Glossary · Document and evidence governance
As-built documentation
Also known as: As-built drawings, Record documentation
German: Bestandsdokumentation
In plant and machine engineering, as-built documentation is the set of drawings, circuit diagrams, parameter lists, software versions and descriptions that reflect the system as it was actually built, installed and commissioned, including all changes made on site.
- Technical documentation
- Compliance
In one sentence
As-built documentation records a machine or plant as it was actually built and commissioned, including on-site changes, not as it was planned.
Example
After commissioning a packaging line, the integrator redlines the circuit diagrams with three rewired terminals and a changed safety relay, then issues them as the as-built revision.
Explained in context
Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.
How it applies
- Commissioning: Field changes (rewired terminals, adjusted parameters, replaced devices) are collected as redlines and merged into the drawings before handover.
- Maintenance: Technicians rely on the as-built state for troubleshooting and Lockout/tagout (LOTO); outdated drawings can point them to the wrong isolation point.
- Documentation: The documentation team should treat the as-built set as a Controlled document with its own revision, link it to the Configuration baseline and make sure the Operating manual and Maintenance manual describe the same state.
As-built vs. design documentation
Design documentation states what was intended; as-built documentation states what exists. The gap between both is a common source of Information drift, and every later Change request should start from the as-built state, not from the original design.