Baton Drop: Handoffs Gone Wrong

Every project starts with a kickoff meeting, a schedule, and a team that swears everything is documented. Then somebody leaves.  Brian and Kyle head into the chaotic world of project handoffs — where meeting minutes vanish, email archives disappear, RFIs are marked resolved without answers, and institutional knowledge walks out the door. From inherited projects and undocumented owner decisions to handoff binders filled with notes that simply say 'See Email,' this episode explores why project transitions can create more risk than the design itself.  If you've ever inherited a project halfway through design, searched years of email chains for answers, or discovered that nobody remembers who approved a critical decision…this one's for you.  Leave feedbackfor Brian and Alex ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  LINKS: Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buildableish.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/buildableish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/Buildableish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildable-ish/⁠⁠⁠Show Notes Chapter 1 – The Exchange Zone • Why project handoffs break down during design • Owner requests that never make it into the drawings • Tribal knowledge versus documented decisions • Managing owner expectations after a PM transition • Why documenting assumptions early matters Chapter 2 – See Email • Deleted inboxes and disappearing project history • Bid logs without context and procurement archaeology • Value engineering decisions nobody remembers making • Personal emails, shared drives, and institutional memory • Why 'See Email' is not a documentation strategy Chapter 3 – Reopening the RFI • Construction-phase handoffs and unresolved issues • RFIs marked closed but never actually answered • How vague contractor questions create expensive misunderstandings • Getting contractor, owner, and design-team buy-in • Resetting expectations when the new PM takes over Chapter 4 – The Binder Trap • Punch lists versus warranty items • Closeout packages that create more confusion than clarity • Live walkthroughs between outgoing and incoming PMs • Collaborative checklists and transition planning • Treating handoffs as a formal project phase Key Takeaways • Assumptions vanish when they are not written down • Project knowledge is often more valuable than project files • Archived emails can save years of confusion and rework • A closed RFI is not resolved unless everyone agrees on the answer • The best handoff is one that happens before someone walks out the door