Design Assist—Collaborative Design Approach Guidelines for the

DESIGN COLLABORATION ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

PART II:

Design Assist—Collaborative

Design Approach Guidelines

for the Fabricated Structural

Steel Industry

American Institute of Steel Construction

in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

The AISC logo is a registered trademark of AISC.

The information presented in this publication has been prepared following recognized principles of design

and construction. While it is believed to be accurate, this information should not be used or relied upon

for any speciﬁc application without competent professional examination and veriﬁcation of its accuracy,

suitability and applicability by a licensed engineer or architect. The publication of this information is not a

representation or warranty on the part of the American Institute of Steel Construction, its ofﬁcers, agents,

employees or committee members, or of any other person named herein, that this information is suitable

for any general or particular use, or of freedom from infringement of any patent or patents. All represen-

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making use of the information presented in this publication assumes all liability arising from such use.

Caution must be exercised when relying upon standards and guidelines developed by other bodies and

incorporated by reference herein since such material may be modiﬁed or amended from time to time sub-

sequent to the printing of this edition. The American Institute of Steel Construction bears no responsibility

for such material other than to refer to it and incorporate it by reference at the time of the initial publication

of this edition.

Part II addresses Design Assist and

Delegated Connection Design as

applied to the fabricated structural

steel industry.

Part II was written by American Institute

of Steel Construction with signiﬁcant

contribution from the AISC Committee

on the Code of Standard Practice and

a review by AIA Contract Documents.

AIA Contract Documents

www.aiacontracts.com

AISC Code of Standard Practice

for Steel Buildings and Bridges

(ANSI/AISC 303-22)

aisc.org/standards

AISC Steel Solutions Center

[email protected]

866.ASK.AISC

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 3

DESIGN COLLABORATION ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS PART II:

Design Assist—Collaborative Design Approach

Guidelines for the Fabricated Structural Steel Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 5

1.1. Part I AISC Collaboration with AIA and Part II Review by ACD 5

1.2. Summary of Part I and Introduction to Part II 5

1.2.1. Design Assist Deﬁned for Part I 6

1.2.2. Introduction to Part II: Design Assist as Applied to Fabricated Structural Steel 6

2. PURPOSE AND GOAL FOR PART II 8

2.1. Overview of Design Assist and Design Delegation Model for the Fabricated 8

Structural Steel Industry

2.2. Application to All Common Project Delivery Methods and Contract Forms 8

3. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGN ASSIST COLLABORATION 9

3.1. General Requirements 9

3.1.1. Topics to Consider 9

3.1.2. Design Assist Work Plan 10

3.1.3. Contractual Role and Responsibility of the Parties 11

3.1.4. Contractual Allegiance of Each Party 11

3.1.5. Qualiﬁcations-Based Selection Process (QBS) for Selection of Design Assist 11

Team Members

3.1.6. Checklist for Design Assist Collaboration 11

3.2. Deﬁne Designated Organizational Leader and Members of the Design Assist Team 11

3.2.1. Designated Leader of Design Assist Team 11

3.2.2. Design Assist Team Members 11

3.3. Good Faith and Fair Dealing Among the Parties 12

3.4. Roles and Responsibilities of Each Party 12

3.4.1. Owner or Owner’s Agent 12

3.4.2. General Contractor (GC) or Construction Manager (CM) 12

3.4.3. Architect 12

3.4.4. Structural Engineer of Record (SER) 13

3.4.5. Fabricator 14

3.4.6. Erector 15

3.4.7. Other Parties Designated Part of the Design Assist Team 15

3.5. Requirements in ANSI/AISC 360-22, ANSI/AISC 341-22, and the Applicable Building Code 15

3.6. Requirements in the Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges 15

(ANSI/AISC 303-22)

3.7. Importance of Frequent and Documented Communication Among Parties 16

3.8. Deﬁning and Updating the Project’s Structural Steel Budget 16

3.9. Deﬁning and Updating the Project Schedule 17

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 4

DESIGN COLLABORATION ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS PART II:

Design Assist—Collaborative Design Approach

Guidelines for the Fabricated Structural Steel Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS (CON’T.)

3.10. Timing of Contract Execution with a Fabricator/Erector 17

3.11. Deﬁning Scope, Quantity, and Character of the Work for Structural Steel Fabrication 17

and Erection

3.12. The Role of Contingencies and Allowances 18

3.12.1. Owner Contingency 18

3.12.2. GC or CM Contingency 18

3.12.3. Fabricator/Erector Contingency 18

3.12.4. Allowances 18

3.13. Delegated Connection Design and Allowances 19

3.14. Proprietary Information and Conﬁdentiality 19

4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 20

ABBREVIATIONS 22

GLOSSARY 22

REFERENCES 24

APPENDICES 25

APPENDIX A: APPLICATION CHECKLIST FOR DESIGN ASSIST COLLABORATION 25

APPENDIX B: PROJECT-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS FROM 27

ANSI/AISC 303-22 REQUIREMENTS

APPENDIX C: PROJECT SPECIFIC CRITERIA TO DEFINE SCOPE, QUANTITY, AND 29

CHARACTER OF THE WORK

APPENDIX D: EXAMPLE DESIGN ASSIST MODELS FOR FABRICATED STRUCTURAL STEEL 32

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 5

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Part I AISC Collaboration with AIA and Part II Review by ACD

The American Institute of Architects (AIA), through members of the contract documents content

development team and Risk Management Committee, and the American Institute of Steel

Construction (AISC) collaborated on a Part I document published in August 2020 to provide

general guidance about design collaboration on construction projects. This document was entitled

“Delegated Design, Design Assist and Informal Involvement – What Does It All Mean?” Members

of the AIA Contract Documents (ACD) content development team

reviewed Part II for general

conformance with the principles set forth in the Part I document, which addressed three common

collaboration strategies: informal involvement, design assist, and delegated design. All are common

in various parts of the construction industry.

1.2. Summary of Part I and Introduction to Part II

Part I describes in general terms the roles and responsibilities of the various project participants

under each of the three design collaboration strategies and offers deﬁnitions and guidelines

that design professionals and the construction industry can adopt for their use. Part I focused

on collaboration strategies that have been employed in the construction industry for decades. It

pointed out that collaboration strategies are routinely used in the design of ﬁre protection systems,

vertical transportation systems, mechanical systems, retaining walls, clean rooms, curtain walls, and

fabricated structural steel, to name a few of the more common applications. These collaboration

strategies range along a continuum from informal discussions (Informal Involvement) all the way to

contractor acceptance of design responsibility for certain deﬁned elements of a project (delegated

design). The goal for each of the collaboration approaches described in Part I is to deliver a

project on a deﬁned schedule and budget, minimizing the costs and impacts of design or other

changes issued later. It was further emphasized that these three collaboration strategies termed

(1) informal involvement, (2) design assist, and (3) delegated design are not considered project

delivery methods, but rather collaborative techniques that can be applied with any delivery method.

