Hello, I'm starting project to document several building as well a site operations. Does anyone have any experience/ advice they can share?
Thanks,
Jason Saving Changes...
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Vijay SuryavanshiProject Manager - Engineering| RECARO Aircraft SeatingPlantation, Fl, United States
Hi Jason,
I don't have direct experience in the construction industry but work in Aviation. Documentation is required as a part of Quality Audit or ISO9000/... certification. It proves that you follow the processes and document each step. If I were you, I would get in touch with Quality department and see what are all the requirments first ? Also, it looks like since you have site operations, those can documented in a separate group or older. The exisiting old building can and must be docuemented. It must going to relevant project folders and must be archived for future reference. Also, ongoing project must be documented in the Current project folder. This is just for you to get an idea at a higher level. Then you can break each of these higher level folders into subfolders and work your way down. Tweak as required by the Quality or Audit requirements.
Hope this helps. Saving Changes...
It all starts with identifying the purpose of the documentation and the specific characteristics that you need to document in order to support that use. Documenting things like seating capacity, computing equipment and other operational characteristics will be different than an "as-built" documenting finished building dimensions.
Whether it is construction or aerospace, documentation falls under the generic architecture views of physical (the various pieces that need to work together), functional (the various types work supported), logical (how the pieces work together to perform the functions), requirements, and the conceptual operations view describing how it all fits together.
For documenting operations, I will tend to organize it based on process flow using a fish-bone diagram or value stream map that includes both the facilities configuration supporting the work, and the process elements feeding the flow such as setup, routine operations, maintenance, tear down, etc. Saving Changes...
First you need to define what information you need to capture. Second, find the original documents that outlined the project, ie architecture drawings, IT wiring diagrams, etc. Lastly you need to find the current state of the building. What changes or modifications were made, who made them, are there any more changes planned in the near future. Saving Changes...
First off, Thanks to everyone who replied!!! It is really appreciated.
To add a bit more to this, I am Facility Manager with experience as a Project Manager ( PMP for a few years now). All told this will cover about 2 million square feet over 10 buildings. The info to capture, dang near everything! This is a brain dump to get site info ( aka institutional knowledge) before my staff retire, most of my team has worked here for decades. Users of this data will be mainly my team moving forward but also individual building stakeholders.
Thanks again!
Jason
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2 replies by Jessica Mason and Keith Novak
Apr 11, 2023 11:29 AM
Jessica Mason
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Hope this information finds you well. Start with a brainstorming session with all of the stakeholder and find a way to categorize their thoughts. For instance - some stakeholders may mention technical where others may mention building material or office materials. All of my projects begin with Ye Ol' Lists - I find once I get my lists into categories - I have conquered the Work breakdown structure, and pretty much identified the requirements (along with WHO is interested in WHAT). Its good to understand Stakeholder priorities. I use simple Excel sheets for my original lists and then you can get more fancy with proper PM tools - but start simple and keep it basic. Draw out large details. Example if someone mentions plumbing - Well start a list for plumbing - break that down - but if someone mentions they would like to have a kitchen area in the office - that would be possibly a sink, dishwasher, and maybe a water line for a refrigerator (those would go UNDER your plumbing list but you will have other items for the kitchen area that need to go in a different category - like office cabinets or furnishings. Maybe that is something you assign to a different functional manager or if you are responsible - start making your list of things you need. After ALL your lists are complete. The figure in your lead times and by the end your will have a project plan with tasks and timelines. Don't forget to make sure it all fits neatly into the budget. Oh - and make yourself a to-do list everyday.
Apr 11, 2023 11:42 AM
Keith Novak
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I'm currently doing something similar as a project engineer to help Operations manage trucks full of electronic test equipment. I am drafting what I'm calling a systems description document to collect the relevant information.
This sort of documentation is typically done early in the engineering design process for new equipment to explain the use, the parts that support the use, and how it all works together. For what you and I are doing though, it doesn't require the level of detail necessary to allow teams of engineers to go from the high level spec to the detail level engineering drawings and pans needed to construct everything.
Consider how the documentation will be used in the future to establish your own minimum requirements. Are you doing it to maintain the configuration as-is to support current operations, to enable re-configuring it later for a different purpose, to make sure you can find the drawings describing where all the network cables go, etc.
You may decide you need to collect more information later as you find additional uses. To start out though, record the information you see a planned use for, not absolutely everything in case you some day find a use.
Given the longevity of the deliverables created from this project, rather than discrete documents, an information repository or wiki for the knowledge would be more useful over time.
First off, Thanks to everyone who replied!!! It is really appreciated.
To add a bit more to this, I am Facility Manager with experience as a Project Manager ( PMP for a few years now). All told this will cover about 2 million square feet over 10 buildings. The info to capture, dang near everything! This is a brain dump to get site info ( aka institutional knowledge) before my staff retire, most of my team has worked here for decades. Users of this data will be mainly my team moving forward but also individual building stakeholders.
Thanks again!
Jason
Hope this information finds you well. Start with a brainstorming session with all of the stakeholder and find a way to categorize their thoughts. For instance - some stakeholders may mention technical where others may mention building material or office materials. All of my projects begin with Ye Ol' Lists - I find once I get my lists into categories - I have conquered the Work breakdown structure, and pretty much identified the requirements (along with WHO is interested in WHAT). Its good to understand Stakeholder priorities. I use simple Excel sheets for my original lists and then you can get more fancy with proper PM tools - but start simple and keep it basic. Draw out large details. Example if someone mentions plumbing - Well start a list for plumbing - break that down - but if someone mentions they would like to have a kitchen area in the office - that would be possibly a sink, dishwasher, and maybe a water line for a refrigerator (those would go UNDER your plumbing list but you will have other items for the kitchen area that need to go in a different category - like office cabinets or furnishings. Maybe that is something you assign to a different functional manager or if you are responsible - start making your list of things you need. After ALL your lists are complete. The figure in your lead times and by the end your will have a project plan with tasks and timelines. Don't forget to make sure it all fits neatly into the budget. Oh - and make yourself a to-do list everyday. Saving Changes...
First off, Thanks to everyone who replied!!! It is really appreciated.
To add a bit more to this, I am Facility Manager with experience as a Project Manager ( PMP for a few years now). All told this will cover about 2 million square feet over 10 buildings. The info to capture, dang near everything! This is a brain dump to get site info ( aka institutional knowledge) before my staff retire, most of my team has worked here for decades. Users of this data will be mainly my team moving forward but also individual building stakeholders.
Thanks again!
Jason
I'm currently doing something similar as a project engineer to help Operations manage trucks full of electronic test equipment. I am drafting what I'm calling a systems description document to collect the relevant information.
This sort of documentation is typically done early in the engineering design process for new equipment to explain the use, the parts that support the use, and how it all works together. For what you and I are doing though, it doesn't require the level of detail necessary to allow teams of engineers to go from the high level spec to the detail level engineering drawings and pans needed to construct everything.
Consider how the documentation will be used in the future to establish your own minimum requirements. Are you doing it to maintain the configuration as-is to support current operations, to enable re-configuring it later for a different purpose, to make sure you can find the drawings describing where all the network cables go, etc.
You may decide you need to collect more information later as you find additional uses. To start out though, record the information you see a planned use for, not absolutely everything in case you some day find a use. Saving Changes...
Latha Thamma reddiSr Product and Portfolio Management (Automation Innovation)| DXC TechnologyMckinney, Tx, United States
Jason, hope you got the answer you are looking for Saving Changes...
Given the longevity of the deliverables created from this project, rather than discrete documents, an information repository or wiki for the knowledge would be more useful over time.
