RAAF Base Townsville hosts major deployments and serves as a forward operating base into the South West Pacific and the North. Its Ordnance Loading Apron (OLA); a group of specialised shelter hangars critical for maintaining aircraft underwent a roof refurbishment to restore structural integrity and long-term performance.
To support facility handover to Defence, Dewick & Associates was engaged by Apollo to produce comprehensive Building Handover Manuals and As-installed Drawings with Metadata. Prepared to strict Australian Department of Defence standards, the scope encompassed Architectural, Electrical, Fire Safety, Hydraulic, and Structural disciplines.
By Steve Spindler
Credit: The image has been generated by AI and depicts a conceptual RAAF base. It is not an actual site.
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Apollo is an Australian construction business with a solid record of delivering complex projects for the Department of Defence. For the RAAF Townsville OLA Roof Refurbishment, Apollo acted as Main Contractor, taking responsibility for the refurbishment works across the OLA shelter hangars and for coordinating the full documentation package to meet Defence handover requirements.
Given the operational sensitivity of an active air base and the strict formatting and metadata requirements that apply to Defence facility documentation in Australia, Apollo required a documentation partner with direct experience working in this environment. Dewick & Associates was engaged to produce and coordinate the complete Building Handover Manual set and As-Installed Drawings in the Defence Format.
Producing Building Handover Manuals for an operational Defence facility presents a unique set of challenges beyond those typically encountered on commercial construction projects. All documentation must comply with Defence formatting requirements and be delivered with the prescribed metadata structure to ensure seamless integration into Defence asset and facilities management systems. This demands a high level of accuracy, consistency and quality control across every deliverable.
In addition, each manual discipline, including Architectural, Electrical, Fire Safety, Hydraulic and Structural, must reflect the verified as-installed condition of the facility rather than the original design intent. This requires close coordination between the documentation team, contractors and site personnel to ensure that As-Installed Drawings and supporting manuals accurately capture the final constructed asset. Operating within a secure Defence environment further increases the complexity of the documentation process, with controlled site access, communication protocols and compliance requirements placing additional emphasis on programme management, stakeholder coordination and timely information capture.
Dewick & Associates coordinated and authored the full Building Handover Manual set, covering Architectural, Electrical, Fire Safety (Wet and Dry), Hydraulic and Structural disciplines, in the Defence Format required by the Department of Defence. Our in-house drafting team produced the As-Installed Drawings, incorporating all required Metadata to ensure the records were ready for integration into Defence’s asset management framework. By managing the full documentation scope in-house across both the manual authoring and the drafting functions, we gave Apollo a single point of accountability for the handover deliverable and kept the programme moving in a constrained operating environment.
The project delivered a complete Defence-compliant handover package for the OLA Roof Refurbishment, providing a fully coordinated suite of Architectural, Electrical, Fire Safety, Hydraulic and Structural Manuals, supported by accurate As-Installed Drawings and the required metadata structure. All documentation was prepared in accordance with Defence standards, ensuring seamless integration into Defence asset management systems and supporting ongoing facilities management requirements.
The resulting handover package provides the base facilities team with a reliable and comprehensive record of the refurbished asset, enabling effective maintenance planning, informed asset management and long-term operational continuity.
For Apollo, the successful delivery of a fully compliant documentation package achieved project close-out in accordance with Defence requirements, supporting the continued operation of infrastructure that plays a critical role in maintaining Royal Australian Air Force capability and operational readiness in North Queensland.
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.
Department of Defence Estate Governance and Regulations
Overview of the Defence Estate framework, including policies, procedures and regulatory requirements that govern Defence infrastructure and facilities.
Defence Estate Quality Management System (DEQMS) Information
Entry point for Defence estate governance resources, guidance, compliance requirements and handover processes.
The image has been generated by AI and depicts a conceptual RAAF base. It is not an actual site photo.
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.
Provision of Defence standard record drawings produced using AutoCAD and provided with titles and numbers following the requirements of the Spatial Data Management Plan (SDMP).
Full management of the HOTO process, including:
Converting standard construction documents into searchable, compliant digital assets specifically formatted for upload to the National Spatial Information Management System (NSIMS), inline with International Standard (ISO 19115).
Skilled drafting team use the Department of Defence Metadata Entry Tool (MET) app to categorise documents based on their content, relevant discipline and information provision;
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