# Factory and Warehouse Handover Documents: What You Should Receive

> Factory handover documents are the records that let an owner run, maintain, insure, extend and later alter an industrial building: as-built drawings including buried services, the structural design basis and PEB supplier drawings, O&M manuals, test records such as pipe pressure tests, earthing and insulation resistance results, fire system records, commissioning records and dated warranties.

## The building outlives the project team

At the end of a factory or warehouse project, attention is on the first production
run or the first truck at the dock. The handover file is treated as paperwork for the
contractor to finish.

It is the opposite. **The documents are what the owner uses for the next twenty years**:
when a crane is added, solar goes on the roof, a mezzanine is planned, the insurer asks
how the fire system was tested, an excavation is about to cut a buried cable, or a roof
leak needs a warranty claim. By then, the designers and site engineers have moved on.

This article takes the industrial angle. The office equivalent is covered in our note on
[fit-out handover documents](/blog/fit-out-handover-documents-what-you-should-receive).
The difference is scale: a factory owner receives the whole building, including the
structure, the ground beneath it and everything buried around it.

## Factory handover documents by package

| Package | Documents to receive | Why you need it later |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Structure and PEB | Structural design basis, calculations, PEB supplier general arrangement, anchor bolt and erection drawings, material and bolt test records, paint system records | Any added load: solar, cranes, mezzanines, hung services |
| Foundations and ground | Soil investigation report, foundation drawings, records of any ground improvement | Extensions, new foundations, settlement questions |
| Floor and hardstanding | Slab design loads, joint layout, flatness survey where specified, coating records | Racking changes, new equipment, floor repairs |
| Roof and envelope | Sheet and coating details, fixing details, skylight and ventilator records, waterproofing details | Leak claims, re-sheeting, solar |
| External works | As-builts of drainage, fire water mains, buried cables, earth pits and pipe crossings | Every future excavation |
| Electrical | Single-line diagrams, cable schedules, panel, transformer and DG test records, insulation resistance and earthing test results, protection settings | Fault finding, load additions, insurance |
| Plumbing and fire water | Pressure test records, pump test records, valve schedules | Leak tracing, system extension |
| Fire detection and protection | System as-builts, test records, cause-and-effect matrix, equipment data | Authority inspections, insurers, alterations |
| Equipment | O&M manuals for cranes, docks, doors, pumps, DG and HVAC | Maintenance contracts, spares |
| Warranties | Register with start dates, scope, conditions and issuer | Claims that hold up |

Not every building has every package. The list should be cut to the scope, but decided
before the work starts.

## The structural design basis is the document owners most often lack

A PEB or steel building is usually designed close to its stated loads. That is efficient,
but it means **the building's capacity for anything new is only known from its design
basis**: the roof collateral load allowed for services, the crane loads if any, the
mezzanine and floor loads, and the wind and seismic basis used by the designer.

Ask for the design basis report, the calculations and the PEB supplier's drawings,
including anchor bolt and connection details, alongside the general arrangement. When
an engineer later checks the roof for solar or the frame for a crane, these documents
turn a survey and back-calculation into a desk check. Structural design provisions sit
in **NBC 2016, Part 6**, with steel design in **IS 800:2007**. The values themselves
belong to the project's structural engineer, and this article does not give them.

## As-builts must include what is underground

[As-built drawings](/glossary/as-built-drawings) record what was installed rather than
what was intended. On an industrial site the most valuable as-builts are of things no one
will ever see again: buried HT and LT cables, fire water mains, storm and foul drainage,
earth pits and their interconnections, and every crossing between them.

Those can only be recorded accurately while trenches are open. Ask for them to be
updated as the work proceeds, with levels and offsets from fixed points, rather than
reconstructed at the end.

## Test and commissioning records are the evidence

A system that looks finished may not have been proven. The records that show it was
include:

- **Pressure tests** on fire water mains, sprinkler and hydrant pipework, and plumbing,
  stating the test pressure, duration and result, signed by those present.
- **Electrical tests**, including insulation resistance and earthing results. Electrical
  wiring practice is set out in **IS 732** and earthing in **IS 3043:2018**.
- **Equipment tests** for transformers, panels, DG sets and pumps, as supplied.
- **Commissioning records** showing each system was set to work and performed as
  specified. Our note on [commissioning](/glossary/commissioning) explains what the
  process covers.

The specification and the project's engineers set which tests apply and what results are
acceptable. The owner's job is to make sure the records exist, are signed and are in the
file.

## Fire system records and statutory documents

Fire detection, hydrant and sprinkler systems in an industrial building are inspected
by authorities and examined by insurers, and alterations to them need the original
design and as-builts. The handover should include the system drawings as installed, test
records, equipment data and the cause-and-effect matrix linking detection to alarms and
plant shutdowns.

