Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Warrenpoint Harbour is Northern Ireland’s second-busiest port and the primary gateway for imported goods serving a significant portion of the island of Ireland. Located on Carlingford Lough in County Down, the port handles roll-on/roll-off freight, bulk cargo and break-bulk operations, and is a strategically important piece of national infrastructure.
DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) Points of Entry (PoE) in Northern Ireland are essential for biosecurity, regulatory compliance, and trade facilitation. They serve as designated locations for mandatory sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on specific imports.
As part of the development of a new Point of Entry facility at the harbour, Dewick & Associates was engaged to author the Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals and Building Handover Manual for the project, providing a comprehensive, multi-discipline handover documentation package.
Our focus was on producing a coordinated documentation suite covering both the building fabric and the M&E installation, giving the port authority and its facilities team a single, reliable reference for a new facility with significant operational and biosecurity requirements.
By Liana Ossai
Credit: The Port of Warrenpoint from the Promenade at Omeath by Eric Jones is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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CTS (now part of the Cardo Group) was contracted to oversee extensive construction work, including the supply and installation of aluminium doors and windows, bollards, cycle shelters, gates and fencing, lift systems, handrails, flooring, painting, roofing, and full mechanical and electrical services. They managed a complex construction program at a working port, where site access, security and operational continuity constraints are more demanding than those of a standard commercial build.
Port infrastructure projects of this type involve a combination of conventional building services, specialist port authority requirements and regulatory expectations specific to border control and biosecurity functions. The contractor engaged Dewick & Associates to produce a coordinated documentation package covering the Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals and Building Handover Manual, providing a complete handover deliverable for a high-priority piece of national infrastructure.
Constructing and handing over a Point of Entry facility inside an active port comes with strict operational hurdles. The building documentation cannot simply follow standard handover templates; it must align with rigid border control and port authority protocols. For UK developments, infrastructure must hit the exact design and security benchmarks detailed in the UK Border Force Infrastructure Standards (BFIS), alongside Defra guidelines for biosecurity and cross-contamination prevention. From specialised infection and pest controls to 24-hour staff welfare and vehicle holding zones, creating compliant, navigable O&M manuals demands a thorough understanding of the UK’s stringent border regulations and live port environments.
Dewick & Associates’ in-house client coordinator & technical authors managed and produced the Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals and Building Handover Manual as a coordinated set of handover deliverables.
The M&E manuals covered the full electrical and mechanical scope with equipment schedules, system descriptions, operating procedures and preventative maintenance guidance, while the Building Handover Manual captured the building fabric, materials, subcontractor documentation and warranty information across the full construction scope.
This structured documentation package ensures full compliance with statutory UK building frameworks. This included delivering the legally required Health & Safety File under UK CDM 2015 regulations, and implementing CIBSE TM31 Logbooks to satisfy Building Regulations Part L and optimise long-term energy management.
Our proactive approach translated complex engineering data into clear, asset-focused resources including Building User Guides, Asset Registers, and DLP Maintenance Schedules, providing the port authorities and facilities management teams with the absolute clarity, safety data, and operational confidence needed to protect their high-value infrastructure investment.
The project resulted in a complete, multi-discipline handover documentation package that supports the operational commissioning and long-term maintenance of the new Point of Entry facility at Warrenpoint Harbour. The port authority and its facilities team have a coordinated record covering the building fabric and the M&E installation, providing a reliable foundation for ongoing facilities management at a strategically important piece of UK infrastructure. For the contractor, the deliverable closes out the construction handover in full.
The content in this case study has been informed by project documentation and client communication provided to Dewick & Associates during and following the completion of the project. Where external sources have contributed to our understanding of relevant standards or industry practice, these are listed below.
The Port of Warrenpoint from the Promenade at Omeath by Eric Jones is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Note: Some content in this case study draws on a combination of sources rather than direct quotation. Where this is the case, contributing sources are acknowledged above rather than cited inline.
CIBSE TM 31 LogBook
Compliant with Building Regulations 2010 to provide a live high-level summary of a building’s services for efficient operation, including technical authoring of:
Technical authoring and compilation of a CDM Reg 2015 compliant H&S Files to detail:
Technical authoring of O&M Manuals enabling efficient plant operation and effective maintenance for equipment longevity, including:
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