For many industries data is not seen as a principle part of its operations, even in industries or companies where data is regarded as required; it is often subservient to the elements of its main business and therefore even those organisations/teams with departments such as ‘Information Management’; data is forgotten about, or disregarded, by many people as they focus on what they see as the important matter at hand.

Unfortunately they are concentrating on creating a deliverable without understanding that what they are providing is either surrounded by, or is a provision of, data. It is that very lack of understanding, at so many levels of a project/organisation, which ensures the marginalisation of data until it is too late.

 This is not just the project personnel; but also their suppliers who do not see the importance of the provision of data when you are buying a product from them. Ok they have agreed that they have to provide specs but this pdf of a photocopy, of a battered version of a datasheet, which somebody once spilled tea over satisfies that requirement; so can you please pay us now?

Too many times I have seen, and have heard of many more times, of a project start and only then does the project begin to clarify how it is to deliver its data handover and defining/configuring its data tools; leaving Information Management playing catch-up throughout the life of the project.

This can occur many times as a project can have many phases with data handover between each with the next phase either being delayed, or otherwise impacted by, the continuation of the collection/manipulation/generation of data from the previous phase. As this can include an impact on the start of operations of an asset; this needs to be resolved as early as possible.

I believe there are many reasons that this can happen and if I try and list all of them here I know I will miss some that others will find important. The two reasons I wish to highlight, and this article is all about, is a lack of understanding of:

Data Handover is a contractual deliverable. It is required by terms of contract between project and client and supplier and project. Penalties can and should be enforced if this is not provided as agreed in the contract.

Data handover is not just a contractual deliverable. The data being provided at handover has been collected from many places: Datasheets, drawings, designers, construction, and suppliers. It is not going to be stored in an office or warehouse somewhere getting dusty – but it is going to be used and referred to on a daily basis, and without this data being completed the next phase cannot start.

Starting a project without a properly defined Information Management plan is like employing a builder to start working on the foundations of a building and at the same time start drawing the blueprints they will need to do the job they have already started.

Geoffrey Coad MBCS is Director at London Admin Services where as an Asset Information Management specialist he works within projects to support the information lifecycle.