Direct answer
Walk the complete route at both buildings before equipment and hours are promised
A commercial building access survey is a measured, photographed and authorized record of how each load will travel from the public approach to its final room. Complete it at the origin and destination with the tenant, mover and property representative. A dock reservation by itself does not establish that the truck fits, the freight elevator runs, security admits the crew or a large item clears the last turn.
Survey in sequence: legal vehicle approach, stopping position, dock or curb interface, receiving controls, vertical movement, interior route and destination placement. Record dimensions, surfaces, grades, thresholds, door hardware, overhead obstructions, turning space and shared-user conflicts. The route must be considered with the selected moving equipment and protected load, because a bare tabletop can clear an opening that the wrapped assembly cannot.
Treat the result as a constraint register rather than a sales estimate. Each issue receives evidence, an owner, action, decision deadline and fallback. A low ceiling may require a smaller vehicle; a short elevator reservation may require staged loading; a controlled door may require a dedicated escort. The after-hours office-move checklist helps align those access constraints with labour and reopening capacity.
Do not publish sensitive access information. The working survey can identify door numbers, credential types and security processes, while actual codes, alarm details and personal information stay in restricted custody. Give drivers and crews the operational route they need without circulating a complete security map. Archive the final version with the project record and revoke temporary credentials after the authorized window.
- Measure every transfer point from vehicle approach to final placement.
- Assign each constraint an owner, deadline and workable fallback.
- Separate operational route instructions from restricted security information.
Survey team
Bring the people who can verify permission, equipment and workplace controls
The tenant coordinator knows business priorities but may not control the dock, elevator or common corridor. Include a property representative who can confirm building rules, a mover representative who understands vehicle and handling needs, and facilities or technical specialists for unusual assets. Add security, health and safety, accessibility, records or landlord representatives where the work warrants. Record who attended and which questions remain outside their authority.
Give one person responsibility for the master survey. Other participants may take measurements and photographs, but the survey owner reconciles units, file names and revisions. Use millimetres or centimetres consistently, identify the measuring tool and avoid recording false precision. If a condition cannot be inspected safely, mark it unknown and arrange qualified verification instead of estimating from a floor plan.
Ask workers and occupants about actual conditions. A concierge may know that delivery vehicles queue at a certain hour; a facilities technician may know that one elevator door reopens slowly; an employee using a mobility device may identify a route conflict invisible on the drawing. CCOHS risk-assessment guidance emphasizes considering the work, environment and people affected. Capture those observations as evidence to investigate, not automatic permission to change the route.
Clarify responsibility between tenant, property manager, mover and specialized contractor. Who places floor protection, controls the dock door, supplies elevator pads, isolates alarms, moves compact storage or removes doors? A statement such as 'building will handle it' is not a plan. Name the legal entity or role, deliverable, completion time and verification. Responsibility gaps commonly appear where private premises meet the public right of way.
- Include tenant, property and moving representatives on the route walk.
- Record unknown conditions instead of inventing dimensions.
- Assign every access preparation task to a named role.
Vehicle approach
Verify the legal arrival path before assessing the loading point
Start several blocks from the property, using the vehicle characteristics the mover expects to deploy. Review turn restrictions, truck routes, bridge or weight considerations, overhead clearances, construction, seasonal constraints and one-way streets through current official information. The mover remains responsible for operating its vehicle lawfully and safely; the tenant should disclose site facts without directing a driver to follow an unverified shortcut.
Record the last safe waiting point and the communication that releases the vehicle toward the dock. A truck circling downtown while security looks for a key increases cost and may create unsafe pressure. Where the building uses a service lane, confirm width, gate operation, grade, sightlines and interaction with pedestrians, cyclists, waste vehicles or adjacent tenants. Photograph the approach from a driver's practical perspective where it is safe to do so.
Check current Ottawa traffic, road-work, special-event and parking information again near moving day. Conditions can change after the initial survey, so the access plan needs a reconfirmation date. The downtown Ottawa loading plan is useful when transit activity, narrow curb space and competing deliveries make the final approach more complex than the building's internal route.