These include the traditional design-bid-build method and alternative delivery methods such as

design-build, construction manager at-risk/-advisor, and integrated project delivery as deﬁned by

the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Primer on Project Delivery, 2nd Ed., and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) The Architect’s

Handbook of Professional Practice, 15th Ed.

One collaboration strategy discussed in Part I—informal involvement—is not discussed in Part II. As

explained in Part I, informal involvement is a separate and distinct strategy from design assist and

delegated design; it constitutes an informal exchange of information between a design professional

and contractor where there is typically no agreement, no compensation, and no expectation that

the contractor will guarantee or be responsible for the accuracy of the information provided. Refer

to the Part I document for further explanation.

In late 2020, the AIA partnered with True Wind Capital, a long-term growth-oriented private equity ﬁrm focused

on investing in high quality tech companies to invest in the ACD platform and product suite to enhance value to

members and customers. As a result of that partnership, a new business entity was created, ACD Operations LLC.

AIA Contract Documents are now developed through ACD Operations LLC and its content development team in

conjunction with the AIA Contract Documents Committee.

ACD did not review Part II regarding its application in the practice of architecture, the design team selection pro-

cess, or any review or endorsement of the Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges (ANSI/AISC

303-22) or other published AISC speciﬁcations.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 6

1.2.1. Design Assist Deﬁned for Part I

In Part I, design assist, as applied in general to the various disciplines and systems used today

in the construction industry, was deﬁned as a form of collaboration where a contractor provides

information to assist a design professional, typically before a price for the work has been agreed

upon or before the work has been awarded. The design professional and contractor typically

have separate written contracts with the owner that describe the scope of the contractor’s design

assist services and the extent to which the design professional can rely upon the contractor’s

information. The contractor may incur liability arising under contract for the information it provides,

but the design professional is responsible for incorporating and coordinating the contractor’s

information into its design and maintains professional responsibility for the overall design. It was

pointed out in Part I that the term “contractor” as referenced for the different disciplines and

building components commonly used on a project can apply to general contractors, construction

managers, specialty contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and product manufacturers.

1.2.2. Introduction to Part II: Design Assist as Applied to Fabricated Structural Steel

This document complements Part I by describing in detail how two collaboration strategies

(design assist and delegated connection design) are currently applied speciﬁcally to fabricated

structural steel. For the purposes of this Part II document, the term “design assist” as it applies

to the structural steel industry is deﬁned as follows:

A form of collaboration where a structural steel fabricator and/or erector (or a fabricator/

erector team under one contract, depending on project circumstances) provides information

under a contract with the owner or other party as designated by the owner, to assist a

structural engineer of record (SER) and other designated members of the design assist team

with the design of the structural steel for buildings or building-like structures.

The collaboration typically begins early in the design phase. The design assist fabricator/erector

contractor can be selected and potentially contracted to provide design assist work as early as

the conceptual design and as late as the construction document phase. The ability to impact

design diminishes with the progression of design completion.

In some cases, the design assist fabricator/erector team is contracted early with provisions to either

continue or terminate their engagement, depending on the perceived success of the design assist

efforts. The design assist team normally consists of the owner or owner’s agent, a construction

manager (CM) or general contractor (GC), architect, structural engineer of record (SER), fabricator/

erector and other members as agreed to by the design assist team. The design assist team member

participants will vary depending upon the delivery method used on the project and the owner’s

retention of a construction manager or other consultant to assist the owner in administering the

project. Note that Part II of this document uses the term “fabricator/erector” as if they are contracted

as one entity. When that is not the case on a project, the guidelines described can be applied to each

party separately as deemed appropriate for the project.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 7

As parties enter a design assist process, there are several challenges that should be carefully

managed. First, there is the acknowledgment that design assist is itself not a unique delivery

method, but rather a form of collaboration that can be used with any project delivery method.

Second, all parties must manage expectations by clearly deﬁning their responsibilities throughout

the collaboration process. This is particularly true in a fast-track environment where the design

assist and delivery process are proceeding without many of the important decisions having been

made and the architectural and structural design are still evolving—and possibly changing—to

accommodate the owner’s evolving project goals and program. It is important that the parties

acknowledge this dynamic and clearly deﬁne in their agreements the ﬁnancial obligations and

schedule changes that may be required during the design assist process. This includes a need

to deﬁne how those changes will be identiﬁed, communicated, documented, agreed to, and

compensated.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 8

2. PURPOSE AND GOAL FOR PART II

2.1. Overview of Design Assist and Design Delegation Model for the Fabricated Structural Steel

Industry

The design community and steel construction industry have long promoted collaborative design

strategies in the fabrication and erection of structural steel. With the fabricator/erector’s input, the

structural steel can be designed so it can be fabricated and erected more efﬁciently and rapidly to

shorten the schedule, providing earlier site access to other trades and earlier project occupancy

when this collaborative process is properly employed. Scheduling efﬁciency for structural steel

translates to cost savings by one or more of the following:

• Reducing the overall critical path by completing the structure sooner,

• Reducing general condition costs with a shorter construction schedule,

• Increasing revenue from early occupancy due to faster construction, and

• Reducing the likelihood of changes during construction.

For the last several decades, collaboration and early involvement by fabricators and erectors have

been used in the fabricated structural steel industry to enhance its advantages in accelerated design

and construction. The practice has been identiﬁed in the marketplace as “early involvement,” “fast

track construction,” “alternate delivery,” and more recently as “design assist.” The term “design

assist” has become common jargon in the design and construction industry, yet to date there is no

universally accepted deﬁnition of this term. Depending on how each party deﬁnes this involvement,

the framework of the relationship can vary from project to project, leaving some contractors

to wonder exactly what their roles, responsibilities, and liabilities are when they offer design

input. Contracts on some projects are often unclear about the responsibilities for design assist

involvement. A speciﬁc design assist contract is required to overcome these problems.

This document provides a clear deﬁnition of the term “design assist” as it applies to the fabricated

structural steel industry, clearly deﬁnes the responsibilities of all parties involved, and provides

explicit guidelines on how it can be applied to achieve the objectives described above for reduced

cost, reduced schedule, and increased success for all the parties involved.

The main goal of fabricators and erectors that pursue design assist projects is to participate in early

stages of project development to bring steel-speciﬁc input to the design, planning, budgeting,

and scheduling process so they can participate in a successful project as the selected fabricator/

erector team. Fabricator/erectors’ business plans seldom include providing stand-alone design

services. The design assist work plan should consider the fabricator/erector’s main goal, because the

compensation paid for the design assist work alone and the potential risk involved may make this

involvement unattractive to many fabricators and erectors.

2.2. Application to All Common Project Delivery Methods and Contract Forms

It was stated in Part I and repeated here in Part II, that design assist is a collaborative strategy that

can be applied to all the common delivery methods in vogue today, including design-bid-build

(DBB) and alternative delivery methods such as design-build (DB), construction manager at risk (CM

at-risk), and integrated project delivery (IPD).

