We produce as-built documentation with a permanent team that works entirely remotely from our own office. In this kind of work, who does it and how it is managed determines the result, so that is where we start. Sam, our team leader, has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design firm in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer.
He leads the CAD team and also carries the technical responsibility and project supervision.
Barry, our project manager, is usually the first point of contact for a new enquiry, after which Sam takes over the technical side, so the client keeps one consistent line of contact. Every drafter on our team has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the core of the team has around twenty-five years of experience combined. We provide drafting and modelling, not engineering. The work is done in our own environment with our own licences.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
How an as-built documentation project runs
An as-built documentation job always starts with a conversation in which we go through the project. The client supplies the details and usually also the existing drawings that need revising. We look through that material before committing to anything, because its condition determines most of the lead time. A set that arrives tidy and digital requires something very different from a stack of sheets with hand-drawn additions. Once we have enough information, we get started. We then deliver in stages.
We gather feedback, make adjustments and move on to the next section. That order is deliberate, because a first section immediately shows whether the level of detail, the naming and the sheet layout match what the client expects. If something turns out to deviate, we correct it before it spreads across the entire set. The meeting rhythm varies by client. On a project running to a tight schedule, we speak every two days; on a calmer one, weekly, depending on how quickly it needs to be done.
Day-to-day contact is by email, phone and meetings, and we can visit the client or vice versa. Every section that is sent has already gone through at least three review layers. A drafter produces the work, a second team member checks it, Sam then reviews it as team leader and Barry, as project manager, goes over it last. As a result, errors are kept to a minimum in practice, even with large series of sheets.
Software and formats for as-built documentation
For as-built documentation, we mainly work in Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino. We also use Inventor and Grasshopper, and to a lesser extent Dynamo and Vault, wherever they demonstrably add value. We always work with the latest versions. That is not a matter of preference but of practicality, because outdated versions keep causing conversion problems when files are exchanged, and nobody wants to deal with those. We deliver files in DXF, DWG, Revit formats and STEP, and in practice in any common CAD format.
More important than the software package is how well the work fits the existing set. We work to the client's standards and drawing conventions, which they provide. Layer structure, naming, hatching and title blocks therefore follow their conventions, not ours. If there is already a template or a family set, we work within it. If that set has become clogged over the years with duplicate variants and parameters nobody dares touch any more, we discuss whether cleaning it up or rebuilding it makes more sense.
With a very messy set, rebuilding is sometimes faster than repairing. We present that trade-off with a clear rationale, and the decision stays with the client. Where components recur, we build parametric families, so a component is set up once and then placed everywhere, with a material schedule that updates automatically. Everything runs in our own environment on our own licences, so no workstation or licence needs to be freed up on the client's side.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
Capacity and scaling up during the project
We adjust the size of the team to what the project requires. Our large, flexible team scales with each project. The team is already in place, so we deploy what is needed without first having to recruit or onboard anyone. When it is urgent, we add people straight away, which in practice makes the difference between a schedule that holds and one that slips. If the volume drops, we scale back down and the client pays no ongoing salary costs for idle capacity. We cover absences ourselves. If someone drops out due to illness or holidays, we replace that person so the work carries on. Because every section passes several pairs of eyes anyway, there is always more than one team member familiar with the project, which keeps a handover like that short.
With an individual contractor it is different, because the work stops the moment that person drops out. We saw what a team like ours can handle on a deadline that could not slip. We worked evenings and weekends, with days of fourteen to fifteen hours, and the work even continued during Sam's planned holiday so we could deliver on time. That is not our standard way of working, but it does indicate what is possible when a handover date is truly fixed. We will also tell you honestly when something is not achievable, because a promise that is not kept does the client no good at all.
Getting started with as-built documentation
To get started with as-built documentation, we need a limited but specific package of information. First and foremost, the existing drawings and the changes to be incorporated, in whatever form they arrive. Next, the client's drawing conventions and standards, so the set is built in the right conventions from the outset. We also want to know what output is required, meaning which drawing types, what level of detail and which file format, and what will happen to the documentation after delivery.
Finally, a schedule helps, because it determines how many people we put on the job. Having enough information means we can begin.
If something is missing, that is no reason to wait, because we are used to incomplete material and will first take stock of what is missing. We respond to a new enquiry within 1 to 2 working days. You can get in touch by phone or through the contact form on the site, after which we have a conversation to go through the project. A short job is fine. We can also start with a small first job, so the client can assess our speed and accuracy before a larger set follows.
If the collaboration proves a good fit, we scale up with the same people and the same agreements, without anything needing to be set up again. In that first conversation, we also point out which part of a request falls outside our scope, such as calculations, structural advice or permits, so the boundaries of our role are clear from the start.
Frequently asked questions about as-built documentation
Hand your as-built documentation over to us
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.