Data Handover Guide

This guide is intended to support you in the development of a suitable information handover strategy and plan for process plant engineering projects.

Information created during an engineering project is of value for subsequent lifecycle stages of the process plant, in particular for operations, maintenance and engineering. The handover strategy must be based on the business requirements for the future use of this information.

The process for handing over information from the project to the operator consists of the following main stages:

• Establish a strategy for handover, which will form part of the overall project information strategy. The strategy should be aligned with the relevant company information policies.
• Determine the business requirements for information to be handed over, including:
• what information is required
• what format should the information be in
• how the information is to be used
• how the information will be stored
• the reusability and retention of the information
• quality of the information
• Develop a handover plan, which forms part of the overall project information plan, to include
• methods of data handover
• responsibilities
• timing
• media for handover
• quality management
• Implement the handover, which requires:
• educating the staff
• checking for compliance against the strategy and plan

Developments in the way in which engineering information can be managed mean that the handover of information can be greatly improved, particularly in relation to its reusability and its quality assurance. This document covers developments, such as new ISO standards, which greatly enable this process.

The handover guide is in two parts and can be downloaded in PDF form from here.

• Part 1: Guidelines for establishing a data handover strategy
• Part 2: Guidelines for types and formats of handover data

This first version of the Data Handover Guide was developed by the EPISTLE Industrial Users Group in 1998. A revised version is now under development within an EPISTLE project coordinated by PISTEP.

Last update 2001-07-11