The importance of accurate design and drawing coordination between team consultants cannot be overstated and is critical to the early and long terms success of a project. The consultant team needs to pay attention early in the design process to each others’ documents to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated set of drawings are ultimately produced. This effort is critical when the documents and specifications are being reviewed by contractors, estimating services, or other firms as required by project needs. The responsibility of the Program Manager is to ensure this effort is fully coordinated and accomplished successfully and in a timely manner.

In today’s fast track method of delivery the need for a coordinated and complete set of documents during Design Development is important. Often the set is used by the Program Manger to determine the total cost of construction for the purpose of contract and scheduling commitments. Without a coordinated and complete set of documents this effort is difficult and can lead to inaccurate cost and scheduling information. The importance of having all consultants review each others plans and details is imperative in preventing mistakes in estimating, purchasing, and other project commitments. The Program Manger’s role in this effort is to task and manage the consultant team’s effort in carefully reviewing drawings and details to compare against other each others’ drawings and specifications to ensure coordination has been achieved.

A complete set of documents is achieved by having the Program Manager ensure that all design disciplines (Civil, Structural, MEPS, Landscape, etc) have reviewed the complete set of plans. The Program Manager conducts meetings with all design firms to review the complete set of drawings to ensure coordination has occurred. This can be something as simple as accurately adjusting a dimension between grid lines to more complicated conditions such as underground utility connections, mechanical and electrical equipment coordination, structural and architectural detail references, and other important aspects of creating comprehensive design and bidding packages. The more time and effort “up front” will assist in the establishment of an accurate estimate and will prevent “gaps” in the overall project cost and scheduling commitments. In addition to accurate cost estimates, a coordinated set of documents will prevent confusion as construction commences. The role of the Program Manager is to ensure this potential confusion has been eliminated due to coordinated design. The Program Manager will then undertake and complete a full Constructability Review to ensure the drawings are ready for final bidding and construction.

Often during the initial bidding phases the bidder has to submit multiple RFI’s (Request for Information) or questions to clarify the intent of the drawings. This lengthy RFI process is often the result of the construction documents not being complete, coordinated, and detailed enough to construct the project. Missing details, incorrect dimensions, inadequate references to other consultant drawings are all examples of documents that will cost owners time and money as the contractors determine the final intent of the project. This often leads to contractors seeking to submit change orders that “fill in the missing gaps” where the construction documents failed to do so. It is recommended that the Owner spends the correct amount of time and money upfront to prevent this from happening by being certain its teams have produced a coordinated set of drawings. This is even more important in the public sector where drawings are being used to establish a competitive lump sum bid. A thorough Constructability Review by the Program Manager will assist in preventing delays and cost increases during the start of, and continuing on through, to completion of construction.