Effective project management is one of the most critical factors in successful retrofit delivery. The PAS2035 framework defines the stages and roles involved, but how those stages are managed in practice — the communications, the decisions, the documentation and the coordination between parties — determines whether a project runs smoothly or accumulates delays and non-conformities.
This guide covers the key project management considerations at each stage of a PAS2035 retrofit project, from initial planning through to TrustMark lodgement.
Good retrofit project management begins well before any assessment visits take place. The groundwork — appointing the right team, establishing clear contractual arrangements and building a realistic programme — determines what is possible later.
The RC should be appointed at the earliest possible stage, ideally before funding is applied for. The RC's expertise is needed to design the programme structure, advise on funding eligibility and ensure the project is set up correctly from the outset. An RC appointed after funding is confirmed — or worse, after assessment visits have begun — is starting at a disadvantage.
All parties must hold the correct accreditations before works begin. Assessors must be approved by a recognised scheme (Elmhurst, ECMK, Quidos or Property Tectonics). Installers must hold PAS2030 certification for each measure type they are installing. Verifying this at procurement stage — not on the day works commence — prevents compliance failures that are difficult to resolve retrospectively.
Retrofit projects consistently take longer than anticipated. Assessment visits, design sign-off, resident communication and installation all take time, and any of them can cause delays if not properly planned. Build contingency into the programme and identify the critical path — the sequence of activities where delays will affect the overall completion date.
The pre-retrofit assessment is the foundation on which the entire project is built. Poor assessment data creates problems at every subsequent stage.
The Improvement Option Evaluation and Medium Term Plan are the documents that translate assessment data into a planned programme of works. They also define what residents are being told about what will happen to their homes.
Resident communication at this stage is often underestimated. Residents who understand what is planned, why it is happening and what to expect during and after installation are significantly more likely to provide access and cooperate with the programme. Refusals and access issues are one of the most common causes of programme delay.
Good practice: Send Stage 2 advice letters well in advance of assessment visits. Consider a resident information event or Q&A session for larger programmes — it reduces individual queries significantly and builds trust early.
The retrofit design must be reviewed and signed off by the RC before installation begins. This review should not be a formality — it is the RC's opportunity to confirm that the design addresses all the findings from the assessment, that the ventilation strategy is appropriate and that the specification is consistent with what was agreed in the MTP.
Any changes to the planned measure package at this stage — whether driven by budget, technical constraints or resident preferences — must be documented. Undocumented changes create compliance gaps that are difficult to resolve at lodgement.
The RC does not need to be present on site for every installation, but must have a clear process for monitoring quality and managing non-conformities. This includes regular check-ins with installers, a clear process for reporting and recording defects, and a defined sign-off process before the project proceeds to handover.
Non-conformities are a normal part of retrofit delivery — they are not failures in themselves. What matters is that they are identified, recorded and resolved before the claim of compliance is signed. An unresolved non-conformity that reaches TrustMark lodgement will prevent a successful lodge.
One of the most common causes of delay at TrustMark lodgement is incomplete or inconsistent documentation accumulated over the course of the project. Managing documentation as the project progresses — not as a retrospective exercise at handover — is significantly less onerous and significantly more reliable.
A simple project tracker that records the status of each required document at each stage for each property is one of the most effective project management tools available to an RC. It makes the current state of compliance visible at any point and identifies gaps before they become problems.
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