Plan winter and poor-weather arrival. Identify who clears and treats private ramps, where snow reduces turning or door space, and how water will be controlled at thresholds. Do not assume municipal snow clearing makes a private dock usable at the reservation time. Define a weather hold point and alternate staging arrangement that preserves fire access, pedestrian movement and driver visibility.
Curb and permit
Distinguish an Ottawa loading zone from a reserved commercial moving space
Read the signs and current municipal rules at the proposed stopping point. Ottawa's Traffic and Parking By-law contains conditions for loading zones, including limits that do not amount to an all-day reservation. A legal stopping place for a short delivery may be unsuitable for an office move involving repeated handling. Photograph the sign face, arrows, curb, nearby intersections and any meter or time-control information.
The City's temporary construction-related encroachment guidance states that a residential or commercial moving vehicle that follows existing parking regulations does not require that permit; circumstances needing occupation beyond ordinary rules require earlier municipal review. Do not infer that no permit is ever needed. Describe the intended vehicle, location, duration and obstruction honestly to the relevant City office and follow the current process for the actual use.
A temporary consideration parking permit has a defined municipal purpose and conditions; it is not a guarantee of exclusive curb space or authorization to block a lane, sidewalk, fire route or signed restriction. Confirm what the issued document allows and carry the required evidence onsite. Private parking lots and building docks are controlled separately, so obtain those permissions directly from the owner or manager.
Mark the pedestrian and cycling interface. A tailgate, ramp, dolly or carton queue must not appear unexpectedly in an accessible path or active cycle lane. Where the approved plan affects public movement, use the traffic-control, permit or professional resources required by the authority. Movers and office staff should never improvise cones or stand in traffic as a substitute for an authorized control plan.
- Photograph every sign and restriction governing the intended stopping position.
- Confirm the actual municipal authorization instead of relying on a permit name.
- Keep ramps, queues and equipment out of unapproved pedestrian or cycling space.
Loading dock
Measure dock compatibility, operating controls and competing activity
Record bay width and length, platform height, leveller or plate type, door opening, overhead clearance, grade and turning envelope. Confirm the expected vehicle can align without striking columns, bollards, doors, pipes or parked equipment. Measurements should include the operating position of bumpers, tailgate and ramp. Ask the mover what interface it needs; not every moving truck is designed for a conventional raised loading dock.
Inspect surfaces, drainage, lighting, ventilation and weather exposure. Identify damaged concrete, slippery areas, abrupt lips, blind corners and places where packaging could blow or become wet. Determine who may operate dock equipment and whether training, keys or supervision are required. A tenant representative should not touch a leveller, door or compactor simply because it blocks the planned sequence.
Map competing users. Waste collection, couriers, food delivery, construction and other tenants can share the same lane or bay. Obtain an exclusive reservation where the property offers one, and record setup and clearing time rather than only truck time. Use the loading-dock booking checklist to record conflict authority because the building's calendar may not notify every service contractor.
Protect fire routes, exits and emergency equipment. Ontario's Fire Code and property procedures may govern particular conditions, and the building authority should confirm what is permitted. Never stage cartons against a marked exit or prop a fire door. The route plan should show where loads may wait, maximum stack boundaries and who keeps the dock clear as each vehicle turns over.
Freight elevator
Test the elevator as a timed material-handling resource
Record elevator car width, depth and height, clear door opening, control panel position, rated capacity shown by the building and the path into and out of the car. Measure the longest item and its turning needs with protection applied. Do not calculate permission from dimensions alone; the property manager decides approved use, protection, operator requirements and whether an item requires a specialist method.
Confirm reservation start, release time, service mode, operator or key, loading-floor access and what happens if the car faults. Ask whether elevator pads, floor panels or threshold bridges are supplied and who installs them. Run a test trip with the actual credential. A freight elevator visible during a daytime survey may be controlled from another desk after hours or shared with maintenance during the booked period.
Calculate throughput using observed cycle time, not the rated capacity multiplied by optimistic loads. Include door opening, safe entry, unloading, return, congestion and staging. Identify where one batch waits without obstructing a corridor. If the elevator is the critical path, sequence high-priority destinations and avoid creating a large uncontrolled queue that outgrows the approved staging bay.