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 9

3. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGN ASSIST COLLABORATION

3.1. General Requirements

3.1.1. Topics to Consider

Each project that uses a design assist approach must consider the following before an

agreement is reached among the parties and must develop a work plan that assigns roles and

responsibilities. The typical topics to be considered by members of the design assist team are

listed below and discussed further in the following text. (Refer also to Appendix A for items to

consider in a checklist form). Note the design assist process and sequence of items listed below

may vary for each project.

Topic 1: Identify owner, owner’s agent, or owner contact representative who has authority to

make decisions on behalf of owner.

Topic 2: Deﬁne the delivery method to be used for the project, typically DBB, DB, CM at-risk,

or IPD.

Topic 3: Identify design assist team members for the project consistent with the delivery method.

The qualiﬁcations-based selection process (QBS) described in this section is ideally suited.

Topic 4: Deﬁne the leader of the design assist team and their responsibilities.

Topic 5: Deﬁne the entity that holds the contract with the design assist fabricator/erector and

the compensation that will be paid for the design assist work. This may vary with the delivery

method selected and the owner’s preference.

Topic 6: Deﬁne whether, and under what conditions, the design assist fabricator/erector will

be allowed by contract to bid the work and to serve as the fabricator/erector performing the

work for the project. Deﬁne any conditions for performing the work, if applicable to the delivery

method.

Topic 7: Prepare and execute a formal design assist work plan that deﬁnes the roles and

responsibilities of each member of the design assist team.

Topic 8: Deﬁne the contractual roles and responsibilities for each member of the design assist

team and conﬁrm that the contract for each member includes and is consistent with the design

assist process and design assist work plan as they evolve. This may require later contract

modiﬁcations depending on the sequence and timing of contract execution for the various

parties of the design assist team.

Topic 9: Deﬁne the overall target project budget as well as the target budget assigned

speciﬁcally to structural steel fabrication and erection. Note that the target budget could change

for a variety of reasons as changes are made during the project.

Topic 10: Deﬁne management of the project contingencies for unknown items carried by the

owner and other parties such as the contractor [CM, GC, or owner’s designated representative

for construction (ODRC)] and fabricator/erector to avoid duplicated contingencies.

Topic 11: Deﬁne the various allowances carried for known items of unquantiﬁable cost at the

time of contract execution; this includes a separate allowance carried for connections that have

been delegated to be designed by the fabricator. Refer to the Code of Standard Practice for

Steel Buildings and Bridges (ANSI/AISC 303-22) Section 3.2.3(3) Option 3 requirements for

delegation of connection design to a fabricator. Note that these allowances could change if

design changes are made during the project.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 10

Topic 12: Develop a project schedule with milestone dates for key decisions and deliverables for

each party. Note, too, that the schedule could change as changes are made during the project.

Topic 13: Review ANSI/AISC 303-22 to clearly deﬁne and document any contractual provisions

with the fabricator/erector that constitute “speciﬁc instructions to the contrary” as required by

Section 1.1 and other sections of ANSI/AISC 303-22. (Refer to Appendix B of this document.)

Topic 14: Deﬁne the scope, quantity, and character of work for the project that will be part of the

contract with the fabricator/erector. (Refer to Appendix C of this document.)

Topic 15: Review Section 3.2 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 pertaining to information required to be

shown and included on the contract documents, allowances to be deﬁned for incomplete or

undeﬁned information, and how the project is to be managed as information becomes available

or changes are made during the project. Review Section A4.2 of the Speciﬁcation for Structural

Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-22) for requirements pertaining to structural design documents

and speciﬁcations. These references include requirements related to bidding of structural steel

for fabrication and erection as well as the basis of a contract with a fabricator/erector.

Topic 16: Establish clear lines of communication among all the parties to the design assist team.

Set up and require regular meetings throughout the project and provide a written record of the

meetings including action items and dates for resolution to all members of the design assist

team. Provide written documentation of all decisions that affect all team members. Commit to

freely sharing information that is necessary to accomplish the work.

Topic 17: Execute the contract with the fabricator/erector as soon as practical and prior to the

commitment of ﬁnancial resources by the fabricator/erector (e.g., ordering structural steel;

placing mill orders; starting detailing, fabrication and erection activities, etc.).

Topic 18: Closely monitor and document any changes to the design, project schedule, and

milestones that affect the project budget and cost of the work. Formally approve in a timely

manner any changes that affect the schedule or cost of the work.

Topic 19: Consider deﬁning an alternative dispute resolution process for the project to avoid

potential expensive and time-consuming litigation.

Topic 20: Resolve items of conﬂict among the design assist team members in a timely and

professional manner as they become known.

The design assist guidelines and key items to consider as described herein are intended to serve

as a general reference applicable to most fabricated structural steel projects. Of course, each

project has its own delivery method and set of circumstances that may warrant modiﬁcations

to the enclosed guidelines. The design assist work plan should be modiﬁed as required to

accommodate actual project conditions with input and agreement among all the affected

parties.

Additional issues that should be considered on each project are provided in the sections that

follow. A checklist of items to consider is presented in Appendix A as a convenient reference.

3.1.2. Design Assist Work Plan

The information discussed in this document serves as a guideline for the design assist team to

develop a formal work plan agreed to by all design assist team members. The work plan should

be agreed to and signed by all parties or referenced in a memorandum of understanding signed

by all parties. This practice will help to manage expectations and help ensure that all parties

have a clear understanding of their responsibilities as well as those of the other team members.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 11

3.1.3. Contractual Role and Responsibility of the Parties

Each member participating in the design assist collaborative effort should have their role and

responsibility as deﬁned in the work plan be clearly reﬂected in their respective contract. The

owner or designated agent should review all the contracts for coordination of the roles and

responsibilities assigned to each design assist team member.

3.1.4. Contractual Allegiance of Each Party

Each participant in the design assist work plan should designate their contractual relationship

as identiﬁed in each party’s contract. Knowledge of contractual relationships helps to provide

transparency throughout the design assist process.

3.1.5. Qualiﬁcations-Based Selection (QBS) Process for Selection of Design Assist Team

Members

Owners should give careful consideration to the process used to select the members of the

design assist team. A QBS process is recommended as endorsed by American Council of

Engineering Companies (ACEC). As the name implies, selection is primarily based on the

necessary qualiﬁcations that each member brings to the team as related to the design assist

process; experience; a demonstrable record of teamwork; and success with the particular project

type, size, and complexity. While fees are always an important consideration, fee alone should

not be the primary driver of the selection process as it may not always yield the best results. It

is noteworthy that the federal government endorses a QBS approach as deﬁned in the 1972

Brooks Bill which outlines the details of the QBS process.

3.1.6. Checklist for Design Assist Collaboration

Refer to Appendix A here for a detailed checklist that can be used in the planning and execution

of a structural steel project utilizing design assist. It can be modiﬁed to suit actual project

conditions which can vary for any given project.

