Progressive Turnover

Earlier this year, our Manager of Inspections, Mariam Abdulameer, was part of a panel discussion at the British Columbia Construction Roundtable discussing the art of project closeout, featuring the success story of the Kicking Horse Canyon Phase 4 Project.

What is progressive turnover?

Progressive turnover in major projects refers to the phased handover of completed sections or components of a project to the client or end-user before the entire project is finalized.
This approach enables earlier use or occupancy of certain areas, facilitates smoother commissioning processes, and allows for the identification and resolution of issues in manageable segments rather than all at once.
Progressive turnover also supports better resource allocation, risk management, and quality control by breaking the project into stages that can be individually inspected, tested, and approved.

What are the benefits?

• Timely Updates: Ensures stakeholders and team members receive updates in a timely manner, reducing information overload and enabling better decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
• Issue Resolution: Facilitates addressing issues as they arise, avoiding large data dumps at the end of phases or projects.
• Continuous Engagement: Encourages ongoing collaboration and alignment among all parties, enhancing adaptability to project changes.
• Accurate Documentation: Maintains up-to-date and accurate documentation for tracking progress, managing risks, and providing stakeholders with current information.
• Content Management Protocols: Ensures adherence to established content management protocols, supporting a single repository and reliable data source for all stakeholders.
• Safety and Quality Risk Reduction: Minimizes risks by capturing incomplete or failed work before advancing to the next phase (e.g., ensuring underground infrastructure is inspected before backfilling or completing pressure tests before in-service testing)

Mitigating Risks

Mitigating the risks associated with progressive turnover requires planning, clear communication, process and training. By applying the strategies below, the challenges of progressive turnover can be effectively managed, allowing teams to reap the benefits of this approach to information management.

• Enhanced Coordination and Communication: Establish clear protocols for how and when information will be shared. Use project management tools to centralize communication and ensure that all team members and stakeholders have access to the latest information. Regular meetings and updates can help align everyone on the project’s progress and upcoming tasks.
• Comprehensive Planning: Before starting a project, develop a detailed roadmap that outlines when and how progressive turnovers will occur. This plan should include contingencies for handling incomplete information, ensuring that decisions made early in the project can be revisited as more data becomes available.
• Effective Stakeholder Engagement: Engage stakeholders early in the project to set expectations about the progressive turnover process. Provide training or briefings on the benefits of this approach and how it will work. Regularly gather feedback from stakeholders to ensure their needs are being met and to adjust the process as necessary.
• Robust Version Control: Implement strong version control systems to track changes in documents, data, and project plans. Ensure that everyone is working from the most up to date version and establish a process for handling updates and revisions in a controlled manner.
• Scope Management: Clearly define the project scope from the outset and establish a formal change management process. This process should include criteria for evaluating and approving changes, ensuring that any new requirements are carefully considered and integrated without disrupting the project’s overall timeline and budget.
• Robust Management of Change: Recognize the specific risks associated with information turnover for the project, such as loss of critical data, delays due to miscommunication, or unauthorized access to sensitive information. This is crucial where multiple stakeholders are involved, and information turnover can lead to delays and increased costs.

The management of project information is a critical aspect of successful project delivery. It helps avoid delays, reduce rework, and ensure a smoother start-up or operation of the asset. By keeping data accurate, up-to-date, and accessible, teams can improve coordination, support better decision-making, and maintain overall project efficiency.

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