Technical Authoring Services Explained

Technical Authoring Services

We offer an expanding range of Technical Authoring services to help our clients satisfy their handover documentation requirements. Our experienced team of Technical Authors produce a variety of documents and regularly create new ones unique to individual clients to suit their specific needs.

The process involves gathering lots of reference information from various sources and presenting it back in a concise, convenient, and useful format. Each project is assigned a dedicated Technical Author who will engage as early as they can to gain a clear understanding of the documentation requirements at the beginning of each project. We work closely with our clients throughout, providing progress updates and draft copy for comment and review, to ensure that everyone will be satisfied with the result.

The following are some of the most popular documents we produce:

Building User Guide

The most popular kind of document we produce is the Building User Guide. These are intended as an introduction to the building and its service systems, written as if the reader has never visited the building before. Different guides are produced to suit different requirements, from the simplest covering the key points through to more complex ones tailored to meet assessment requirements for schemes such as BREEAM, DREAM or SKA.

Commercial Unit Guide

The Commercial Unit Guide serves as a guide for individual commercial/retail unit tenants within a larger building. The guide focuses on the utility details and key amenities within the demise and provides the operation and maintenance information necessary for the future occupancy of that space.

Building Logbook

Building Logbooks are a legal requirement in new buildings and in existing buildings where services are changed. COGNICA’s logbook follows the industry standard CIBSE TM-31 template which provides information on the services within the building. It is a useful tool for building management to record ongoing energy performance and compare usage against benchmark and best practice figures, which should help to improve efficiency.

Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedule

The Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedule is a comprehensive summary of the required cleaning & maintenance tasks and frequencies for each work package, extracted from the supplier’s manuals. It also indicates any tasks essential to retain warranty and highlights any assets or systems where professional maintenance contracts should be arranged.

Asset Register

Our standard Asset Register lists the building assets with information about their manufacturer, make/model and installed location. The advanced version combines the asset information with the cleaning and maintenance tasks required for each asset.

Home User Guide

The Home User Guide introduces the new homeowner to the features and systems installed in their home. It gives information on a selection of local amenities, public transport links, waste and recycling information and other useful local services. It also provides the homeowner with good practice advice on how to operate and care for their home in the most energy efficient and water saving manner.

Student User Guides

Student User Guides are aimed at students living in university accommodation and take the form of a simple guide of ‘Do and Don’t’ advice, with key contact details and information on how to operate the services in the building.

R38 Fire Strategy

The R38 Fire Strategy document provides information on the fire safety related aspects of the construction and fit out of the building, including any variations carried out as construction progressed. It includes the original design information used as the basis for the Fire Safety Engineer’s strategy.

Whatever your handover documentation requirements, the Technical Authoring team can find the solution for you. Why not get in touch with us using this link: Contact us | COGNICA