For every project team that uses 3D building information models and punch-list apps to improve productivity on a jobsite, the handoff of the building to its owners and building managers is still, for many, a paper-driven affair.

Leigh Jasper, the CEO of project collaboration-software company Aconex, is on a mission to change that handoff process to digital documentation with the firm's release of its latest operations-and-management (O&M) suite of tools.

Called Smart Manuals, the offering aims to align construction project information through O&M of the "as built" assets. The suite has three tools.

The company says the latest Smart Manuals suite is designed to help contractors improve how they define and assign subcontractor tasks and deliverables and automate a project's review and approval processes. Other baked-in features include a more extensive and searchable audit trail and improved integration for adding updates to existing O&M manuals. Jasper says another tool in the release provides drag-and-drop workflow design, which helps detect bottlenecks in handoffs.

As a provider of web-based collaboration software to major construction firms around the globe, Aconex is leveraging cloud computing and "software as a service" (SaaS) to help it drive greater adoption of digital documentation during a project's handoff phase.

The trend isn't exactly new. Major software vendors—such as BIM tool providers Autodesk and Tekla and collaboration provider Bluebeam—offer all-digital as-builts. ERP vendor Viewpoint is also joining the cloud-based collaboration fray as well with its acquisition of U.K.-based 4Project. However, the rapid adoption of tablets on jobsites suggests construction management firms are looking for ways to keep track of all the data coming onto a jobsite.

"We think mobility has a long way to go in the industry's ability to quickly integrate and deploy as-built information for facilities," Jasper adds.