3.2. Deﬁne the Designated Organizational Leader and Members of the Design Assist Team

3.2.1. Designated Leader of Design Assist Team

One of the project stakeholders must be designated as the organizational leader of the design

assist collaborative effort. Depending upon the delivery method used and the relationships

between the owner and design assist team members, this could be the owner/owner’s agent

directly, the GC/CM, the architect, or the structural engineer. All project stakeholders should

understand who is the designated organizational leader of the design assist process, and that

leader’s role and corresponding responsibilities should be reﬂected in the various contracts of

the design assist team members.

3.2.2. Design Assist Team Members

The members of the design assist team must be clearly identiﬁed. This generally includes the

owner and/or owner’s agent as applicable, GC or CM as applicable, architect, structural engineer

of record, fabricator/erector and any licensed engineer hired by them (if applicable), a delegated

connection designer employed by the fabricator (if applicable), the steel detailer, and any other

appropriate party designated by the leader of the design assist team.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 12

3.3. Good Faith and Fair Dealing Among the Parties

It is crucial to the success of any design assist project that all designated team members act in

accordance with their duty for fair dealing, which is a fundamental concept of contract law, along

with meeting their contractual obligations. At a minimum this requires the parties to deal with each

other honestly, fairly, and in good faith. Efforts to work together as a dedicated team with mutual

trust and respect for each fellow team member should bolster the efﬁciency in using a design assist

process.

3.4. Roles and Responsibilities of Each Party

Depending on the delivery method chosen for the project, the roles and responsibilities of the

design assist team members may vary. This is demonstrated in some typical cases that are discussed

in Appendix D and the ﬂow charts shown in Figures D-1 through D-3.

3.4.1. Owner or Owner’s Agent

The owner or owner’s agent must establish a detailed project program in collaboration with the

architect and other design assist team members. The program should identify project functions

and space planning that are anticipated. In addition, the initial target budget, target start date,

and a target substantial completion date of the project should be established. If the owner or

owner’s agent is designated as the organizational leader of the design assist team, this role

should be established at the start of the design assist effort. It is critical that the owner works

with the team members to make all decisions in a timely manner and avoid unexpected changes

as the architectural design and structural design progresses. When untimely changes are made,

they can often lead to delays in the schedule and increases in the cost of the work. Any changes

from past decisions that are made as the project proceeds should be documented for record.

3.4.2. General Contractor (GC) or Construction Manager (CM)

Depending on the delivery method chosen and the owner’s preference, the GC or CM is often

designated as the leader of the design assist team. In this role, the GC/CM manages the overall

design assist team and is responsible for establishing effective and regular communication guidelines

among the parties. This includes establishing regular project meetings; setting goals and deadlines

for assigned tasks; and documenting all decisions made at the meetings. The GC/CM maintains the

target budget and project schedule and updates them based on updated drawings and information

requested from the various parties at designated milestones agreed to in the design assist work plan.

3.4.3. Architect

The architect normally works with the owner to establish the project program, a target budget,

and desired target schedule for substantial completion of the project. The design assist process

can serve to inform the architect and the overall building design about design options, cost, and

schedule. The architect can then develop plans and speciﬁcations at designated milestone dates

and distribute such documents to the design assist team in a timely fashion as deﬁned in the

design assist work plan.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 13

Most accelerated schedule projects demand that the architect and other project consultants

commit to establishing a building design early on, while requesting critical information from

the owner in a speciﬁed order and according to the predetermined target schedule established

by the GC/CM. This process allows the structural design to proceed with early foundation

permitting, early mill orders, and other critical path items in a phased construction schedule

that reduces construction time. The architect and structural engineer must work together to

furnish the critical information needed by the GC/CM and the fabricator/erector to establish

construction costs and set the construction schedule according to the work plan that evolves in

the design assist process. Column locations, grid lines, and the overall building geometry should

be established early on so the structural engineer can proceed with the structural design. The

design assist work plan can then inform the architect in developing the architectural design in

a sequence and timing that allows the structural design to proceed in an orderly fashion with

minimal changes that could delay the schedule. Unexpected changes to the owner’s program

and the architectural design that violate the established work plan can be avoided. These

changes often lead to increases in the project cost and schedule. The design assist process can

serve to avoid these problems.

3.4.4. Structural Engineer of Record (SER)

The structural engineer of record (SER), frequently referred to as the engineer of record (EOR),

bears the responsibility to produce a structural design that meets the requirements of the

applicable building code and accommodate the cost and schedule reﬂecting the work plan

established by mutual agreement among design assist team members. This requires close

collaboration with the architect and other project consultants to advance the building design

in the order and sequence that accommodates the project cost and schedule as deﬁned in the

work plan.

The architect and structural engineer working together should clearly deﬁne the complete

building geometry and then maintain that geometry as much as possible throughout the

subsequent design development. This includes all column locations and gridlines; ﬂoor and roof

elevations; ﬂoor edge locations; building elevations and sections; connection type limitations;

acceptable lateral system and brace locations; and all other information required by the

fabricator to commence ordering materials and preparing fabrication documents as dictated by

the project schedule.

The structural engineer and fabricator/erector should work together to decide upon preferred

connection types, material preferences, and desired fabrication/erection methods to optimize

the structural system. The SER must be willing and able to collaborate with the fabricator/

erector, seeking input from the multiple departments (such as purchasing, shipping, detailing,

fabrication, erection, and estimating). The SER must then be willing and able to incorporate

the agreed-upon components into the ﬁnal design. A detailed list of items required by the

structural design to allow construction to commence can be found in ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 3.1, “Structural Design Documents and Speciﬁcations Issued for Construction.” Further

guidelines for partially complete design documents that may be issued as contract documents

to accommodate an accelerated schedule can be found in ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.2,

“Structural Design Documents and Speciﬁcations Issued as Contract Documents.” These

sections of ANSI/AISC 303-22 cover the SER’s issuance of design documents and speciﬁcations

that serve as construction and/or contract documents for the fabricator/erector.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 14

3.4.5. Fabricator

The fabricator is clearly a key participant and crucial to the success of any design assist structural

steel project, working in close collaboration with the rest of the team to optimize the design,

minimize cost, and accommodate the project schedule. Their design assist consulting services

include providing information about the quality, availability, and cost of materials; fabrication

costs; and connection types best suited to the structural engineer’s design intent. The fabricator/

erector’s role is to gather and disseminate information from all internal departments and

effectively communicate it to the SER and other members of the design assist team.

The type of information and level of assistance can vary by project. Items to consider include

the following: material availability and cost: shipping implications that impact design; pricing

estimates for alternate designs; material versus labor cost tradeoffs; connection preferences;

and other input that has the potential to improve the design and construction process. Given

the wide variation in industry practice over recent years, it is essential that the scope of work,

responsibilities, project conditions, and expectations be clearly laid out and documented in the

design assist work plan and contract with the fabricator/erector.