Define the out-of-service response. Obtain the authorized building contact, technician escalation and decision time. Do not divert large office goods to a passenger elevator or stair without written property approval and a revised handling assessment. A planned secondary route may exist for small cartons, but it must preserve occupant access, weight limits, finishes, fire protection and safe manual-material-handling controls.
- Measure the protected item, doorway, car and approach turns together.
- Test service mode and credentials during the survey.
- Approve an elevator-failure response before the booking begins.
Interior route
Trace every threshold, corner, door and floor condition to the destination room
Walk the route with a representative cart or dimensional template where the building allows it. Record door clear widths, closers, thresholds, ramps, ceiling obstructions, floor transitions, wall projections, tight turns and changes in level. Check the destination approach as carefully as the lobby. The final ten metres often contain the narrowest doorway, lowest light fixture or least protected finish.
Identify floor, wall, elevator and door protection specified by the property. Match the material to surface, duration, weather and building approval; tape that is safe on one finish can damage another. Document installation, inspection and removal responsibility. Protection cannot create curled edges, inaccessible thresholds or reduced door clearances. Inspect the route before and after with timestamped photographs and the property representative where possible.
Establish one-way or controlled flow where opposing dollies cannot pass. Mark safe set-down locations and prohibit staging in stairs, exits, washroom routes, first-aid access or electrical rooms. CCOHS housekeeping guidance emphasizes keeping aisles and emergency resources unobstructed. The route owner should remove empty packaging continuously so the condition assessed at the start does not deteriorate as volume increases.
Separate employee and public circulation from material movement. If the building remains occupied, use barriers, escorts, timing or alternate routes approved by the property and workplace parties. Keep accessible entry and service pathways available. An announcement asking people to 'watch for movers' is not a sufficient control where carts emerge from blind corners or a freight corridor intersects a public lobby.
Security and custody
Design access credentials and asset custody without exposing the building
List every controlled boundary: property gate, dock door, service corridor, freight controls, tenant suite, records room and destination zone. For each, record credential type, authorized role, active hours, escort rule and failure contact. Issue temporary cards to named people where the building permits and retrieve them at shift end. Do not share one credential across an untraceable group or tape doors open for convenience.
Create a check-in process that can handle crew substitutions without disclosing unnecessary personal information. The building and employer should determine lawful identification and privacy practices. Send approved personnel information through the designated channel, not in a widely forwarded move plan. Late additions require authorization before arrival; urgency does not create access rights or excuse a contractor from the agreed screening procedure.
Use custody controls for high-value equipment, confidential records and master keys. Assign identifiable containers, origin release, vehicle or crew handoff and destination recipient. The business records moving checklist provides a deeper chain-of-custody workflow. Keep the general asset label operational and non-sensitive; an exterior description should not advertise payroll files, security devices or executive records.
Plan alarm and camera interactions with the authorized security contact. Know which motion zones, doors or after-hours alerts the work may trigger and how incidents will be verified. Movers should not receive alarm codes unless the building expressly authorizes that arrangement. At completion, restore normal controls, count keys and badges, close doors and record who confirmed the secure state at each site.
- Map every controlled boundary and its failure contact.
- Authorize substitutions before they arrive at the property.
- Retrieve temporary credentials and confirm secure closure.
Accessibility and emergency use
Preserve routes people need while the moving route changes around them
Assess how staging, protection, parked vehicles and open doors affect accessible travel. Ontario's Integrated Accessibility Standards and other obligations may apply differently by organization and facility, so obtain appropriate advice rather than using a generic dimension as a compliance certificate. Include affected employees or qualified accessibility resources in the planning, particularly when alternate entrances or temporary workstations are proposed.
Keep emergency exits, alarm devices, fire extinguishers, sprinkler clearance and responder access unobstructed. Confirm property rules and applicable fire requirements with the responsible building authority. Do not place a temporary pile in a marked refuge, vestibule or fire route because it will move soon. The route plan should show prohibited staging zones as clearly as approved ones.
Check lighting and communication during the actual move window. Service corridors may operate at lower illumination after hours, and audible instructions may be difficult near dock equipment. Provide controls appropriate to the assessed hazard without defeating alarms or accessibility features. The building must remain able to communicate emergencies to people onsite, including contractors unfamiliar with its procedures.
