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Many buildings are handed over to people who were never asked what they needed. Soft landings fixes that by involving the end users and operators throughout the project, and keeping the delivery team involved for the first years of use. In the UK it is described in BS 8536 and in the government's Soft Landings approach. The wider practice is covered in Soft landings in practice; this lesson takes the information manager's seat.
- 1Asset requirementsWhat operations needs
- 3Data in the modelsFilled as design develops
- 4COBie exportSpreadsheet or IFC
The operator writes the requirements
The facilities team, the operator and if possible a few end users take part in the briefing. Their needs go into the OIR and then the AIR: which assets they maintain, what they need to know about each, which systems they use (CAFM, BMS), and in what structure. Requirements written this way are shorter and more useful than generic lists.
Handover is rehearsed
| When | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 4 | Agree the data template and test-load sample data into the operator's CAFM | Information manager, operator, contractor |
| During construction | Load real data as systems are installed; fix at source | Contractor, operator |
| Before completion | Readiness review: data complete, staff trained on the real systems | All, led by the client |
| Handover | Accept against the AIR; nothing new appears | Client's information manager |
The facilities team is introduced at handover. It receives a COBie file built against a generic template, which its CAFM can't import, and a set of O&M manuals. For the first six months, maintenance is planned from the manuals by hand, and the new building's first winter has three heating faults nobody can trace.
The FM manager joins the project at briefing and writes the maintainable-asset list with the information manager. At stage 4 a sample loads into the CAFM; by completion, the data has been loaded and used for two months of commissioning. In the first winter, aftercare reviews of the BMS data find a control setting that was overheating two floors.
Aftercare is planned information
The aftercare period (often up to three years in the UK approach) needs its own information plan: what is measured (energy, water, comfort, faults, user feedback), by whom, how often, where the results are kept, and who acts on them. Without that plan, aftercare becomes a few site visits with no record.
A new primary school has a three-year aftercare period. Write a short aftercare information plan: five things to measure or record, who provides each, how often, where it is kept and who reviews it.
Key takeaways
- Soft landings involve the end users and operators from briefing to the first years of use (in the UK: BS 8536 and Government Soft Landings).
- The operator's needs go into the OIR and AIR early, so the information delivered is what they will use.
- Handover is prepared and rehearsed: test data loads, training on the real systems, readiness reviews before completion.
- Aftercare is planned as information too: what is measured (energy, comfort, faults), by whom, how often, and where the results are kept.
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