Characteristics of a Good Set of Construction Documents

I remember, as a young Architect, doing a few “builder’s sets” for small Builders to get houses they wanted to build through the local authority for a permit. The set typically consisted of Floor Plans, usually including a Foundation Plan, Elevations, and a Wall Section. The specifications consisted of notes on these sheets. The Builder built according to conventional house construction. Done. I don’t know if they do this is anymore.

The drawings and specifications for construction project of any size now include not only the Architectural information, of course, but the work of all the other disciplines that are a part of the project. It is usually the Architect who is the lead, with Civil, Structural, Electrical, Mechanical Engineers, and Designers in various other disciplines working through them. Even on a project that is not very complicated or large a complete set of Drawings can include several hundred sheets, and Specification manuals might include two thick volumes. No matter how large the set, I think that Drawings and Specifications must have certain qualities.

 They must be:

Comprehensive

This means that the drawings and specifications must in some fashion include all aspects of the project: every part of every structure, every piece of equipment, every sign, every outlet, every parking space, every shrub…everything.

Complete

This means that there must be sufficient information about each aspect of the project to describe, locate, and install every material, product, and assembly that is part of the project.

Concise

This means that duplicated and extraneous information should be left out. Indeed, you should leave out entire drawing sheets that don’t have any significant or unique information.

Correct

This means that the information that is presented in the drawings and specifications must be accurate, including dimensions, nomenclature, procedures, and descriptions, both graphic and verbal.

Coordinated

This means that the documents must not be self-contradictory in any way. The drawings must accord with the specifications and the work of each consultant must agree with the work of the others. 

Consistent

This means that the drawings must all aim at the same end with the same degree of attention to detail.

Clear

This means that the information provided, whether written or drawn, must be unambiguous and understandable.

Navigable

This non-C outlier could be the most important quality of all because it ties the others together. Pathways within drawings and between drawings often take the form of bubbles and flags that include the name or number of both a particular section, elevation, detail, or schedule and the sheet where it can be found. These indicators can drift in the course of assembling the set --- a sheet might be added or deleted or renamed, or a detail moved --- but they must be correct in the final set. If the pathways are broken or lead in the wrong direction, they may very well get lost and miss something important. Notes that point to other drawings must be clear and contain enough information to identify the destination. For instance, sometimes “SSD” (“See Structural Drawings”) can be enough and sometimes it just leaves you with too many pages to look through. Imagine what the explorers travelling through your set of drawings and specs will need to find their way easily and efficiently.

A final item, beginning with a “C”, should be:

Checked

This means that my earlier posting, “Checking Architectural drawings and specifications”, should be applied to make sure that the items in this list describe your set.