Shop Drawings, Submittals, RFIs, and Delegated Design

Shop Drawings, Submittals, RFIs, and Delegated Design

For July 2026 exam questions, use IBC 2018, ACI 318-14, AISC 15th Edition, and the PCI Design Handbook, 7th Edition (2010) where applicable. Material references and contract documents set different duties; a “reviewed” stamp is not universal approval.

Identify the document and its purpose

Shop drawings are prepared by or for the contractor, fabricator, supplier, or specialty entity to translate the design into producible and installable information. They supplement communication but do not silently amend the permitted design.

A disciplined submittal workflow

1. Contractor coordination: verify field dimensions, fabrication, interfaces, and marked deviations before forwarding.
2. Design review: check the assigned scope for general conformance, structural criteria, interfaces, and deviations.
3. Disposition: record an unambiguous review status and any required resubmission.
4. Code approval: forward deferred or revised documents through the required channel.
5. Field control: release the current approved revision and remove superseded sheets.

Review does not ordinarily relieve the contractor of fabrication accuracy, field measurements, coordination, sequencing, or safe means and methods. It also does not transfer the construction-document designer's responsibility. Review should identify a recognized design conflict but is not exhaustive checking of every dimension.

RFIs and substitutions

An RFI should identify the drawing or specification location, describe the conflict, explain schedule impact, and, if useful, present a proposed resolution clearly labeled as a proposal. The RFI is a question, not a change order or revised design. The response should come from the party authorized to interpret or modify the design and should state whether revised calculations, drawings, pricing, or building-official review are required. Incorporate accepted changes into controlled project records.

A substitution is more than an RFI with a product name. Evaluate geometry, loads and load path, strength, stiffness, durability, fire resistance, interfaces, testing or evaluation reports, availability, and effects on other trades. If an anchor system, precast connection, steel grade, or reinforcement layout changes an approved design, formal design review and possibly revised permit documents are needed. “Equal strength” alone may miss stiffness, ductility, edge distance, installation, or inspection requirements.

Deferred submittals under IBC 2018

IBC 2018 defines a deferred submittal as a portion of the design not submitted with the initial permit application but submitted within a specified time. Deferral requires prior approval by the building official. The registered design professional in responsible charge lists deferred items on the construction documents.

The deferred package goes to that design professional for review. After finding it in general conformance with the building design, the design professional forwards it to the building official with that notation. The item must not be installed until the building official approves the deferred documents. Calling a late shop drawing “deferred” does not legalize an unapproved installation.

Delegated design without wholesale transfer

Delegated design assigns a defined component or system portion to a qualified specialty registered design professional. The design professional of record establishes the design criteria and interfaces needed for that portion: governing loads and combinations, performance, geometry, support conditions, movement compatibility, materials, and connection assumptions. The specialty designer performs the delegated analysis, prepares signed and sealed documents where required, and coordinates its boundaries.

The design professional of record reviews the package for general conformance with the overall building design. That review does not make the record designer the specialty designer of the delegated calculations. Conversely, delegation does not transfer responsibility for overall structural criteria, incomplete interfaces, or the remainder of the building to the specialty designer. A delegated component may also be a deferred submittal, but the terms are not synonyms: one describes design responsibility; the other describes permit timing.

Scenario: precast connection conflict

Suppose a precast cladding support is a listed deferred, delegated item. The construction documents give design forces, allowable movement, supporting-edge geometry, and durability criteria. The specialty engineer designs the connection and submits calculations and shop drawings through the contractor. The record engineer finds general conformance, and the building official approves the package before installation.

In the field, the contractor discovers that the approved anchor conflicts with reinforcement. The crew proposes moving the anchor 4 in and drilling a new hole. The proper response is to stop that affected installation, document the conflict in an RFI, and route it to the authorized designers. The specialty engineer evaluates the changed eccentricity and edge distance; the record engineer evaluates the supporting member and overall interface; revised approval is obtained as required. A shop-drawing review stamp did not preapprove an arbitrary relocation, and a verbal field suggestion does not replace controlled revision.

Exam decision test

Ask four questions: What document is this? Who prepared it? Who has authority to approve the specific issue? Has the approved change reached the current field set? Correct answers preserve the contractor's control of construction, the specialty designer's defined scope, the record professional's system responsibility, and the building official's approval role.