Brief crews on evacuation, muster, first-aid and emergency contact procedures for both buildings. Identify who accounts for the moving team and who communicates with building personnel. A tenant fire plan cannot be assumed to cover every contractor detail, and a mover's vehicle procedure does not replace site evacuation instructions. Run the briefing before equipment enters, while routes and exits are still visible.
Handling equipment
Match carts, ramps and protection to the measured route and actual loads
Give the mover a verified inventory of large, heavy, fragile and awkward items along with route measurements. CCOHS guidance describes selecting mechanical aids such as carts, dollies, hand trucks and lift tables according to the task. The qualified mover chooses equipment and method; the tenant should not prescribe a device solely because it appears to fit in an online catalogue.
Check equipment dimensions in operating form. A dolly plus wrapped cabinet can be wider than either alone; a pallet jack needs room to turn and lower; a ramp changes required clearance and force. Confirm surface and elevator compatibility with the property. Powered equipment, hoists or floor cranes may require operator competence, authorization and a more detailed assessment than a routine office relocation.
Identify places where manual repositioning is likely, such as a lip, tight corner or final desk bay. These points deserve specific handling controls because they interrupt the smooth mechanical route. Ontario Regulation 851 contains material-handling requirements where it applies, and Ontario's OHSA sets broader workplace duties. Contractors and employers should determine the governing requirements and communicate who supervises each interface.
Create an exception path for anything that does not match the survey. If the arriving safe, compact storage or oversized conference table differs from the recorded dimensions, stop and reassess rather than forcing it through. Update method, protection, staffing, equipment and building approval in writing. The safe heavy-item access assessment is a useful companion for objects that demand specialist verification.
- Provide verified item and route dimensions to the professional mover.
- Measure equipment and wrapped loads in their operating form.
- Stop and reassess any item outside the surveyed envelope.
Schedule and throughput
Convert access constraints into a realistic loading and elevator plan
Estimate capacity at each bottleneck: curb or dock turnover, interior staging, freight-elevator cycles and destination installation. The slowest controlled resource governs throughput. Adding movers does not double production when only one cart can enter the elevator. Model batches and release zones so goods reach the bottleneck in a stable sequence instead of filling every available corridor.
Reserve setup and closeout time. Building protection, security check-in, elevator preparation, vehicle positioning and route inspection occur before the first item moves. At the end, allow for packaging removal, property inspection, credential return and dock release. A booking from 18:00 to 22:00 may yield substantially less than four hours of material flow, so the quote and work details should reflect usable access time.
Coordinate with occupant schedules and property services. Identify deliveries, cleaning, waste pickup, construction and other tenant moves that intersect the route. If the property cannot offer exclusivity, assign sequencing and conflict authority. Do not let two vendors negotiate right of way at the dock while vehicles wait. Reconfirm the building calendar in the final week and on the day of work.
Define timing alerts. If the first vehicle is late, an elevator cycle exceeds the model or destination staging reaches its limit, the lead should know when to reduce work details or request an approved extension. Track facts without pressuring crews to handle faster than safe conditions allow. The purpose of throughput data is early decision-making, not a productivity target that overrides controls.
Survey record
Issue one controlled access plan with drawings, evidence and change history
Create a route sheet for each building with address, approved approach, contact protocol, vehicle position, access hours, dimensions, photos, floor protection, security, elevator and destination zones. Use arrows and identifiers on a simple plan, but confirm it against the physical survey. Architectural drawings can be outdated, omit door hardware or show nominal rather than usable dimensions.
Keep evidence understandable. Label photographs by building, floor, direction and date; include a scale where useful; state whether a dimension is clear opening or frame-to-frame. Link each issue to a numbered action. Store sensitive security details separately and control distribution. A seventy-page report that crews cannot navigate is less useful than concise route sheets backed by a complete decision log.
Apply version control. State the survey date, revision, author, approvers and superseded version. When construction, tenant activity, snow, signage or inventory changes, update the affected route fields and distribute a dated revision. Remove obsolete copies from crew packages. Verbal changes made during a final walk-through should be entered before work starts so every lead shares the same route.
Record assumptions explicitly: expected vehicle type, largest protected item, equipment, crew, occupancy and weather condition. The survey remains valid only within that envelope. If a subcontractor arrives with different equipment or a tenant adds an oversized object, reassess the affected segment. A signed survey is not a permanent guarantee that the building will never change.
