Technical customer: who it is, its functions and tasks

The term technical customer in construction means an organization or association that provides a full range of engineering services from the development and implementation of project documentation to the completion of a completed facility. In construction, the technical customer is one of the key links in the whole process.

Extended concept of technical customer

The functions of the technical customer include:

• preparation of all types of permits;

• obtaining all necessary approvals;

• examination of construction sites and advice on their organization;

• fulfillment of all technical conditions necessary for connecting to utility networks;

• financial control.

Thus, the technical customer plays an important role in managing the construction process, interacts closely with all participants in the construction process, performs technical supervision and coordinates all stages of the construction, as well as the timing and quality of the processes.

The need for a technical customer as a separate organization arose in the 80s of the last century. Then Gosstroy approved a separate service designed to prepare for the construction of the facility and to carry out technical supervision of the construction itself. The idea paid off, and the quality of construction increased significantly. But after the collapse of the USSR, this service was no longer able to fulfill its functions in the new era.

In modern conditions, the functions of the technical customer are so diverse that for their effective implementation, extensive knowledge and impressive experience are required. A technical customer is not a specialty, therefore such specialists are not trained at universities. In order for them to become necessary, many years of practical knowledge and experience in construction. Being included in the construction process, the technical customer draws up a contract for the implementation of the necessary range of services, which also confronts him with the need to understand the legal side of the issue (administrative documentation, court practice, etc.).

Regulatory framework

The legal framework for the activities of the technical customer appeared in 2011, when the relevant amendments to the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation were adopted. Since then, the term technical customer has officially come to mean an individual or legal entity authorized by the developer and acting on his behalf and in his interests on a professional basis.

According to paragraph 22 of the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation, the functions of the technical customer include:

• conclusion of contracts for engineering surveys, development of project documentation, construction, reconstruction and overhaul of buildings and structures;

• preparation of buildings for reconstruction and overhaul;

• providing the contractors engaged in the construction, repair and reconstruction of the necessary documentation and material base for the proper implementation of their activities;

• approval of design documentation;

• preparation and execution of documents required for the commissioning of the facility;

• other functions provided by the Code.

It is important to note that the developer has the absolute right to implement all of the above functions of the technical customer independently.

The role of the technical customer in the construction of the facility

Many experts compare the role of a technical customer in modern construction with conducting in an orchestra. Indeed, its functions include not only the preparation of all pre-project and project documentation, but also full management of the construction of the facility at all stages: the formation, organization of the construction site, the construction of the facility and the stage of putting it into operation. Directly, he organizes the interaction between all participants in the construction process: customers and investors, contractors, designers, coordinators and licensing authorities. It is worth noting the fact that each of the listed entities has their own interests in business and the task of the technical customer is to hand over the object in a timely manner, taking into account the interests of the participants in the process, taking into account the timelines and the previously planned construction plan, taking into account all modern building rules and norms.

A practical example of a technical customer

Work on the construction of an object begins with the intention of the customer (investor) to invest in the construction of this object on a specific land plot. At this stage, the activities of the technical customer are already beginning. Based on the urban development plan, he needs to prepare and sign all the necessary pre-project documentation:

• conclude a lease for the land;

• conclude an agreement for urgent gratuitous use of this site for the period of design, preparation for construction, the period of construction of the facility;

• prepare and sign documentation on transferring land to the desired category.

Thus, the technical customer assumes an impressive stream of paper work on pre-project preparation and preparation of a mass of permits and approvals.

After the stage of approval of the architectural concept of the future facility, the process of obtaining the technical conditions necessary for connecting the facility to the existing engineering infrastructure begins. All issued technical conditions must be registered in a timely manner and confirmed with numerous state organizations related to the operation of buildings and structures. But there are many such technical conditions and they are associated with the organization of water supply, heat supply, sewage, electrification, telephone, radio, gasification and street lighting.

In order to prepare the project for the tender for the selection of the design organization, it is still necessary to prepare a previously agreed plan for the selected land, archival geo-basis, architectural concept and other papers.

After choosing a designer, the technical customer undertakes the preparation and signing of an agreement with him on the development of design and estimate documentation in a certain time. The technical customer will also have to coordinate the received documentation with various departments and conduct various examinations.

At the final stage of project preparation, all design and budget documentation, all permits and conciliation papers are transferred to the investor to select contractors, suppliers of building materials and necessary equipment. A technical customer is also necessary at this stage: it is he who actively participates in the process of selecting the right organizations, monitors all stages and terms of the tender or bidding for the choice of these associations.

After selecting contractors and suppliers, the technical customer prepares a building permit for the entire “team”. To do this, he first conducts all documentation work on the allotment of the selected land for construction work. For the duration of all construction work, he draws up a permit for the use of utilities from the federal or municipal government. Especially a lot of papers have to be issued if the construction site is located next to a road or railroad, underground utilities and engineering structures.

For the implementation of all the above functions, it is desirable (but not necessary) for the technical customer to have an SRO permit. However, the presence of such a permit allows the customer to control the quality of work on the project, to carry out technical supervision and control, to check the quality of structures and materials, and the serviceability of the equipment used.

After the construction is completed, the technical customer submits the facility for operation and transmits to the investor (customer) a full package of documentation for registration of ownership, including warranty obligations and papers for BTI.