Expert article
From site inspection to the project file: who documents what
Between the defect on site and the filed construction records lie four handovers. At every one of them, something goes missing in practice.
Expert article by Open Experience GmbH. As of: September 2026
How does a finding get from the site into the project file?
Site documentation and the project file do different jobs. On site, tasks arise continuously — defects, daily reports, photographs, inspections — each carrying a processing status and changing from day to day. The project file holds the completed documents of a project: contracts, drawings, minutes, acceptance records. The transition works where every piece of information has a defined home: where the original sits, who maintains it, and from what point it is filed unalterably. Where that stays open, two versions of the truth appear — and, in a dispute, the question of which one applies.
Legal framework: Germany (Civil Code BGB, construction contract rules VOB/B, fee schedule HOAI). Other countries have different rules, and contractual agreements take precedence over the standard periods named here.
The four handover points
At these four points a piece of information changes hands. Naming them is already most of the work of preventing duplicate effort.
- Capture on siteThe finding is recorded where it is made — on a mobile device, with a photograph, a location and a time. Anything first entered in the office that evening is already a reconstruction.
- Review and releaseThe task becomes a document that will hold: the daily report signed, the defect schedule sent, the inspection closed. Only from here on can the content be cited.
- Filing in the project fileThe released document goes into the project file — with a date, a version and an owner. The task itself stays in the documentation system, because that is where it is carried on and evaluated.
- Handover to operationsAt the end of a project what counts is not what was documented but what can be found: as-built records, acceptance minutes, warranty periods, evidence.
Basic rule: one original, many references. As soon as the same file is maintained in two places, knowing which version applies comes down to luck.
What belongs where
The allocation is not a matter of taste; it follows the purpose: tasks have a processing status, documents have a version.
| Information | Leading system | What it is needed for later |
|---|---|---|
| Defect with photograph, deadline and responsible party | Site documentation (a task with a status) | Evidence of the finding, the notice and the remedy |
| Daily site report | Site documentation, into the project file once released | Construction sequence, weather, workforce numbers, obstructions |
| Photographs and 360° captures | Site documentation | The state of the building on a given date |
| Inspection and checklist results | Site documentation | Quality evidence per building element and trade |
| Contracts, variations, correspondence | Project file | Contract status, claims, deadlines |
| Drawings and drawing revisions | Project room or project file | Which revision applied at the time of execution |
| Acceptance minutes | Project file, sourced from site documentation | Start of the warranty period, reversal of the burden of proof |
| As-built records for handover | Project file | Operation, maintenance, later alterations |
Why things still get captured twice
Duplicate effort rarely comes from carelessness. It has three recurring causes — and each of them has an organisational answer.
- Unclear responsibilityWhere nobody has decided where the original sits, everyone involved keeps a version of their own to be safe. The answer is a written decision for each type of document, taken at the start of the project.
- No access for the parties involvedSubcontractors and external parties without an account send photographs by message — and site management transfers them by hand. Free accounts for the firms carrying out the work solve more than any filing structure.
- Filing without a project referenceA file that is not attached to a project, a building element or a task gets created afresh the second time somebody looks for it. The link has to arise at capture, not at filing.
The practical test: how long does someone who was not involved in the project need to find the defect schedule of 14 March?
How long the records are kept
Retention is not governed by the end of construction but by several periods running in parallel. For the filing structure that means: the moment the file is closed is not the moment it is deleted.
- Commercial and tax lawCommercial books, invoices and accounting vouchers are subject to the periods set out in § 257 of the German Commercial Code and § 147 of the German Fiscal Code. These apply directly to part of the project records.
- WarrantyEvidence is needed until the limitation periods for defect claims have run out — and that is precisely when nobody is working on the project any more.
- Operation and alterationAs-built records and documentation of concealed conditions still matter decades later, when the building is refurbished or altered.
How Open Experience solves this
Open Experience holds the tasks of the construction phase: defects, daily reports, photographs and inspections arise on a mobile device and stay attached to the project. The project file holds the completed documents. Both sides work on the same project — the allocation arises at capture, not when somebody goes looking.
- Capture where it happensDefect, photograph and report all arise during the site inspection. The record is finished before site management is back in the office.
- Accounts for everyone involvedThe firms carrying out the work receive free accounts — which removes the most common reason for re-keying anything.
- A partner for the project fileTeamsware brings the digital project and construction file into the familiar Microsoft workplace. Which routes make sense on a particular project is something we work out together — responsibilities first, technology second.
Further reading
Teamsware as a partner for the construction file
The digital project and construction file in Microsoft Teams — and how it relates to documentation on site.
To the partner pageDefect management — process and evidence
From the finding through the notice of defect to the remedy: what has to be documented at every step.
Read the articleFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between site documentation and a project file?
Site documentation holds tasks with a processing status: a defect is open, notified, remedied or accepted. The project file holds documents with a version: contract, drawing, minutes. Both are needed — but they solve different problems and cannot stand in for one another.
Do you need both, or is one system enough?
That depends on the project. Small schemes get by with a structured filing system and mobile capture. As soon as several firms, design team members and the client work on documents together, the tasks separate: document control on one side, the running tasks of construction on the other.
How do we stop photographs being filed twice?
By tying the photograph to a task at the moment of capture — a defect, a building element, a daily report — and having the file point to it rather than keep a copy of its own. That is less a question of software than a decision taken at the start of the project and then kept to.
Who decides where the original sits?
As a rule the project manager together with site management, recorded in a short decision for each type of document. What matters is less how the decision is reached than that it exists and that everyone involved knows it.
What happens to the documentation after acceptance?
It is needed: for pursuing warranty claims, for operation and maintenance, and during later alterations. Documentation therefore does not end at handover; it moves into a phase of use in which being findable matters more than being current.
Sources and legal basis
The legal statements in this article are based on the primary sources listed below. The article is not a substitute for legal advice in an individual case.
- HOAI, Annex 10.1 — basic services of service phase 8, including documentation and handover
- Section 650g German Civil Code (BGB) — establishing the condition of the works where acceptance is refused
- Section 257 German Commercial Code (HGB) — retention of records and retention periods
- Section 147 German Fiscal Code (AO) — rules governing the retention of records
- TeamsWare — digital project and construction file in Microsoft Teams
Capture once — not twice.
In the demo we walk through your own route from site inspection to filing and show where duplicate effort arises today.