What we do

We take the stress out of project handovers with our inhouse digital O&M systems, or your CMS/CDE, using our managed services teams and technical authors delivering highly-structured content, with a fully managed service, that is digitally hosted and delivered.

COGNICA specialise in managing O&M data and asset documentation for the utilities and construction industries. We offer a fully managed O&M service that saves time and resources for main contractors and end clients through our expert teams chasing all the supply chain, collating, and organizing handover documentation on your behalf, delivered using our highly structure digital O&M systems. COGNICA adhere to BIM, CIBSE, and BREEAM technical authoring standards and uses proprietary, in-house applications for document collation, hosting, and publication.  We also convert your legacy paper O&M manuals into a highly-structured modern digital format. 

As well as O&M manuals we provide PPM schedules, asset registers, BREEAM user guides, CIBSE TM31 building logbooks, M&E manuals, H&S manuals, Regulation 38 Fire Safety content separation within the O&M manual, commercial and home user guides, student packs, and more. We are accredited to ISO 19650-2:2018 (BIM) and ISO 9001 (Quality), ensuring task information management and data compilation services for projects comply with BIM.

COGNICA have the full range of experts in house to manage the digitisation of your O&M manual and Technical Authoring requirements for your handover project. Digitising your O&M Manual ensures you have 24/7/365 secure access and visibility to track and review all documents in one place helping increase compliance.

If you require any type of Operation & Maintenance Manual, Health & Safety files, Mechanical & Electrical manuals, Building User Guides, Building Logbooks, Reality Capture Laser Surveys, we would love to talk to you.

Technical Authoring Services

Our Technical Authoring services support a wide range of sectors, including residential, commercial, educational, healthcare and water utility environments. With extensive experience in creating compliant, accurate and user‑friendly building documentation, our in‑house Technical Authors ensure a smooth building handover and help teams manage their assets efficiently.

Whether you require M&E manuals, building log books, user guides or asset information, we deliver high‑quality documentation tailored to your project. To suit all scopes and budgets, we offer three flexible service tiers: Bronze, Silver and Gold, helping you select the right level of support for your requirements.

Our Technical Authoring Services include:

• Building Log Books (CIBSE TM31) - Comprehensive building logbooks prepared to CIBSE TM31 standards, supporting compliance, building management and operational efficiency.
• Building User Guides (BREEAM) - Clear and accessible Building User Guides created in line with BREEAM requirements to support occupants with day‑to‑day building use.
• M&E Manuals - Fully authored Mechanical & Electrical manuals, created by experienced in‑house specialists. Ideal for handover, compliance, service delivery and ongoing maintenance.
• PPM Schedules - Structured Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedules, helping ensure assets are maintained efficiently and aligned to operational best practice.
• Commercial Unit Guides - Bespoke Commercial Unit Guides designed for tenants and occupiers, providing clear information to support the safe and effective operation of commercial spaces.
• Site‑Specific Instructions - Detailed Site‑Specific Instructions (SSIs) tailored for utilities and specialist sites, ensuring consistent, safe and compliant operations.
• Asset Registers - Highly structured Asset Registers capturing all building or site assets, including photography where available, to support facilities management and lifecycle planning.
• Home User Guides - Resident‑friendly Home User Guides for apartment developments, created to suit the needs of each project and provide clear information for homeowners.
• Student User Guides - Clear, accessible Student User Guides designed to help students navigate campus services and understand building features.

Why Choose Us for Technical Authoring?

• Experienced in‑house Technical Authors
• Sector‑wide expertise across residential, commercial, education, healthcare and utilities
• Clear, compliant and professionally produced documentation
• Flexible service tiers to suit any project or budget
• High‑quality building information ready for handover and ongoing operations

CDE / CMS Collaboration for O&M Projects

COGNICA have existing workflows to support O&M projects with a wide variety of 3rd party Common Data Environments (CDE) / Construction Management Systems (CMS) including ViewPoint, Aconex, Procore, Asite, Dalux and more.  Our experienced team work with you to ensure our O&M project structure matches your requirements, then we'll extract all the relevant documentation and data from your CMS, structure it into our O&M management system for your final review ahead of publication into the agreed format and target destination (Into your CMS, NaviDoc, NaviGo, Files & Folders, Digital Cloud Delivery, SharePoint, and more).

We have extensive experience of working with external systems and our CDE/CMS collaboration service eases your administration, saving you time, cost and supporting your compliance for a hassle free project handover at practical completion.

Your O&Ms in SharePoint

O&Ms can also be delivered directly into your SharePoint tenant.  Our systems will collate and structure your O&M documentation and can publish directly into your own SharePoint tenant, providing you with a highly structured, updatable, easily navigable O&M library for your teams, in your own IT estate.  Our experts are on hand to provide full training and manage the process in full with you.

Paper O&Ms to Digital Conversion

Fully managed conversion of legacy paper to digital O&Ms, no project too big or too small.  Do you have boxes of paper O&M manuals for your existing buildings and estates?  We can help.  Our team will sort through our boxes, cataloging, digitally scanning, and converting into a highly structured digital O&M manual ready to publish into NaviDoc, SharePoint, Files & Folders, or into your own CDE/CMS system.

Reality Capture Laser Scanning – Insite360

Reality capture digital twins of your buildings, utilities, and external sites with Insite360 & NavVis VLX rapid mobile laser scanning.  We can scan your existing site up to 10x faster than traditional laser scanners, with your site available next day in our cloud application Insite360.

Gateway 3 for High-Rise Buildings

From October 2023, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will function as the Building Control Authority (BCA) specifically for High-Rise Buildings (HRBs). It will evaluate applications for HRBs, granting permission to commence construction once all necessary requirements are met.

HRBs categorized as 'higher-risk' under the Buillding Safety Act 2022 (BSA) are those with a height of at least 18 meters or seven storeys and containing at least two residential units, or hospitals/care homes meeting the specified height criteria.

HRBs will undergo a stringent building control approval process, navigating through three gateway points during the planning, building control approval, and completion stages. Gateways 2 and 3 will serve as checkpoints, ensuring that safety considerations are integrated at each phase of the building control process.

Gateway 3 marks the introduction of a 'hold point' upon project completion, serving as a safety checkpoint before occupation can commence. This emphasis on prioritising the safety of future occupants during the concluding stages of construction is a crucial element within the new regulatory framework. It ensures that BSR has the necessary information to issue a completion certificate.

During Gateway 3, BSRs conduct statutory consultations with the fire and rescue service, carefully reviewing the submitted information integral to the application. The completion certificate application, endorsed by the client, principal designer, and principal contractor, attests, to the best of their knowledge, that the as-built structure complies with all pertinent building regulations.

Approval of the completion certificate hinges on presenting sufficient evidence that the constructed building aligns with approved plans and meets all regulatory requirements. Registration of the new building with BSR is contingent upon successfully passing Gateway 3. Occupation is only permitted following the completion of the registration process.

The preparation for Gateway 3 commences at the outset of the building control process, ensuring the establishment of a comprehensive program for collecting all essential information from the project's inception. This aspect is referred to as the 'Golden Thread' of building information. Coordination of commissioning and certification with the submission of the completion certificate application is imperative and requires advanced scheduling.

COGNICA’s digital O&M platform is a key component in demonstrating compliance with Gateway 3. Acting as one source of the truth to collect, collate, organise, and approve documents involved in the building compliance and handover stage, structuring the O&M manual into the required sections for simple navigation, approval, and delivery to the building owner.