When project speciﬁcations reference ANSI/AISC 303-22 as a controlling document, the trade

practices and industry standards deﬁned within it are mandatory unless speciﬁc instructions

to the contrary are provided in the contract documents. In a design assist project involving

fabricated structural steel, the fabricator/erector serving in a design assist consulting role must

be compensated for their design assist consulting services. If applicable to the project and

project delivery method, the parties should establish the conditions and timing for implementing

a contract beyond the agreement for initial consulting services. Refer to Section 3.10 of this

document for speciﬁc requirements.

The design assist team should together establish allowances for any portion of the structural

design that is incomplete when the fabricator’s contract commences as deﬁned in Section 9 of

ANSI/AISC 303-22. The allowances will be converted to ﬁnal costs at a time when the design

is complete and the cost of the work can reasonably be determined by the fabricator. Refer to

Section 3.12 of this document for speciﬁc requirements.

When the SER elects to delegate the connection design to the fabricator, it must follow the

requirements deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.3(3) Option 3; and it is required that

allowances be established for the fabrication and erection of all connections until such a time

when the connections are designed by the delegated connection designer and approved by the

SER. A guarantee of the contract price and contract time from a fabricator/erector should not be

sought until the scope of work has been deﬁned to an extent that will allow for accurate pricing

and scheduling and there is a fair accommodation of allowances and contingencies. Refer to

Section 3.13 of this document for discussion of delegated connection design and the required

allowances for it.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 15

3.4.6. Erector

In many cases, the fabricator and erector will be a single entity under one contract and

the conditions described in the previous section apply to both parties. If the erector has a

separate design assist contract, the same conditions described for the fabricator apply to the

erector in the design assist planning, management, and execution. Erector input can include

considerations such as crane requirements, erection sequencing, bolt/weld preference, and

other factors that can guide an efﬁcient design. ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 7 states that the

erector may plan the erection process in the most efﬁcient manner consistent with the contract

documents.

3.4.7. Other Parties Designated Part of the Design Assist Team

Depending on the type of project and project conditions, the owner may elect to include other

members as part of the design assist team. Possible examples include the delegated connection

designer and the designated structural steel detailer employed by the fabricator/erector to

prepare fabrication and erection documents.

3.5. Requirements in ANSI/AISC 360-22, ANSI/AISC 341-22, and the Applicable Building Code

The 2022 edition of the Speciﬁcation for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-22) and the

Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 341-22) both contain updated and new

requirements for design documents and speciﬁcations issued for construction. These requirements

are speciﬁcally established to address the ﬁnal documents that are to be used to construct the

building and therefore deal directly with life safety and serviceability requirements. Both standards

(ANSI/AISC 360 and ANSI/AISC 341) are referenced in most applicable building codes, including

the International Building Code.

The requirements stated in Section A4 of the 2022 editions of both ANSI/AISC standards are legally

required to have the force of law by virtue of their incorporation into most building codes. It is

important that the entire design assist team have a thorough understanding of these requirements

when the ﬁnal scope of work and responsibilities are deﬁned within the respective contracts of each

party. ANSI/AISC 360-22 Section A4 also addresses requirements for releasing design documents

and speciﬁcations in general, as well as proper labeling of these documents to deﬁne their purpose

and date of issue. A new ANSI/AISC 360-22 Section A5 addresses the requirements for review and

approval of the structural design documents and speciﬁcations issued for construction.

3.6. Requirements in the Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges

(ANSI/AISC 303-22)

A fundamental principle of design assist as applied to structural steel is that in the absence of

any speciﬁc instructions to the contrary in the contract documents, the trade practices deﬁned in

ANSI/AISC 303-22 govern the fabrication and erection of the structural steel on a project. Section

1.1 of the Code states that the contract with the fabricator/erector shall identify by Code section

number any speciﬁc instructions to the contrary that deviate from the design documents and

speciﬁcations. These new requirements are intended to help ensure a common understanding of

the scope of work and conditions of the contract for the work. Section 1.1 also makes it clear that

any modiﬁcations speciﬁed must be fair and balanced without shifting risk unfairly to any of the

parties to the contract. A summary of items that are considered as industry custom and practice

applicable to the contract with a fabricator/erector, unless speciﬁc modiﬁcations are identiﬁed on

the structural documents or speciﬁcally identiﬁed by Code section number in the contract, can be

found in Appendix B of this document.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 16

ANSI/AISC 303-22 and ANSI/AISC 360-22 Section A4 contain new requirements for issuing

structural design documents that are to be used for any purpose, such as budget pricing,

guaranteed maximum pricing (GMP), for permit, for mill order, or issued for construction. Design

documents and speciﬁcations that are issued for construction by the SER must include the

requirements as contained in Section A4 of both ANSI/AISC 360-22 and ANSI/AISC 341-22 as well

as the applicable building code. ANSI/AISC 360-22 Section A4.2 requires design documents and

speciﬁcations released for any other purpose by another party to have proper labeling by the SER

with the purpose and date. ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.2 also requires incomplete contract

documents (such as structural design documents, speciﬁcations, or a contract for structural steel

that specify items the team knows will be part of a project but that have not yet been completely

deﬁned) to incorporate speciﬁc monetary allowances reﬂecting mutual agreement of the design

assist team. These allowances are also required to address speciﬁc connections that are delegated

by the SER as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.3(3) for Option 3. Once the design of

these items is complete and deﬁned so that accurate costs for the work can be determined, the

allowances are converted to actual costs in the contract for construction per ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 9.1.5.

3.7. Importance of Frequent and Documented Communication Among Parties

For design assist to be successful, it is imperative that regular, open, and candid communications

and project meetings occur with all the design assist team members. The project meetings should

address project progress, potential problems, updates on the responsibilities of each party,

action items, and documentation of all decisions made during the design assist process. A written

record of project meetings and all decisions made should be compiled for the project record

and distributed to all members of the design assist team for review. This places a burden and

responsibility on the organizational leader of the design assist team to help the owner ensure that

the cost of all items is being accounted for on a project. Each member of the design assist team

must provide input to the process to ensure that the owner’s program is satisﬁed in the ﬁnal design

and construction within the established budget and schedule.

3.8. Deﬁning and Updating the Project’s Structural Steel Budget

Alternate delivery methods using accelerated design and construction with design assist require

that the design assist team discuss and deﬁne appropriate contingencies for items they don’t

anticipate. Allowances for items not sufﬁciently deﬁned at the time of contract execution with the

fabricator/erector should also be established. The allowances should be converted to actual agreed-

upon construction costs as these costs are determined.

For this process to be successful, it is important that careful upfront planning and regular

communication occur throughout the project among all the parties to the design assist team. For

items where allowances have been established for known items of unknown cost, the contract with

the fabricator/erector should clearly deﬁne the agreed-upon scope, quantity, and character of the

work. Refer to Appendix C for guidelines for addressing the scope, quantity, and character of the

work for structural steel fabrication and erection. The design assist planning process should consider

potential costs and scheduling of other trades that interact with structural steel based on past

experience of the design assist team members.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 17

3.9. Deﬁning and Updating the Project Schedule

Developing an accurate project schedule requires careful planning among all team members

with regular and frequent communication to update the schedule as the design progresses.

