site to make structured transfer of information to the users
and the facilities management team, spot emerging issues and
solve problems, and establish a method of providing ongoing
assistance for the users.
Post-occupancy Evaluation (POE)
On completion of a project there will always be the need to
assemble documents for retention and to compile records. This
is an activity appropriate to nearly all projects. A study of such
material could lead to an updating of the office systems to take
account of lessons learned.
There are then three levels at which further post-completion
studies may be carried out. First, an investigation or appraisal
that is restricted to an in-house operation. Second, a debriefing
exercise that involves other people concerned with the project,
which could commence shortly after completion. Third, a full
post-project evaluation, but this is unlikely to be possible until
several years after completion.
Both in-house appraisals and debriefing are exercises not
normally listed in the services provided by the architect and are
unlikely to be funded by the client. However, they can provide
useful lessons for the members of both the design team and the
construction team.
A full Feedback study can be costly; if the client wishes one to be
undertaken, it will probably have to be the subject of a separate
commission. With partnering arrangements this kind of study is
likely to be an essential part of the assessment of whether targets
have been met. Full post-project evaluations can be particularly
useful to clients who construct more than once, in order to
improve the briefing they provide for future projects.
