David,
I would say that a good place to start is in your Division 01 text.
Paragraph 3.12 of A201 says that shop drawings are prepared by Contractor, sub-contractor or suppliers. You could simply direct them to what they bid on, the literal preparing of those from scratch. Later on, as I recall, MasterSpec's text says that contract drawings are not to be just drawn on top of (I think that dates back to an earlier time, when shop drawings were drawn by hand, but since bid documents are commonly distributed as pdfs these days, it is pretty easy to re-purpose them, especially if the pdf was created with independently manipulatable layers).
Some owners - even 15 years ago - expected us to give away the files. Now, contractors will tell the Owner "everyone else does, please twist your architect's arm a bit for me".
in the Div. 01 section dealing with submittals, I'd suggest laying out the process. Tell them what you will give them: plans only? bare graphics only? Tell them who you will give it to (I'd suggest just one copy to the General Contractor of each file you're willing to part with - let them spend the time passing them along to subcontractors). Require that GC to sign off on a release form and to indemnify you for whatever their subcontractors/suppliers might do with the file, and state that you have no control over how they might use, copy, alter, etc. the material. And, unless the Owner-Architect Agreement includes the additional service of making copies / translations of those files as something you're getting compensated for, estimate how much time you will spend per file requested, and get the payment up-front. Might even want to arrange for that to be paid/credited to Owner, and Owner to pay you, to get a longer arm's length separation from the Contractors' use of the files.
In the old days the contractors had to account for the cost somewhere. Now, if they want prints, they have to buy their own (when bid docs are distributed as pdfs). Not too unreasonable that they should at least cover your costs to make something for them special.
I would draw the line at giving them details - although, if your details are sound, it could help in the "why can't you build what we drew, since you copied it in the submittal to show me that's what you are going to do" discussion.
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Joel Niemi AIA
Joel Niemi Architect
Snohomish, WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2018 16:40
From: David Bell
Subject: Digital Files for Contractor Use
Greetings,I'm wondering if the AIA has any sort of official position on a CCA issue, and I thought this may be the place to start asking:
Is there a position on the increasing trend of Contractors assuming that they have a right to obtain the Design Team's digital files of Contract Documents, for the purposes of submittal generation?
On one hand, I understand that the construction process is moving towards BIM and the collaborative opportunities that such a thing affords. In that environment, the Contractor is encouraged to use the BIM model (as generated by the design team) for construction purposes, including layout, detailing and shop drawing generation.
On the other hand, this feels like a de-valuing of our work as design professionals. I've encountered Contractors who assume that the hundreds of sheets (and thousands of hours taken to create them) should be given away at no charge, so that the Subcontractor(s) can swap out a title block and have instant-shop drawings with minimal effort on their part. All the while, the Contractor is charging the Owner for "Submittals" as listed on the Schedule Of Values.
My biggest concern is that this practice can easily short-circuit the intent of shop drawings - to have the builder provide a detailed and accurate document that represents actual field conditions and coordination with all related construction trades. If a Contractor submits back to me the digital file that I provided, why would I need to review the drawing that I drew in the first place? Instead, I've always thought/been taught that the shop drawing process is to promote coordination among the trades, and to take the Contract Documents that represent the goal and intention of the design, and translate them into a representation of what can and will be built to realize the design.
I've yet to find an official position on this from the AIA or other represenation of the profession. What are the legal issues of this practice (my firm has the standard release-of-liability statement, but is that sufficient?), or the extents to which this should be done or not done? For example, I'm fine with providing floor plans that have been stripped of notes, dimensions, etc, and allowing the Contractor to fill in the blanks. But should specific details be provided? Where is the line of "intellectual property" in this discussion? How much responsibility is the design-team assuming, and how much responsibility is the Contractor trying to dodge?
Anyway, lots of questions and curioisity about how the "industry at large" is addressing this issue.
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David Bell, AIA
PJHM Architects, Inc.
Laguna Hills CA
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