Interruptions or changes to the normal sequence and ﬂow of the work as established by the

project schedule, because of owner program changes, structural design, detailing, connection

design, fabrication document preparation, fabrication, shipping, delivery, or unloading of

components for erection can have a negative effect on fabrication and erection costs. Untimely

owner program changes or architectural design changes can lead to changes in the structural

design, detailing, fabrication documents, and/or fabrication schedules, all of which can impact

fabrication and erection costs as well as design fees for the A/E team. These changes must be

properly addressed for the success of any design assist approach.

3.10. Timing of Contract Execution with a Fabricator/Erector

It is required that the fabricator/erector be compensated for design assist services pursuant to a

formal design assist consultant agreement. The conditions and timing upon which a contract for

the fabricator/erector may be executed (beyond the initial design assist consulting services) for the

actual fabrication and erection of the structural steel is an owner option that can vary depending

on project conditions. As the structural design evolves and the fabricator/erector updates the cost

and schedule to conform to the owner’s budget, a new contract or earlier contract modiﬁcation

can be executed as an owner option to also fabricate and erect the structural steel.

There must be a clear understanding that the owner may terminate the fabricator/erector’s design

assist consulting services at any point before the ﬁnal design if the fabricator/erector states that

they can no longer accommodate the SER’s design and comes to an agreement with the owner

on the ﬁnal cost and schedule of the work. If the owner and fabricator/erector agree on the ﬁnal

cost and schedule for the work at the end of the designated structural design and design assist

consulting services period, then a new or extended contract can be executed for the fabrication

and erection work. Otherwise, the owner retains the right to bid the design as completed by the

SER through the design assist process with the stipulation that the fabricator/erector does not

retain ownership of its design assist contributions.

Clearly, under this scenario, it is in every party’s best interest to plan the project carefully and

maintain the established budget and schedule to optimize the chances for success of the design

assist project. In any case, it is recommended that a formal construction contract be in place

to fabricate and erect the structural steel prior to any materials being ordered and any cost

commitments made for ordering of material, detailing services, or other costs associated with the

ﬁnal agreed-upon fabrication and erection work.

3.11. Deﬁning Scope, Quantity, and Character of the Work for Structural Steel Fabrication

and Erection

One of the biggest challenges faced by the design assist team is identifying accurate allowances

in the budget for work that is not completely deﬁned at the time the ﬁnal budget for the work

is established, which is usually at the end of the design assist period. This is particularly true for

connection design work that is delegated to a fabricator but deﬁned only conceptually on the

structural design documents and speciﬁcations issued for establishing a ﬁnal budget for the work.

ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.4(2) requires that the SER show project-speciﬁc connection details

with sufﬁcient information to accurately estimate the work. Experience has shown that a large

portion of the fabricated structural steel cost is in the detailing, shop fabrication labor, and erection

time associated with connections and member reinforcement required at connections.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 18

Another challenge is deﬁning the scope, quantity, and character of the work on a project so that

equitable adjustments in the cost of the work can be made when changes in the design occur

that lead to change order requests. Refer to Appendix C for guidelines on factors to consider in

deﬁning the scope, quantity, and character of the work required to determine accurate fabrication

and erection costs.

3.12. The Role of Contingencies and Allowances

It is common and responsible practice for the design assist team members to establish reasonable

contingencies in the project budget to accommodate unforeseen costs that can occur as well as

allowances for items known to be required but not quantiﬁable at the time of contract execution. It

is acknowledged that in some cases contingency costs are not necessarily shared with all members

of the design assist team. However, the more transparency there can be in the design assist

process with shared budget information, the more opportunity there is for avoiding a duplication

of costs that can lead to an expanded budget.

3.12.1. Owner Contingency

The owner usually carries a monetary contingency to cover additions, modiﬁcations, and

omissions that can occur in the scope of the work as the design progresses.

3.12.2. GC or CM Contingency

The GC or CM typically carries a monetary contingency speciﬁed in its contract with the owner

to cover the cost of risks in construction. This contingency should include unexpected and

unforeseen costs associated with all facets of the GC/CM’s contractual responsibilities, including

fabrication and erection, but excluding all design-associated issues. Unexpected or unforeseen

costs associated with any design-related issues are treated as changes and are governed by the

appropriate contractual change order provisions. A design assist process that is well-conceived

and carried out may mitigate the number of structural steel design changes and, thus, limit

disputes and allow for a more efﬁcient construction process. Consideration should be given to

additional costs associated with the work of other trades.

3.12.3. Fabricator/Erector Contingency

It is recommended that the fabricator/erector also carry a structural steel contingency for items

that, based on experience in the industry, may cause unforeseen costs and schedule extensions.

It is important that transparency among the parties be maintained through discussion in project

meetings to avoid unnecessary duplication. Some owners may prefer to have one contingency

amount from all subcontractors included in the contractor’s contingency.

3.12.4. Allowances

For any portion of the architectural and structural design that has known but undeﬁned or

incomplete items that are not addressed by the design documents during the design assist

period, the design assist team must establish mutually agreed upon allowances for the

fabrication and erection of those items as discussed in ANSI/AISC 303-22 Sections 3.2.2 and

9. The allowances are converted to actual costs at a time when the design is complete and the

fabricator/erector can make accurate cost and schedule determinations.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 19

3.13. Delegated Connection Design and Allowances

For projects selecting Option 3 for delegated connection design under ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section

3.2.3(3), the connections deﬁned and shown conceptually by the structural engineer on the design

documents are to be used as the basis for mutually agreed-upon allowances. ANSI/AISC 303-22

deﬁnes allowances in the glossary and Section 9 discusses them further.

Allowances may also be required for licensing of proprietary technology to be used in the structural

steel design, such as proprietary seismic connections. The delegated connection design process

demands careful consideration of all the different connection types applicable to all the different

member sizes and types envisioned on the project. The scope, quantity, and character of the

work for the identiﬁed member and connection types (including material quantity for connections

and member reinforcement, shop labor costs, shipping costs, and erection costs) must be carefully

developed into applicable allowances. These allowances must be documented in the contract with

the fabricator/erector. Once the connections are designed and the fabricator/erector can accurately

determine the ﬁnal fabrication and erection costs, the allowances speciﬁed in the contract are

converted to ﬁnal costs for the work per ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 9.1.5. The GC/CM must manage

the process of monitoring and evaluating the fabrication/erection budget as it evolves during the

design assist process via updates from the fabricator/erector team in close collaboration with the

structural engineer. Refer to Appendix C of this document for guidelines on developing allowances

based on the scope, quantity, and character of the work as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22.

3.14. Proprietary Information and Conﬁdentiality

Project participants may have proprietary approaches to their work that provide an advantage over

competitors—which may be lost if reasonable precautions are not taken to prevent disclosure. The

nature of design assist will likely encourage sharing of such information during the design process.

