Construction records and backup glossary
Plain definitions of the terms that come up when you manage, keep and protect construction project records: the records themselves, the platforms they live in, the laws that decide how long they matter and the storage terms used to back them up. Where a definition includes a platform limit, the linked guide gives the source. Last reviewed 27 October 2026.
- Aconex mail
- Aconex mail is the formal correspondence system inside Oracle Aconex, used to send instructions, notices and other project mail between organisations, with a register of what was sent and received. Mail threads and their attachments are often the main evidence of who said what and when.Read more
- Archive (platform archive)
- A platform archive is what a construction platform offers when a project ends, and it means something different on each one. In Procore it is a downloadable export of chosen tools, in Oracle Aconex it is a separately purchased online or downloaded copy, and in Autodesk Forma (Forma) and BIM 360 it is a project status that removes member access without making a copy.Read more
- As-built drawings
- As-built drawings are drawings and models updated to show what was actually constructed, including changes made on site. They are handed to the owner at completion and are relied on for maintenance, alterations and defect investigations.Read more
- Autodesk Forma
- Autodesk Forma is Autodesk's cloud platform for design and construction, and it also covers projects created in BIM 360. It holds project files, models, issues, RFIs, submittals and other records in hubs owned by a company account.Read more
- Azure Blob container
- An Azure Blob container is a named group of objects (blobs) inside an Azure Storage account, comparable to a top-level folder. Access, retention and immutability policies can be applied at the container level.Read more
- Backup
- A backup is an independent copy of data taken on a schedule and kept as history, so you can return to the state before a deletion, overwrite or outage. Unlike a sync, it does not pass deletions on to earlier copies.Read more
- BIM 360 Docs
- BIM 360 Docs is the document management module of Autodesk BIM 360, Autodesk's earlier cloud platform for construction projects. BIM 360 projects are managed alongside newer Autodesk Forma projects.Read more
- Closeout
- Closeout is the final stage of a construction project, when work is completed, records are handed over and contracts, accounts and platform access are wound up. It is also when project records are most complete and most at risk of being lost.Read more
- Common data environment (CDE)
- A common data environment (CDE) is the single agreed source of information for a project, used to collect, manage and share documents, models and data among all parties. The term comes from ISO 19650, and platforms such as Autodesk Forma, Procore and Oracle Aconex are often used as the CDE.
- Daily log
- A daily log, or site diary, is the day-by-day record of what happened on site, including labour, plant, deliveries, weather, visitors, delays and incidents. Daily logs are often the main evidence in delay and extension of time claims.Read more
- Data residency
- Data residency is the requirement or choice to store data in a specific country or region. When backups are written to your own cloud account, you choose the region of the bucket or container.Read more
- Extension of time (EOT)
- An extension of time (EOT) is a contractual adjustment to the date for completion, granted when the contractor is delayed by an event the contract allows for. EOT claims depend on contemporaneous records such as daily logs, schedules, RFIs and correspondence.Read more
- Golden thread
- The golden thread is the information about a higher-risk building in England that must be kept digitally, secure from unauthorised access, available when needed and in a usable form. The client hands it to the accountable person when construction finishes.Read more
- Hub (Autodesk Forma and BIM 360)
- A hub is the top-level account in Autodesk BIM 360 and Autodesk Forma that holds a company's projects, members and settings, managed by account administrators. Because projects belong to the hub, a company working in someone else's hub depends on that owner for access.Read more
- Immutable storage
- Immutable storage is cloud storage set to a write once, read many (WORM) state, so data cannot be changed or deleted for a set retention period. Azure Blob Storage offers it as immutable storage and Amazon S3 as Object Lock.Read more
- ISO 19650
- ISO 19650 is the international series of standards for managing information over the whole life of a built asset using building information modelling (BIM). It defines the common data environment and the processes for producing, sharing and approving project information.
- Least privilege
- Least privilege is the security principle of giving each user or system only the access it needs to do its job. For a backup, that means read-only access to the source platform and storage credentials limited to the one bucket or container it writes to.Read more
- Limitation period
- A limitation period is the time within which a legal claim must be started, after which it is usually barred. Limitation periods for construction claims often run for years after completion, and they vary by jurisdiction, contract and type of claim.Read more
- Long-stop period
- A long-stop period is an absolute cut-off for bringing a claim, running from a fixed event such as completion regardless of when a defect is found. Long-stops for building work vary by jurisdiction and can run long after the project closes.Read more
- O&M manual
- An operation and maintenance (O&M) manual is the handover document set that explains how to run, maintain and service a building's systems and equipment, with warranties and product data. Owners and facility managers rely on it for the life of the asset.Read more
- Object Lock
- Object Lock is an Amazon S3 feature that stores objects in a write once, read many (WORM) state, so they cannot be overwritten or deleted during a retention period. It works only in buckets with S3 Versioning turned on and offers governance and compliance modes.Read more
- Procore Project Archive
- Procore Project Archive is Procore's tool for exporting data from chosen project tools into a downloadable .zip file, usually at closeout. Procore's help pages (checked October 2026) say the download is available for 30 days, and archives are private to their creator unless a user has Admin permission on the project Directory tool.Read more
- Recovery point objective (RPO)
- A recovery point objective (RPO) is the maximum amount of data, measured in time, that a business accepts losing after an incident. A backup that runs hourly gives an RPO of up to an hour, and one that runs once a day gives an RPO of up to a day.Read more
- Recovery time objective (RTO)
- A recovery time objective (RTO) is the target time to restore access to data or a service after an incident. For project records, it is how quickly someone can find and produce the record that is needed.Read more
- Request for information (RFI)
- An RFI (request for information) is a formal question raised during a project, usually by the contractor to the designer or client, to clarify drawings, specifications or site conditions. RFIs and their responses show why work changed and are often cited in variation and delay claims.Read more
- Retention schedule
- A retention schedule is a policy that lists each type of record, how long it must be kept and what happens to it at the end of that period. For construction records, the periods usually follow limitation periods, statutes of repose and regulatory requirements.Read more
- S3 bucket
- An S3 bucket is a container for objects (files) in Amazon S3, created in a specific AWS account and region. Access policies, versioning, lifecycle rules and default Object Lock retention can be set on the bucket.Read more
- Statute of repose
- A statute of repose is a US law that ends the right to bring a construction claim a fixed number of years after an event such as substantial completion, even if the defect has not yet been found. Periods vary from state to state and change over time, so check the current statute where the work was done.Read more
- Submittal
- A submittal is information a contractor sends to the designer or client for review before work proceeds, such as shop drawings, product data, samples and method statements. The submittal record shows what was proposed, what was approved and on what conditions.Read more
- Sync
- A sync is a connection that keeps files in two systems matching, such as a construction platform and SharePoint or Box. Because changes flow through, a deletion or overwrite in the source is usually copied to the target, which is why a sync is not a backup.Read more
- Transmittal
- A transmittal is a formal record that documents were issued from one party to another, listing each document, its revision, the recipients, the date and the reason for issue. Transmittals prove which revision a party received and when.Read more
- Variation
- A variation is a change to the scope of work under a construction contract, such as an addition, omission or design change, usually with an adjustment to price or time. In the US the same thing is usually called a change order.Read more
- Versioning
- Versioning is a storage setting that keeps every version of a file or object when it is changed or deleted, rather than replacing it. Amazon S3 requires it for Object Lock, and Azure Blob Storage requires it for version-level immutability policies.
SIINC backs up Procore, Autodesk Forma and Oracle Aconex into storage you own, on a schedule.