THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH Estates & Buildings ESTATE DEVELOPMENT ISSUE/REVISION JK 5 LAST MODIFIED 2 December 2010 DATE PRINTED RIBA stages JK JK 5 ISSUE CERTIFICATE OF PRACTICAL COMPLETION AND INITIATE HANDOVER TO UNIVERSITY 1. DEFINITION 1.1 PRACTICAL COMPLETION Practical Completion is considered to be the point at which a building contract is considered practically complete by the Architect or Contract Administrator. This would normally occur when there are few, if any, significant defects or snagging items remaining and all critical test and completion certificates have been received. 1.2 HANDOVER Handover of the building from the main contractor to the University can take place only when the Practical Completion Certificate has been issued. This does not however mean that the building is necessarily ready for occupation as this will be dependant on the extent of any fit out works still to be undertaken e.g. furniture supply, audio-visual etc. 2. PURPOSE The issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion is a key stage in a building contract. At this point, the University will take possession of and adopt responsibility for the all the areas of the building works as detailed on the Certificate of Practical Completion. 3. PROCEDURE The Certificate of Practical Completion is issued only when, in the opinion of the Architect as Contract Administrator, the works (or part of the works in a phased or sectional completion) have reached a state of Practical Completion as defined in 1.1 above. For the works to be considered practically complete, all of the construction work that has to be undertaken must be complete. However, the Certificate of Practical Completion may still be issued where: There are a only few very minor items of work left incomplete There may be latent defects (the defects liability period allows previously undiscovered defects to be remedied) It should not be issued if there are significant patent defects outstanding or any key completion and / or test certificates are not concluded. If the University takes possession of the site prior to issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion, this action will automatically trigger practical completion contractually even though it may not have been formally certified. Page 1 of 6
3.1 ISSUE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF PRACTICAL COMPLETION Issuing the Certificate of Practical Completion is a process that requires careful planning and procedures and can determine whether or not the project is regarded as successful or not by its stakeholders. It gives rise to a number of events within a construction contract, which are as follows: The Contractor s liability ends for the following: o Insurance o Damage to the completed works o Damage to the building by frost o Any further liquidated damages o Conclusion (depending on terms) of guarantees and performance bonds End of sub-contractors protection: o Issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion may bring to an end subcontractor s protection under the Main Contract all risks insurance policy The University takes possession of the building and is required to: o Insure the building (risk of damage to the works and third party liability, see para. 3.3 below) o Release retention money to the Contractor (normally half) No further instruction may be issued o No variations / rectifications to the works other than those appearing during the defects liability period unless with the agreement of the main contractor. Defects liability period commences o The Certificate stands as the latest date from which the limitation period for claims will start to run. 3.2 FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE WORKS BY COMPLETION DATE Where the Contractor fails to complete the Works by the due date, this may give rise to a claim for liquidated damages. In this case, the Contract Administrator will issue a Certificate of Non-completion as well as ensuring that he has addressed any requests from the Contractor for an extension of time. If the University wishes to deduct liquidated damages from any sums due to the Contractor, the University must give notice to the Contractor of its intention to do so, no later than the issue of the Final Certificate. 3.3 UNIVERSITY PREPARATION FOR TAKING OVER THE BUILDING There are various agreements and procedures that the University of Edinburgh must undertake associated with practical completion and handover. The Project Management Team should ensure that the following are actioned early to avoid delay to the project programme. Template T59a should be filled in and signed off. Refer to template T59a End of Stage K Checklist Page 2 of 6
These are: Set up insurances: o On issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion, the Contractor s insurances cease (except with a partial or sectional completion). o The Project Management Team should liaise with University s Insurance office to ensure that the appropriate user / tenant insurances are set up in plenty of time to ensure that no period is uninsured. Refer to procedure FGH 6 Consider Insurances Arrange University Fit-out: o Make arrangements for the fit out of all University provided equipment, e.g. AV equipment, soft services o Make arrangement for the delivery and installation of any equipment not included within the Main Contract. Refer to procedure L1 Manage University fit-out Arrange access for completion of minor construction works: o Agree arrangements for access for the Contractor; this might include for rectifying defects, testing of services etc. Arrange for inspection by relevant funding and/or licensing bodies: o Parts of the building may require to be inspected to gain a special license to function or for grant money to be paid o Either may be dependent on the completion of a particular aspect of the works. 3.4 PRE-HANDOVER MEETING A minimum of two formal meetings will be required to achieve Sign-off and the issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion and Building Handover. The first of these is the Pre-handover meeting. Pre-handover meeting: Two to three weeks before the Certificate of Practical Completion is issued, the Project Management Team should arrange a pre-handover meeting to discuss and hopefully agree acceptance of the building by the University and its occupation by the Users. Refer to template T62 for pre-handover meeting Agenda Part of the purpose of arranging this meeting is to ensure that the Architect, Design Team and other consultants, client (represented by the Project Administrator), Project Management Team and Clerk of Works undertake pre-completion checks (as far as is possible by visual inspection) that the work complies with the contract requirements. They will report on these at the meeting. The following parties should be invited: Project Administrator Contractor s representative Architect and Design Team representatives Premises Manager Representatives from University Services Departments as appropriate, e.g. Security, phones, fire, AV controls, health and safety, support services, grounds maintenance Page 3 of 6