Parties with proprietary information may seek to protect their information from unintended third-

party disclosure through reasonable means, such as conﬁdentiality and non-disclosure agreements.

The use of such agreements is encouraged to incentivize open discussion.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 20

4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Part I of the AIA/AISC collaboration resulted in a paper recently published entitled “Delegated Design,

Design Assist and Informal Involvement – What Does It All Mean.” It describes in general terms the roles

and responsibilities of the project participants under each of three design collaboration strategies and

offers deﬁnitions and guidelines that design professionals and the construction industry can adopt for their

use. The three strategies were identiﬁed as informal collaboration, design assist, and delegated design.

Part I focused on collaboration strategies that have been employed in the construction industry for

decades. It pointed out that collaboration strategies are routinely used in the design of ﬁre protection

systems, vertical transportation systems, mechanical systems, retaining walls, clean rooms, curtain walls,

and fabricated structural steel, to name a few of the more common applications. These collaboration

strategies range along a continuum from informal discussions all the way to contractor acceptance

of responsibility for certain deﬁned elements of a project. It was further emphasized that the three

collaboration strategies described are not considered project delivery methods but rather collaborative

techniques that can be applied with any delivery methods that are used. These include the traditional

design-bid-build method and alternative delivery methods such as design-build, CM at-risk or as advisor,

and integrated project delivery.

This document is Part II of that paper, describing in detail how two collaboration strategies, design

assist and delegated connection design, are currently being applied speciﬁcally to fabricated structural

steel. It can be applied to all the common contract forms and delivery methods in use today in the

construction industry. Section 3 outlines in detail the fundamental principles involved in applying a

design assist strategy for fabricated structural steel. Each of the principles described is important to the

success of the strategy. The parties must deal with each other honestly, fairly, and in good faith to help

ensure the success of the project. A written design assist work plan deﬁning roles and responsibilities

is recommended; open, honest, and regular communication among the team members is essential for

the success of this process. All communication and meeting decisions should be documented for the

record. Three example cases of design assist models that have been used successfully on many different

structure types, project sizes, and degrees of complexity are presented for reference. These examples

are described in detail in Appendix D and the Figures D-1 through D-3 ﬂow charts.

As the parties enter a design assist collaboration model, there are several challenges that should be

carefully managed. All parties must manage expectations by clearly deﬁning the responsibilities of each

of the parties in the collaboration process. This is particularly true in a fast-track environment where

the delivery process is occurring before many of the important decisions have been made and the

architectural and structural design are still evolving (and possibly changing) to accommodate the owner’s

evolving project goals and program. It is important that the parties acknowledge this context and clearly

deﬁne the contractual obligations for ﬁnancial and schedule adjustments that are to be made as changes

occur during the process. This includes a need to deﬁne how those changes will be identiﬁed, agreed to,

communicated, documented, and compensated.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 21

Appendix A outlines the design assist procedure in a checklist form for convenient reference in managing

the design assist process. Appendix B and Table B-1 provide a checklist for managing the design assist

plan in conjunction with ANSI/AISC 303-22, which describes trade practices and industry standards that

apply to design assist collaboration in all delivery methods. Note that when project speciﬁcations invoke

ANSI/AISC 303-22, it applies as written unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are documented in the

contract documents or shown in the structural design documents and speciﬁcations. Finally, Appendix

C and Table C-1 provide detailed guidelines for deﬁning the scope, quantity, and character to establish

allowances for unquantiﬁable work to be performed by a fabricator/erector. The criteria described can be

used to establish the basis for the original contract cost and cost parameters that can be used to assess

any changes to the scope as the design is completed and any changes are made during the design

and construction phases of the project. Criteria are also presented for deﬁning owner and contractor

contingencies for unanticipated work as well as for establishing allowances for known work that cannot

be reasonably estimated at the time of executing the contract with the fabricator/erector. This includes

establishing an allowance for the cost of connections when delegated connection design (Option 3 in

ANSI/AISC 303-22) is speciﬁed by the structural engineer. Appendix D provides several model examples

for how the design assist process can work for different contract types.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 22

ABBREVIATIONS

AESS (architecturally exposed structural steel)

ACD (AIA Contract Documents)

AGC (Associated General Contractors of America)

AIA (American Institute of Architects)

AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction)

CM (construction manager)

CM at-risk (construction manager at-risk)

DB (design-build)

DBB (design-bid-build)

EOR (engineer of record)

GC (general contractor)

IPD (integrated project delivery)

ODRC (owner’s designated representative for construction, often the GC or CM depending on delivery

method)

ODRD (owner’s designated representative for design, often the SER or EOR)

QBS (qualiﬁcations-based selection)

RFI (request for information)

SER (structural engineer of record)

GLOSSARY

Allowance. A monetary amount included in a contract as a placeholder for work that is anticipated but

not deﬁned at the time the contract is executed.

Contract documents. The documents that deﬁne the responsibilities of the parties that are involved in

bidding, fabricating, and erecting structural steel. Contract documents include the design documents,

the speciﬁcations, and the contract.

Design assist (as applied to the structural steel industry). A form of collaboration where a fabricator and

erector (or a fabricator/erector team under one contract, depending on project circumstances) provide

information under a design assist contract with the owner, or other party as designated by the owner, to

assist a structural engineer of record (SER) and other designated members of the design assist team in

the design of the structural steel for buildings or building-like structures.

Design assist work plan. A formal agreement developed by all parties of a design assist collaboration

that deﬁnes the design assist process to be employed on a structural steel project. It deﬁnes the roles

and responsibilities of all parties and is either signed by all parties or referenced in a memorandum of

understanding signed by all parties. The roles and responsibilities of the parties agreed to in the work

plan are contained in the contracts of the various parties.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 23

Design documents. Design drawings, design model, or a combination of drawings and models.

EOR. engineer, engineer of record. See structural engineer of record.

Erector. The entity that is responsible for the erection of the structural steel.

Fabricator. The entity that is responsible for detailing and fabricating the structural steel.

Owner. The entity that is identiﬁed as such in the contract documents.

Issued for construction. The engineer of record’s designation that the design documents and

speciﬁcations are authorized to be used to construct the steel structure depicted in the design

documents and speciﬁcations and that these design documents and speciﬁcations incorporate

information that is to be provided per the requirements of Section A4 of the Speciﬁcation for Structural

Steel Buildings (ANSI/AISC 360-22) and Section 3 of ANSI/AISC 303-22.

Owner’s designated representative for construction (ODRC). The owner or the entity that is responsible

to the owner for the overall construction of the project, including its planning, quality, and completion.

This is usually the general contractor, the construction manager, or a similar authority at the jobsite.

Owner’s designated representative for design (ODRD). The owner or the entity that is responsible to the

owner for the overall structural design of the project, including the structural steel frame. This is usually

the structural engineer of record.

