Outsourcing detailing adds capacity without adding people to your drafting room. It works when the package that goes out is complete and the detailer works the way your shop already does. This checklist covers what to send, what to agree before modeling starts, and what to check when the first drawings come back.
1. Send a complete package
- Contract drawings. The structural set, plus the architectural, MEP and civil sheets that locate steel: slab edges, openings, embeds and equipment supports.
- Specifications. Division 05 in particular, with every addendum and ASI issued so far.
- Connection design responsibility. The AISC Code of Standard Practice (AISC 303) allows connections to be fully designed on the contract drawings, partly completed by the fabricator, or delegated to a licensed engineer working for the fabricator. The contract documents should say which applies, and it changes both the price and the schedule.
- Your shop standards. Tekla templates, title block, piece-mark scheme, preferred connections, bolt and hole conventions, weld symbols, and paint or galvanizing requirements. A sample set from a past job is often the fastest way to show them.
- The schedule. Dates for the anchor rod plan, the first erection sequence and the approval turnaround you expect.
- The scope split. Who details joists and deck, stairs and rails, and connections to precast, wood or other trades.
2. Agree the scope before modeling starts
- Sequences and release order. Anchor rods first, then drawings by erection sequence, so the field and the shop can start before the whole job is drawn.
- What is in and what is out. Miscellaneous steel, embeds, loose lintels and temporary steel are common sources of disputes later.
- The pricing basis. Detailers usually price per ton, per sheet or as a lump sum. Agree up front how revisions and added scope are priced.
- The RFI process. Who sends RFIs, who answers them, and how answers flow back into the model.
- The submittal format. PDF sets, a shared model, or both.
3. Set up communication
- One point of contact on each side.
- A shared RFI log that both teams update.
- A short weekly progress call, or a model review in Trimble Connect.
- A plan for time zones. A team several hours ahead of you can work your markups overnight, as long as handoffs happen at the end of your day.
4. Check the first submittal closely
- The anchor rod plan against the foundation drawings: grids, rod diameters, projections and elevations.
- A sample of shop drawings against your standards: piece marks, holes, welds and cut lengths.
- Erection drawings: readable piece marks, bolt counts and connection references the erector can work from.
- CNC files: run a few NC1 and DXF files on your own machines before production starts.
- Revisions: clouded changes and a revision block, with only the affected sheets re-issued.
5. How to choose a detailing partner
- Ask for a sample set similar to your work.
- Ask how drawings are checked. A separate checker catches more than a self-check.
- Ask about the US codes they work to: AISC 360, AISC 303, RCSC, AWS D1.1 and OSHA 1926 Subpart R.
- Start with a small job or a single sequence before handing over a full project.
The first job with a new detailer always takes a little more coordination. After that, a detailer who knows your standards behaves like an extension of your own drafting room.