Clerk of Works Any other relevant parties, e.g. specialist advisors Meeting arrangements: The meeting should be arranged two to three weeks before the programmed date for Practical Completion and will be held on site. The Project Management Team should give at least two weeks notice of the date of the meeting to all parties to allow them to review the project beforehand, and undertake the necessary checks The meeting will be chaired by the Project Management Team and minuted by the Architect The Architect will circulate minutes of the meeting to all those who were invited. 3.5 INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED BY THE MAIN CONTRACTOR Prior to the Pre-handover meeting, the Contractor must first of all confirm completion of the building by the programmed completion date. The Contractor should then provide the following information, with the aim of handing over a fully functioning and commissioned building: O and M manuals, CDM Health and Safety File containing: As-built drawings Equipment manuals Specifications Test certificates for lifts, fire alarms, security alarms and all M & E systems: Completed installations must be in full working order for proving and test certificates provided where appropriate. Although installations must be commissioned before handover, it may not be possible to complete this work until these installations have been in use for a period of time. Commissioning reports for mechanical systems, fume cupboards, safety cabinets and the like: Depending on the complexity of the installation, commissioning and witnessing may need to be undertaken by specialists and effectively managed to a commissioning specification and system Generally on a major project, all systems, equipment, plant and parts of systems should be witnessed. On a minor project, 10% of tests should be witnessed Even when specialist consultants need to be involved, the Contractor still has responsibility for overall programming and ensuring that the works are complete and functioning by the contract completion date. Master keys and specified numbers of copy keys, key schedules: These should be clearly labelled - and all similar items for the handover of the building also provided. Refer to procedure L2 Manage Key Suiting Strategy Page 4 of 6
3.6 DEMONSTRATIONS Following commissioning of the various installations / items of equipment, separate demonstrations need to be arranged by the Architect for the following groups: Design Team and specialist consultants Estates and Buildings Building users The Architect should liaise with the Project Management Team to ensure that all the appropriate people are invited to each demonstration. The following templates should be filled in and signed off: Template T59b end of Stage K Checklist Main Contractor demonstration to Design Team & Certificate Confirmation Schedule Template T59c End of Stage K Checklist - Estates & Buildings Demonstration Schedule 3.7 DEFECTS LIST Any defects noted by the Clerk of Works and/or the Users or anyone involved in the project should be passed to the Design Team (Architect) and copied to the Project Management Team. The Architect as Contract Administrator is responsible for preparing the definitive defects list and issuing it to the Main Contractor. Note: there must be only one definitive defects list. Prior to the final handover meeting, the Architect will review the defects list to ascertain how many remain unresolved. It is the Architect s responsibility as Contract Administrator to decide whether it is appropriate to issue the Certificate of Practical Completion or not. 3.8 FINAL HANDOVER MEETING All outstanding matters identified in the Pre-handover meeting (see paragraph 3.4 above) should have been attended to before the Final Handover meeting. If there are still a number of outstanding matters to be resolved, Practical Completion and Handover may not be possible and in this case, the handover meeting will require to be reconvened. It should be noted that the final handover meeting is a formal meeting whereby the University Department of Estates and Buildings formally accepts the building on behalf of the Project Sponsor. Note: The Users do not accept the building. Refer to template T63 for Handover Meeting Agenda Prior to Final Handover Meeting and issue of Certificate of Practical Completion: The Architect should write to the University s Project Management Team, confirming that, in his/her opinion, the Certificate of Practical Completion (or sectional completion) can be issued and that so doing will have the following implications: The defects liability period will now commence The University should now set up the necessary insurances and reach agreement on responsibility for insurance in the case of a partial / phased practical completion. The Project Management Team will convene the Final Handover meeting with the following arrangements: Page 5 of 6
Same invitees as for the pre-meeting (see paragraph 3.4 above) The meeting arranged for the date of the issue of the certificate of Practical Completion Liaison between all parties as necessary before the meeting to ensure that all outstanding matters are cleared The meeting to be held on site chaired by the Project Management Team and minuted by the Architect. Date for the defects liability inspection to be agreed. The Architect to issue the draft schedule of defect to the Contractor A programme for undertaking the remedial work to be agreed with the Project Management Team and Users. 4. OUTPUT Following the Final Handover meeting, the output will be as follows: 4.1 CERTIFICATE OF PRACTICAL COMPLETION There are several types of Completion Certificate that the Contract Administrator is obliged to issue, all of which must be signed and dated. These are: Practical completion of the Works Statement of partial possession (where applicable) Practical completion for sectional completion (where applicable) 4.2 FORMAL HANDOVER Formal handover will be achieved in nearly all cases, including where there is sectional completion or partial possession. The outcome is: Certificate of Practical Completion, filed in project file ref. L.18.9 Completed and signed templates T59a, T59b and T59c Handover and Demonstration checklists, filed with the completion certificate Acceptance by the University of the building following the issue of the Practical Completion Certificate. Keys handed over Building maintenance information handed over Meters to be read and other use of fuel(s) noted and quantified. A date to be arranged for the defects liability inspection and a programme agreed for rectifying defects. Page 6 of 6