At handover, a building’s systems, certificates and warranties are carefully checked. But who thinks to ask for the source code of the automation systems and the software that runs them?
Yet that’s exactly what determines how well the building can be operated over time. Without commented source code, configuration files and the tools needed to modify them, the building owner stays dependent on a single provider for even the smallest change or fix.
This dependency often lasts the entire life of the building: fifteen to twenty years of enforced maintenance, with no possibility of competitive bidding, and a real risk on the day the integrator disappears, gets acquired, or steps away.
That’s exactly why, at Workswell, our tenders systematically require the handover of source code, licenses and complete documentation.
The building owner should remain the owner of their building down to its “brain” — free to control maintenance, upgrades and costs over its entire lifetime.
This isn’t about distrust of the integrator. It’s about sound asset management.
If your integrator disappeared tomorrow, would you be able to keep your building running?