Delegated Design Deep Dive

(Note regarding intro: The film festival in France is actually pronounced “Can.” The “S” is silent, unlike Tyler.)    We start out today with Tyler’s church-league softball story and his related megaphone message: If you’re 6’2” and 260 pounds, don’t combine dehydration and intermittent fasting with an effort to prove yourself on the field.    Then, on to the substance of today’s episode. Fair warning: We’re getting into the weeds today. That’s because this stuff can profoundly affect your finances, timing, and relationships.    Delegated design is the approach to contracts in which the SEOR (structural engineer of record) limits himself or herself to elements that do not include connections and then expects those design services to be rendered by the fabricator or someone else.    Eddie explains that additional elements may also be delegated. Curtain walls, for instance, would be designed by someone with special expertise in curtain walls.    We’re talking about delegated design today so you can understand how it might impact the timeline and finances of your projects.    How do you look for delegation? Well, Eddie says that at the beginning of any project, he’ll look at the structural notes sheet and the specifications book. He’ll check for notes regarding delegation and make sure that these two documents agree.    We discuss the pros and cons of delegated design. Here are our thoughts:   Pros: -Fabricators are able to handle connections in a way that best fits their materials and design. -The need for back-and-forth communication is reduced. -Time can be saved because production teams can move according to their own well-oiled systems.   Cons:  -The SEOR’s knowledge and control is not as thorough as it is in other situations.   -There are more cooks in the kitchen, and that means more egos in the room (and we all know what that can mean). -There’s increased potential for the buck to be passed.   Eddie explains the 3 contract-structure options outlined in the AISC Code of Standard Practices:  1) The SEOR handles everything. 2) An engineer gives the basic criteria for the connections and then has a qualified engineer select from those connections. 3) The engineer fully delegates design of connections.   Over time, regional patterns have developed regarding the adoption of these three options: -Option 3 is prominent in the eastern part of the country. -Option 1 is most common on the West Coast (perhaps because of seismic concerns).  -Option 2 is generally fading from use.   It’s important that all parties be clear on which of these options is being used on a given project. The decision has additional ramifications as far as expectations about who will be doing the shop drawings and who will document various aspects of the official project record.    Eddie shares about a project his team worked on. Relatively late in the process, a concern was raised about the aesthetic effect of a large gusset. The architect wanted the gusset size reduced. The problem? The building was in a hurricane zone, where gusset size matters. He explains that tension resulted not from the need for change but from the fact that this concern hadn’t been explained in the plans from the outset.    Eddie discusses the idiosyncrasies of different parties–designers, fabricators, architects–with specific preferences. He also refers to this episode with Norine Bagate regarding risk and liability.    We ponder the impact of $50,000 paragraphs in contracts. If you’re buying design, know how much design you’re buying.     Our megaphone message: Anticipate the ripple effects of decisions you might want to change. Don’t put...