Steel Erection Best Practices For “Plans”

Steel Erection Best Practice’s For Plans

Verify bid drawings an contract drawings are the same an that there has been no changes.
Get Field Use drawings prior to start of erection.
Verify Field Use drawings are stamped for Field Use.

There are normally three stages to the plans that the designer will draw. (Depending on who you are talking to they might give different names to these stages, so they are all noted here.

The initial sketch plans (or concept, preliminary or discussion drawings).
The developed designs.
The final documentation, (tender, building consent, construction or working drawings and specifications).

Design Build Projects

An Erector may get asked to help in the intitial phase of pricing a project where he gets very preliminary drawings to price off of and must project his knowledge of what may be needed in project.

As the process moves forward the Erector may get a series of updated drawings IE… 65%, 80%, 95% drawings which will have to be priced accordingly to help maintain the budget.

At some point the Erector will receive 100% drawings to base his bid off of and the hope is the final price will be in-line with the budget bids given along the way providing the 100% drawings do not contain big changes.

Hard Bid Projects

An Erector will get a set of bid drawings to price off of, these should be complete drawings and once priced and project is awarded the Erector should verify that the contract drawings are in-line with the bid drawings.

In hard bid projects it is common for there to be addendums that need to be taken into considerations when pricing project.

It is also common to have alternates that need to be priced and listed separately on bid proposal.

Field Use Drawings (Erection Drawings)

After an Erector as been awarded contract, at this point he will need sets of the Field Use drawings, it is preferred to get these drawings a couple of weeks prior to start of erection so time can be taking to review drawings and used during the site visit before start of erection. You do not want to wind up showing up to project with crews and equipment to start erection to find you do not have erection drawings.

Another thing to be aware of you need to make sure that the erection drawings have a stamp on them saying for FIELD USE. Before starting erecting project.

Next section Sequencing of Project

Steel Estimating Solutions

Vince Hughes

505-249-2390

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