Which Documents Should You Request Before a Site Visit?
Request the documents needed to understand the agreed task, then identify their versions and limits. A small, current pack is usually easier to use on site than a large folder containing several conflicting drawing sets.
By Blu Mint Digital. 3 minute read. Last reviewed .
Build the pack around questions
For a finishing inspection, useful information may include a room plan, current finish schedule and agreed selections. For a repair review, request the original item references, repair description and any relevant specialist response. An occupied-property visit may need an access schedule and a concise account of reported concerns.
Start with the questions you need the pack to answer: Where is the work? What was expected? What has already been reported? What are you being asked to check now? Avoid requesting financial, identity or personal documents simply because they happen to sit in the project folder. Ask the project contact to identify the authoritative source for each technical or contractual reference.
Check versions before comparing work
Record the title, revision, date and sender of each important document. “Latest plan” is not a useful identifier when two people use different files. If the drawing has a revision box, compare it with the name of the file rather than trusting the filename alone.
- Confirm that the plan relates to the correct unit or area.
- Ask whether marked-up copies are approved instructions or discussion drafts.
- Keep superseded information separate from the current working pack.
- Identify missing pages and unreadable schedules before attendance.
If two references conflict, raise the conflict. Do not quietly select the version that best supports a suspected defect. The observation can still be recorded while the expected requirement remains unresolved.
Prepare a usable site copy
Save permitted files so they are available under the site's connectivity conditions. Test that text and drawing notes remain readable at the size you will use. Keep one short index stating what each file is for. A plan useful for navigation may not have enough detail to establish an installation requirement.
For example, a room layout may identify “Kitchen 02”, while the finish schedule identifies a cabinet finish. Keep both references in the working notes. If the cabinet finish differs, the report can identify the observed appearance and the specific schedule supplied for comparison. It should also say if the status of that schedule has not been confirmed.
Deal with missing information openly
Send a focused request: “Please provide the confirmed finish schedule for Kitchen 02, including its revision. We have revision A and a marked-up extract with no date. Which should be used for this visit?” This is more answerable than “Please send all documents.”
Agree what can proceed if the answer does not arrive. You might record visible conditions without deciding conformity, or rearrange a task that depends on the missing reference. In the issued report, distinguish documents reviewed from documents merely requested. Use an attachment index when recipients need the same references; do not imply that an attached technical document has been independently verified just because it was supplied.