Handover, Snagging and Defects: Closing a Project Properly

Four things that get confused

	What it is	When
Commissioning	Proving systems perform as designed	Before handover
Snagging	Finding incomplete or poor finishing work	Before handover
Practical completion	A contractual state — usable, minor items only	The milestone
Defects liability	Contractor returns to fix faults that appear	After handover

Projects go wrong when these are collapsed into one event at the end. They are four different activities with different owners, different evidence and different timing.

Commissioning first, then snagging

The order matters. Commissioning frequently requires access above ceilings and into equipment; snagging assesses the finished surface.

Snag first and commission after, and the commissioning work damages what was just snagged. It also means comfort problems surface after the client has accepted the finish.

Commissioning should also be witnessed and recorded with measured values — airflows against design figures, control responses, interface tests. A signed statement without data is not evidence.

The handover pack

This is what determines your operating cost for the next decade:

• As-built drawings, editable format as well as PDF
• Operating and maintenance manuals for every system
• Test and commissioning records with measured values
• Equipment schedules — make, model, serial number, location
• Warranties, with start dates and what each covers
• Spare parts and attic stock — including carpet tiles from the original batch, since dye lots will not match later
• Statutory certificates applicable to the works
• Training records for the facilities team
• Access panel locations, so services can be reached

Make these contractual deliverables with a defined format, tied to a payment milestone. Documentation and record provisions sit within the administrative framework of NBC 2016, Part 2, with services in NBC 2016, Part 8.

Running snagging so it closes

• Snag progressively, area by area, while the trade is still on site
• One list, one owner — parallel lists never converge
• Location, description, photograph, date on every item
• Separate variations out and price them honestly
• Close items with a date and a re-inspection, not a verbal assurance
• Agree the standard of finish before it is built, where it matters

Practical completion without a fight

Disputes cluster here because a single date moves money, risk and responsibility.

The way to avoid the argument is to agree completion criteria in writing early — what must be finished, tested, commissioned and handed over. An hour at contract stage; weeks if left until the date arrives.

Remember what the milestone triggers: possession passes, risk and insurance usually transfer, delay damages stop, retention is partly released, and the defects liability period begins.

Using the defects period well

• Report promptly and in writing, as things appear
• Keep one log with dates and photographs
• Distinguish defects from maintenance items as you record them
• Inspect deliberately before the period ends
• Confirm in writing when items are made good

Consider whether the period spans the season that will test the building — a period ending before the first monsoon will not surface a facade leak, and one ending before peak summer will not test cooling capacity.

After the first year

The handover pack only stays valuable if it is maintained.

The most common failure is not a missing document at handover; it is an accurate document that nobody updates after the first alteration. Assign someone in the client organisation to own it, and make updating it part of any future change.

Standards referenced

Administrative provisions covering completion, documentation and occupancy in NBC 2016, Part 2; building services provisions in NBC 2016, Part 8. Completion criteria, documentation requirements and the defects liability period for a specific project are set by the project's contract and should be settled with legal advice.