Coordinating the owner's move-in: movers, installers and your crews in the same building
Movers, furniture installers and the owner's equipment contractor arrive next week while painters still have approved deficiency work. Everyone expects the same corridor and loading dock. The project manager needs an area-and-access plan that both sides can use.
Agree the move-in sequence, area responsibilities and access rules with the owner before their vendors arrive. Record the starting condition and changes as both groups work. A daily photograph can help establish an observation and its timing; it does not automatically prove who caused damage or which account must pay for repair.
Put both sets of crews on one plan
- Confirm authorized access and the handover boundary. Identify the areas and uses permitted at each stage, together with outstanding restrictions and the party controlling access. Check the applicable authority requirements; Vancouver's occupancy guidance, for example, ties use to the issued permit's defined space and terms. Owner preference alone is not the entire permission process.
- Book the routes and work areas. Coordinate the dock, elevator, corridors and affected rooms by date and activity with the responsible parties. Confirm actual capacity, availability and competent handling arrangements where needed. Keep a contact for changed arrivals and conflicting work. A booking plan is not approval for a particular load, lifting method or unsafe overlap.
- Agree protection and daily control. Identify who supplies, installs, maintains and removes appropriate protection, with the agreed access and emergency arrangements preserved. Name the owner's and contractor's daily contacts and clarify their responsibilities. Explain how your remaining work is authorized after handover, rather than assuming former site rules continue unchanged.
- Record condition and review damage. Walk relevant areas together where practical and retain dated, located observations. If damage appears, address the immediate concern and notify the appropriate contacts. Separate what was observed from witness reports and assumptions. Route repair instructions, responsibility and cost through the actual agreement and authorized review.
Update the plan as vendors and construction crews finish or move areas. A one-page plan can point to detailed requirements without carrying every technical instruction. Keep the latest version available to the people using it, and tell affected crews what changed. Otherwise, a good initial meeting can leave three different arrival plans in circulation.
Common mistakes
- Treating an owner's arrival date as permission for every use.
- Leaving vendor and construction bookings in separate unreconciled plans.
- Assigning repair liability solely from a dated photograph.
Action list
Agree the move-in plan
- Permitted areas, uses and restrictions.
- Shared bookings and change contact.
- Reviewed protection and access responsibilities.
- Current condition record and daily contacts.
- Damage notification and authorized review route.
Check your understanding
A photograph shows damage after the movers arrived. Does it establish their liability?