Fire and life safety provisions sit in **NBC 2016, Part 4**. Which statutory approvals,
inspections or completion documents apply to a particular building, including those for
lifts, cranes, pressure equipment and the electrical installation under state rules,
depends on the building, its use and its location. That must be established by the
project's consultants and the authorities having jurisdiction.

## Warranties: the conditions decide whether they work

Roof sheet and coating warranties, waterproofing, floor coatings, steel paint systems and
equipment warranties often depend on conditions: inspections at set intervals, approved
repairs, cleaning, or no unapproved fixings. Record for each the **start date, scope,
conditions and issuer** in one register at handover. A roof warranty voided by a later
unapproved solar fixing is a common and avoidable loss.

The [handover, snagging and defects guide](/guides/handover-snagging-and-defects-guide)
covers how these records support the defects period.

## Format, ownership and where the file lives

A complete file is still useless if nobody can find it. Three decisions make it usable:

- **Format.** Editable drawing files as well as PDFs, so the next designer can work from
  them, and searchable PDFs for manuals and test records.
- **An index.** One register listing every document by package, with its revision and
  date, so gaps are visible at handover rather than discovered during a breakdown.
- **An owner.** A named person in the plant or facilities team who holds the master
  copy, controls updates when the building changes, and passes it on when they move.

Industrial buildings change more than offices do: a line is added, a bay is extended, a
crane is upgraded. Each change should update the file, or within a few years the
as-builts describe a building that no longer exists.

## Common mistakes

- **No design basis in the file.** The first rooftop solar enquiry triggers a full
  structural survey.
- **Underground as-builts drawn from memory.** The next excavation finds the cable.
- **Pressure tests witnessed but not recorded.** There is nothing to show the insurer.
- **Warranties filed without their conditions.** They lapse unnoticed.
- **PEB supplier drawings missing.** The steel was designed off site, and the drawings
  stayed there.
- **Handover list agreed at completion.** What was only visible during the works is lost.

## What to ask before the contract is signed

- Which documents will we receive, for each package, in what format and by what date?
- Will the structural design basis, calculations and PEB supplier drawings be included?
- How will underground services be recorded while trenches are open?
- Who signs the pressure, insulation resistance and earthing test records?
- Is there a warranty register with dates, scope and conditions?
- Which statutory documents apply, and who is obtaining each one?

## Standards referenced

Fire and life safety in **NBC 2016, Part 4**; structural design in **NBC 2016, Part 6**
and steel design in **IS 800:2007**; electrical wiring installations in **IS 732**; and
earthing in **IS 3043:2018**. The documents required for a specific building, the tests
and acceptance criteria, and any statutory completion or inspection documents must be
established by the project's engineers, consultants and the authorities having
jurisdiction.

## Frequently asked questions

### How are factory handover documents different from office fit-out handover documents?

An office fit-out hands over the inside of someone else's building. A factory or warehouse owner receives the whole building: structure, foundations, floor, roof, external drainage, buried cables, substations, fire water systems and often cranes and docks. That adds the structural design basis, PEB supplier drawings, ground and foundation records, and as-builts of everything underground, which an office handover never covers.

### Why do we need the structural design basis after the building is finished?

Because every later change depends on it. Adding rooftop solar, a crane, a mezzanine, heavier racking, or services hung from the roof all require an engineer to know what loads the structure was designed for. Without the design basis and calculations, the engineer has to survey and reverse-engineer the building, which costs time and may lead to unnecessary strengthening.

### What test records should be handed over for the electrical installation?

Typically insulation resistance test results for cables and circuits, earth electrode and earthing continuity results, test records for panels, transformers and the DG set where supplied, and protection settings. Which tests apply and what results are acceptable are set by the electrical consultant and the specification, in line with IS 732 and IS 3043. The owner's job is to make sure signed records exist.

### Which warranties matter most on an industrial building?

The roof sheet and coating warranty, waterproofing, floor coatings or toppings, steel paint systems, and equipment such as pumps, doors, dock levellers and DG sets. For each, record the start date, the scope, the conditions such as servicing or inspection, and who issued it. Many lapse quietly if their maintenance conditions are not followed.

### Are as-builts of underground services really necessary?

Yes, and they are the ones most often missing. Buried cables, fire water mains, drainage, earth pits and pipe crossings are invisible once the site is finished. The next excavation for an extension, a new road or a foundation will hit them without accurate as-builts. Ask for them to be recorded as the trenches are open, not reconstructed later.

### When should the handover document list be agreed?

In the contract, before work starts, with a list, a format, a responsible party for each document and a delivery date. Many records, such as pressure tests and buried services, can only be captured while the work is open. Asking at completion produces gaps that cannot be filled.

## Sources

- [NBC 2016, Part 4](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/) — Fire and life safety
- [NBC 2016, Part 6](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/) — Structural design
- [IS 732](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Code of practice for electrical wiring installations
- [IS 3043:2018](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Code of practice for earthing
- [IS 800:2007](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — General construction in steel - code of practice

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/blog/industrial-building-handover-documents