Shop drawings are a significant part of the construction process and provide an opportunity for a valuable final coordination and review. The preparation and review of these documents is a requirement of the contract specifications. The project manager needs to ensure that the proper procedures for shop drawing review are earnestly included in the construction schedule and that sufficient time is available for this critical activity.
Including the preparation and review of shop drawings in the construction schedule at the outset of the project and following the submission requirements of the contract specifications can help avoid construction delays and additional costs due to changes made by the contractor to the project scope, design, materials or fabrication. This also gives the project team a chance to note any misinterpretations of the contract documents at an early stage, when they are easy to address and less costly than at a later stage of construction, when those misinterpretations can lead to construction errors that may have significant consequences.
The process should include an in-house shop drawing review by staff (or consultants) within a reasonable, agreed upon time frame. It should be noted that the review by RPB staff or consultants is for only the purpose of ascertaining conformance to the general concept and does not provide 'approval' of the detailed design inherent in the shop drawings (this remains with the contractor or facility owner in cases where the structure is a leased or owned project). Adding a separate stamp for this type of submittal identifies its review status i.e. reviewed, reviewed with annotation or revise and re-submit and helps to protect the project manager against potential claims due to negligence.
