Work stages

A division of standardised process and activities into named stages during the life of a system or facility. The process and activities extending from the definition of its requirements to the termination of its use, covering its conception, development, operation, maintenance support and disposal.¹

BS 8536-1:2015 & BS 8536-2:2016 Work Stages

• 0 – Strategy – defines the owner’s/sponsor’s business plans and a case for the project, including required outcomes and other core considerations.
• 1 – Brief – develops the project objectives, including required project and performance outcomes from the asset over different planning horizons.
• 2 – Concept – prepares the concept design, including outline proposals for the general design treatment, structural design and engineered systems.
• 3 – Definition – develops the design, including coordinated and updated proposals for the general design treatment, structural design and engineered systems.
• 4 – Design – prepares the technical design, including structural and engineering design information, detailed cost and operational data.
• 5 – Construct and Commission – plans, organizes and coordinates off-site fabrication with on-site construction, including transportation, assembly, testing and commissioning.
• 6 – Handover and Closeout – training of the operations team and handover of the asset to the owner/operator and start-up of operations.
• 7 – Operation and End of Life – steady-state operations, aftercare, post-implementation review (PIR), including benchmarking and lessons learned.

RIBA Plan Of Work 2020

• 0 – Strategic Definition is about determining the best means of achieving the client’s requirements. An open mind is required because a building might not be the most appropriate solution
• 1 – Preparation and Briefing is about developing the detail of the brief and making sure that everything needed for the design process is in place before Stage 2. This includes ensuring that the brief can be accommodated on the site
• 2 – Concept Design is about getting the design concept right and making sure that the look and feel of the building are proceeding in line with the client’s vision, brief and budget. The key challenge of this stage is to make sure that the tasks undertaken are geared to meeting the stage objectives. Going into too much detail too early can pivot the design team’s effort away from setting the best strategy for the project, but if there is too little detail, Stage 3 becomes inefficient.
• 3 – Spatial Coordination – the purpose of this stage is to spatially coordinate the design before the focus turns to preparing the detailed information required for manufacturing and constructing the building. The information at the end of this stage needs to be coordinated sufficiently to avoid all but the minor iterations at Stage 4 and make sure that the planning application is based on the best possible information. This stage is of project delivery is often underdeveloped, causing a lot of re-work at later stages
• 4 – Technical Design – during this stage, the information required to manufacture and construct the asset is being developed. This requires information from the design team and the specialist subcontractors employed by the contractor, regardless of which procurement route is used.
• 5 – Manufacturing and Construction – at this stage, the asset is manufactured and constructed. Except for resolving site queries, there is no design activity at Stage 5. Although Stages 4 and 5 will likely overlap, thus this overlap should be captured within the Project Programme and the Procurement Strategy.
• 6 – Handover – Before Stage 6 begins, the asset shall be ready for use, and the emphasis of the project team should have switched to closing out any defects and completing the tasks required to conclude the contract. This stage should not be used for finishes work and certification of Practical Completion, which shall be done at the end of phase 5. Stage 6 signifies the point where the building is legally ready for occupation. However, it is acknowledged that handover activities need to start before this date and continue beyond it. These include activities to help the client move in, such as the preparation of a Building Manual. Making sure that the building is performing as anticipated after occupation requires a light touch Post Occupancy Evaluation to be undertaken
• 7 – Use – This is the period when the building is in use, lasting until the building reaches the end of its life.

Life cycle stages in ISO 22263

Pre-life cycle stages

• Inception – 0 – Portfolio requirements
• Brief – 1 – Conception of need
• Brief – 2 – Outline feasibility
• Brief – 3 – Substantive feasibility

Pre-Construction stages

• Design – 4 – Outline conceptual design
• Design – 5 – Full conceptual design
• Design – 6 – Coordinated design (and procurement)

Construction stages

• Production – 7 – Production Information
• Production – 8 – Construction

Post-construction stages

Maintenance – 9 – Operation and maintenance

Demolition – 10 – Disposal

1 Source: PD ISO/TS 12911:2012 & BS 8536-1:2015 & BS 8536-2:2016