
	Best Practices Guide Drawings & Specifications Bidding Contracts Temporary Services Bonds, Insurance, & Liability Safety Responsibilities Release of Liens Procurements & Supplements Miscellaneous Project Collaboration - Best Practices

Drawings & Specifications

Section B-1
Recording Significant Changes Made During Construction

The Joint Committee recommends that the term "as built" should not be used on drawings, contracts, correspondence or in discussion.

If documents recording significant changes made during construction are required by the Owner, the Architect shall revise the original tracings to reflect such deviations from the original contract drawings, based on data taken from change orders, approved shop drawings or sketches made by the various Contractors and tradesmen engaged in the work. The information and detail, location and related information regarding buried or hidden work is of particular significance. Under no circumstance should such revisions to tracings be made by anyone other than the Architect or Engineer whose seal they bear.

Since dependence upon these documents may lead to assumptions of accuracy and precision of location which are not inherent in normal construction processes, the Architect should be careful never to imply that his drawings show the construction exactly as it has been built. The term "as built" can unintentionally mislead some person to rely too precisely on the information shown. Care must be taken to call the attention of those who may use such documents in the future to the fact that much of the work indicated on any construction drawing is diagrammatic only, (for example, the actual installation of piping and conduits can rarely, if ever, be drawn in their precise location and detail).

Recommendations
If documents recording significant changes are ordered by the Owner, it is recommended that the Architect insert in the Special Conditions a requirement that the various Contractors and tradesmen shall keep accurate information and sketches regarding exact detail and location of their work as actually installed, recording such information and all significant changes on a set of prints, delivered by the Architect to be used for this specific purpose only. When the size or complexity of the project warrants it, recording such changes may be made the responsibility of an inspector or clerk-of-the-works, in which event, the Special Conditions should make this fact known.

Also, it is recommended that a notation, substantially as follows, be included on each such revised drawing:

NOTE: "This drawing has been prepared to reflect significant changes made during construction. It is not intended to set forth with complete accuracy and precision and exact detail, location, and related information regarding installation, but is intended for use only as a convenient reference to installations made during construction."

TAGS: Change Orders and Shop Drawings.

Glossary Terms for the Best Practices Guide

History of Recommendation:
Revised January, 2009
Revised April, 1989
Revised April, 1987
Revised September, 1980
Revised December, 1974
Approved November, 1971

Back to Drawings & Specifications