8/1/2020 A Contractor’s Guide To Delegated Design And Cold-Formed Metal Shop Drawing | 2019-03-01 | Walls & Ceilings

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A Contractor’s Guide To Delegated Design And Cold-

Formed Metal Shop Drawing
Delegated Design and Cold-Formed Steel Shop Drawing

Delegated design has been around for quite some time and is a well-established practice that is becoming D
increasingly popular as building systems become more complex and require specialized details. During in
delegated design, architects pass design responsibilities to the contractor, which is quite often a d
requirement built into a project’s speci cations. re

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Delegated design has been around for quite some time and is a well-
March 1, 2019 established practice that is becoming increasingly popular as building
Don Allen and Salvatore systems become more complex and require specialized details. During
Forgione delegated design, architects pass design responsibilities to the
contractor, which is quite often a requirement built into a project’s
speci cations.

The International Building Code permits the architect of record to delegate design to the contractor,
but this responsibility is then transferred to the general contractor, who then has the responsibility to
allocate the workload to the appropriate subcontractor. For cold-formed metal framing, this typically
involves the drywall contractor, carpenter, or framer.

A structural engineer of record is responsible for the design of those elements included in his or her
contract. The design of some elements may be “delegated” to a specialty structural engineer. The
engineer of record should review the specialty structural engineer’s work associated with those items
to the degree necessary to support the structural engineer of record’s contractual responsibilities.

As certain projects move away from traditional delivery methods such as design-bid-build to design-
build and public-private partnerships, whole projects essentially move towards delegated design,
ultimately making the general contractor the owner of the design work.

Similarly, the primary responsibility for project speci cations usually rests with the project architect,
but the development of speci cations for structural systems (including cold-formed steel framing) is
often delegated to the structural engineer. At the same time, structural engineers usually have at least
some information on cold-formed steel framing in their structural general notes.

From the outside, Delegated Design can sometimes seem like an extremely complex relationship
between the design professional, contractors, and specialty designers/engineers. With Integrated
Project Delivery, Public-Private Partnerships and BIM on the rise, building product manufacturers
embrace shared design responsibilities, becoming part of the project early on.

What are Shop Drawings?

Shop drawings can be de ned as drawings, gures, schedules and detailed diagrams prepared
speci cally by a building product manufacturer or supplier to illustrate a part of a project. A
subcontractor or contractor will utilize submittals, which include shop drawings, to convey what
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intends to be constructed. This is an aspect of the building process that is then “delegated” to the
contractor, who coordinates the development of specialized engineering documents.

Professional Engineering shop drawing support from a product manufacturer, such as the case with
cold-formed metal framing, is how a contractor demonstrates constructability. Where an architectural
drawing set may not include system speci c details, shop drawings will provide all of the detailing
and information required by the contractor to accurately complete installation.

Because neither engineer nor architect can possibly design every single project detail, the design of
certain specialty systems are delegated to the contractor, which allows those with more system-
speci c knowledge and greater expertise to design components and connections that are unique to
the system and to the project in the form of shop drawings. Shop drawings, however, are not contract
documents. Instead, Shop Drawings demonstrate the way a contractor proposes to meet the design
intent for those portions of the work for which the contract documents require submittals. Shop
drawings are a necessary component of construction.

As a contractor, how am I supposed to bid a project if the architect has not detailed drawings to
include sized members?

When an architect speci es criteria, the contractor is often asked to provide the detailed design. Most
cold-formed steel engineers, whether employed by the CFS manufacturer or a third-party specialty
engineer, will perform a preliminary design for no fee. This is usually subject to the material of the
requested manufacturer and the design of the specialty engineer being used on the project.

Project Tips
Here are Some Tips When Deferring Specialized Structural Design of a Project:

Review the architectural speci cations.

The speci cations or structural general notes should clearly state the requirements for shop
drawings under a professional engineer seal.

Know who is responsible for what.

The specialty structural engineer producing shop drawings is not responsible for any means and or
methods of construction, unless they are speci cally hired to design construction systems such as
temporary bracing or scaffolding or shoring. The structural submittals should include information
on any special requirements for installation of the designed materials.

Always seek clari cation.

When providing specialty structural engineering services, The Specialty Structural Engineer (SSE)
should review the contract documents to determine the design criteria, intent, and applicable codes
and standards. If the design intent is not understood, the SSE should request de nition or

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clari cation of the design intent from the engineer of record or the architect.

Refer to the Contract Documents.

Items that are required by contract documents to be submitted by the contractor might include shop
drawings, fabrication drawings, test reports, product data, schedules, etc. Submittals are not a part
of the contract documents but are a work effort requirement of the contract documents.

Reference the Code of Standard Practice.

The American Iron and Steel Institute has published a series of standards to facilitate CFS
construction. AISI S202 is the Code of Standard Practice for Cold-Formed Steel Structural Framing.
Although not referenced directly by the building code, it gives guidance to all members of the design
and construction team on how eld and design issues are typically handled, when not speci cally
addressed in contract documents.

Speci ers are encouraged to reference AISI S202 in their contract documents. Section A4, entitled
“Responsibility for Design,” provides information and commentary on how the design team and the
SSE coordinates their work. Another useful reference is the Council of American Structural Engineers
document on delegated design. This document is a resource for contractors, and both engineers and
speci ers should comply with it. Note that in the state of Florida, delegated design is a de ned legal
term.

Recent Articles By Don Allen

Change Orders for Contractors: Good or Bad?

Don Allen, P.E., LEED A.P. is an internationally known

expert in cold-formed steel design, and currently serves as
director of engineering for Super Stud Building Products.
He chairs the Education Committee of the American Iron
and Steel Institute, is actively involved in the development
of ASTM and AISI standards, and has designed projects in
Europe, Africa, and North America. In addition to working
for steel product manufacturers, Allen has spent more than
a decade in private practice and served over nine years as
technical director for the Steel Stud Manufacturers
Association, the Steel Framing Alliance and the Cold-
Formed Steel Engineers Institute.

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Salvatore is an associate member of the American Institute

of Architects and is the marketing manager for Super Stud
Building Products. He oversees all marketing
communications for the company and is the architectural
rep for the cold-formed metal framing product
manufacturer. Forgione is on the 2019 AIA New Jersey
Director of Education for the Emerging Professionals
Committee and holds a teaching appointment at Kean
University with the Michael Graves College/Robert Busch
School of Design in Union, New Jersey. Prior to joining
Super Stud, he served as the manager of marketing &
business development at Michael Graves Architecture and
Design, the internationally acclaimed architectural and
industrial design practice.

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