Soft landings is an approach that keeps the end users and operators involved from briefing to the first years of use, so the building performs as intended instead of being handed over and forgotten. It covers setting realistic performance targets, involving operators in design reviews, preparing them before handover, and an aftercare period with the design and construction team still engaged. In the UK it is set out in BS 8536:2022 and the Government Soft Landings framework.
At a glance
| Standard | BS 8536:2022 "Design, manufacture and construction for operability" (it consolidated the earlier Parts 1 and 2) |
| Framework | Government Soft Landings (UK public sector), aligned with ISO 19650 |
| Core idea | Operators and users are part of the project team from the start |
| Key stages | Briefing with performance targets, design reviews with operators, pre-handover training and testing, aftercare (often 1–3 years), post-occupancy evaluation |
| Links to BIM | Operators help write the AIR, check data drops and test the CAFM import before handover |
The stages in practice
| Stage | What happens | BIM contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Briefing | Operators define how the building will be run; performance targets set (energy, comfort, maintenance) | OIR and AIR written with the operator |
| Design reviews | Operators check access, maintainability, cleaning, controls | Model walkthroughs focused on maintenance access |
| Construction | Operator's team kept informed; commissioning plans agreed | Data drops checked against the AIR |
| Pre-handover | Training, testing of systems, CAFM data imported and checked | Record model and asset data verified and loaded |
| Aftercare | Team on site after handover to fine-tune systems and fix issues | Model and data updated with changes found |
| Evaluation | Measured performance compared with targets; lessons learned | Data used to compare design and actual |
Worked example
A new school's design review includes the site manager who will run it. Walking the model, she notices the boiler room has no route for replacing the boilers without removing a wall, and that all the classroom ventilation controls are in a locked plant room. Both are changed at design stage. In the first year of aftercare, the engineers find the heating schedules were set for a 24-hour building; corrected, the gas bill drops by a quarter. The model's data, already loaded in the CMMS, makes both findings easy to act on.
Common mistakes
- Treating soft landings as a "handover week" at the end.
- Operators not yet appointed when design decisions are made.
- No budget or contract for aftercare, so the team leaves on completion day.
- Performance targets written but never measured.
Where to read more
BSI publishes BS 8536:2022. The Government Soft Landings guidance (UK BIM Framework and the Centre for Digital Built Britain archive) explains the framework and its alignment with ISO 19650. Building services and facilities bodies publish soft landings toolkits.