- Produce a concise route sheet for each building.
- Label measurements and photographs so another person can verify them.
- State the operating assumptions that define the survey's validity.
Final verification
Rewalk the route and make a documented go or no-go decision
Reconfirm conditions near the move date, preferably with the property and mover. Check signs, access cards, construction, floor finishes, elevator status, dock availability, weather protection and destination readiness. Compare the physical route to the current issue log. An emailed statement that nothing changed is useful administration but does not reveal a new pallet, locked partition or snowbank occupying the path.
Test critical controls. Call the after-hours number, open the controlled door with the issued credential and run the freight elevator under the approved mode. Verify that protection materials are onsite and compatible. Confirm the largest item and selected equipment remain within the measured envelope. Do not begin with the hardest object as an experiment; resolve its method before the full crew arrives.
Hold a route briefing at each site. Show vehicle release, restricted zones, pedestrian interface, staging, elevator, emergency actions and final placement. Invite workers to report a changed condition. CCOHS job-safety-analysis guidance supports communicating identified hazards and controls to the people performing the task. Update the plan when their competent observation identifies a genuine mismatch.
Approve work only when every critical constraint is controlled, assigned or removed from work details. If parking authorization, elevator access, security or a safe route remains unresolved, delay, re-sequence or use an approved alternative. Record the decision, protect the premises and notify affected parties. A no-go at the survey gate costs less than discovering halfway through loading that the destination cannot receive the shipment.
- Physically recheck conditions that can change after the first survey.
- Demonstrate credentials, elevator mode and protection readiness.
- Do not release the shipment toward an unresolved destination route.
Research record
Sources used for this guide
These primary and authoritative references informed the practical details above. Page availability should be reviewed during the regular editorial refresh.
- City of Ottawa moving-vehicle and right-of-way guidancePrimary Ottawa moving-vehicle and street-access research.
- City of Ottawa Noise By-lawPrimary Ottawa loading-hour research.
- CCOHS Workplace Housekeeping : Basic GuidePrimary Canadian safety guidance on orderly work areas, clear halls and floors, waste removal and ongoing housekeeping; applied as a general unpacking safety principle rather than household law.
- Ontario Fire Code, O. Reg. 213/07Primary Ontario legal text for maintaining required exit access and avoiding furniture or moving materials that create prohibited obstructions.
- City of Ottawa : On-street parking restrictionsPrimary municipal parking reference used to reinforce compliance with current signs and stopping restrictions without treating the page or an empty curb as a reservation.
- City of Ottawa : Temporary consideration parking permitCurrent short-term parking privilege program, carefully distinguished from automatic moving-truck eligibility or curb reservation.
- Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1Official Ontario statute used as the primary legal reference for workplace-party duties; the articles translate those duties into planning questions and do not purport to determine compliance for a specific employer or contractor.
- R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 851: Industrial EstablishmentsOfficial regulation used to support route, material-handling, guarding and housekeeping checks where the regulation applies; readers are told to confirm the rules governing their particular workplace.
- CCOHS : Office RelocationPrimary Canadian guidance used to connect inventory, access, packing, manual handling, clear routes and workstation setup to responsible cost assumptions.
- CCOHS : Hoisting and Moving Heavy ObjectsAuthoritative Canadian guidance used to explain why selected carts, dollies, lift tables and other mechanical aids must match the object, route, grade and trained operator.
- CCOHS : Job Safety AnalysisAuthoritative Canadian guidance used to structure non-routine move tasks into steps, identify hazards, select controls and communicate the resulting work procedure.
- Traffic and Parking By-law : Part A: Rules of the RoadOfficial municipal by-law page used to show that signed loading zones and other curb space have specific conditions and are not equivalent to an all-day private truck reservation.
- O. Reg. 191/11: Integrated Accessibility StandardsOfficial regulation used as a primary accessibility reference while directing organizations to determine which standards and accommodation duties apply to their workplace and move plan.
- CCOHS : Hazard and Risk: Risk AssessmentAuthoritative Canadian guidance used for identifying hazards, assessing likelihood and severity, selecting controls, evaluating effectiveness and communicating results.