Released for construction. The term that describes the status of contract documents that are in such a

condition that the fabricator/erector can rely upon them for the performance of their work, subject to

the ODRD’s designation that the design documents and speciﬁcations have been released for contract

documents as required by Sections 3.0 and 3.2 of ANSI/AISC 303-22, including the ordering of material,

the preparation of shop and erection drawings, or fabrication and erection models.

Scope, quantity, and character of the work. A project-speciﬁc description of the structural steel that

is fabricated and erected as shown in the design documents and speciﬁcations that are part of the

contract documents. The description is deﬁned by the type, cost, and availability of structural steel and

related materials in the marketplace; the type of members and assemblies (including beams, girders,

columns, trusses, moment frames, braced frames, transfer members, and other types as shown on the

design documents); the types of connections and member reinforcement, including quantities of bolts

and welds; the number of pieces; the material and labor rates required for fabrication and erection of

all members including their connections (where material and labor rates are agreed to be part of the

contract terms for deﬁning total cost); the size and weight of the members, assemblies and connections;

the surface area of members as required for coatings; the project schedule for fabrication and erection;

and other project-speciﬁc qualities that deﬁne the cost of the work to be performed on the project.

Speciﬁcations. The portion of the contract documents that consists of the written requirements for

materials, standards, and workmanship.

Structural engineer of record (SER). The licensed professional who is responsible for sealing the contract

documents, which indicates that he or she has performed or supervised the analysis, design, and

document preparation for the structure and has knowledge of the load-carrying structural system.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 24

REFERENCES

AIA-AISC (2019), Part I – Delegated Design, Design Assist, Informal Involvement – What Does It All

Mean?, AIA, Washington DC.

AIA (2013), The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, 15th Ed., American Institute of Architects,

John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey.

AIA-AGC Project Delivery Primer Task Force (2011), Primer on Project Delivery, 2nd Ed., American

Institute of Architects, Washington, DC.

AISC (2022a), Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges, ANSI/AISC 303-22, American

Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.

AISC (2022b), Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings, ANSI/AISC 341-22, American Institute of

Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.

AISC (2022c), Speciﬁcation for Structural Steel Buildings, ANSI/AISC 360-22, American Institute of Steel

Construction, Chicago, IL.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 25

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: APPLICATION CHECKLIST FOR DESIGN ASSIST COLLABORATION

Appendix A provides a global checklist for application of a design assist collaboration for a fabricated

structural steel project. The designated organizational leader of the design assist team (commonly the

GC or CM, the owner’s designated agent, or the architect) should use this checklist for information to

guide the process and to inform all members of the design assist team of their respective roles and

responsibilities as deﬁned in the work plan.

This design assist method of collaboration can apply to all types of fabricated structural steel projects

and building types. It should be recognized that each project has its own set of circumstances that

warrant modiﬁcations to the enclosed design assist collaboration approach. This checklist should be

modiﬁed as required for actual project conditions with input and agreement among all the affected

parties. Refer to Appendix B for the important role that ANSI/AISC 303-22 plays in the design assist

method of collaboration as deﬁned in Part II of this paper. Refer also to Appendix C that deﬁnes the

scope, quantity, and character of the work for the speciﬁc project that is a key factor for determining the

cost and schedule and any cost (or the effects of any costs) or schedule changes that may occur after the

contract is executed with the fabricator/erector.

It is crucial to the success of any design assist project that all designated team members act in

accordance with their duty and fair dealing, which is a fundamental concept of contract law, along with

meeting their contractual obligations. At a minimum this requires the parties to deal with each other

honestly, fairly, and in good faith. Further, efforts to work together as a dedicated team with mutual trust

and respect for each fellow team member should bolster the efﬁciency in using a design assist process.

Enclosed below is a convenient checklist that can be referenced for items to be considered and deﬁned

in the management of a project utilizing design assist:

1. Identify owner, owner’s agent, or owner contact representative who has authority to make decisions

on behalf of owner.

2. Deﬁne the delivery method to be used for the project, typically design-bid-build (DBB), design-build

(DB), construction manager at-risk (CM at-risk), or integrated project delivery (IPD).

3. Identify design assist team members for the project consistent with the delivery method. The

qualiﬁcations-based selection process (QBS) described in this section is ideally suited.

4. Deﬁne the leader of the design assist team and their responsibilities.

5. Deﬁne the entity that holds the contract with the design assist fabricator/erector and the

compensation that will be paid for the design assist work. This may vary with the delivery method

selected and the owner’s preference.

6. Deﬁne whether, and under what conditions, the design assist fabricator/erector will be allowed by

contract to bid the work and to serve as the fabricator/erector performing the work for the project.

Deﬁne any conditions for performing the work, if applicable to the delivery method.

7. Prepare and execute a formal design assist work plan that deﬁnes the roles and responsibilities of

each member of the design assist team.

8. Deﬁne the contractual roles and responsibilities for each member of the design assist team and

conﬁrm that the contract for each member includes and is consistent with the design assist process

and design assist work plan as they evolve. This may require later contract modiﬁcations depending

on the sequence and timing of contract execution for the various parties of the design assist team.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 26

9. Deﬁne the overall target project budget as well as the target budget assigned speciﬁcally to

structural steel fabrication and erection. Note that the target budget could change for a variety of

reasons as changes are made during the project.

10. Deﬁne management of the project contingencies carried by the owner and other parties such as the

contractor [CM, GC or owner’s designated representative for construction (ODRC)] and fabricator/

erector to avoid duplicated contingencies.

11. Deﬁne the various allowances carried for unknown or undeﬁned items at the time of contract

execution; this includes a separate allowance carried for the connections that have been delegated

to be designed by the fabricator. Refer to ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 3.2.3(3) Option 3 requirements

for delegation of connection design to a fabricator. Note that allowances could change if design

changes are made during the project.

12. Develop a project schedule with milestone dates for key decisions and deliverables for each party.

Note, too, that the schedule could change as changes are made during the project.

13. Review ANSI/AISC 303-22 to clearly deﬁne and document any contractual provisions with the

fabricator/erector that constitute “speciﬁc instructions to the contrary” as stated in and required by

Section 1.1 and other sections of ANSI/AISC 303-22. (Refer to Appendix B of this document.)

14. Deﬁne the scope, quantity and character of work for the project that will be part of the contract with

the fabricator/erector. (Refer to Appendix C of this document.)

15. Review Section 3.2 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 pertaining to information required to be shown and

included on the contract documents, allowances to be deﬁned for incomplete or undeﬁned

information and how the project is to be managed as information becomes available or changes

are made during the project. Review Section A4.2 of ANSI/AISC 360-22 for requirements pertaining

to structural design documents and speciﬁcations. These references include requirements related

to bidding of structural steel for fabrication and erection as well as the basis of a contract with a

fabricator/erector.

16. Establish clear lines of communication among all the parties to the design assist team, set up and

require regular meetings throughout the project and provide a written record of the meetings

including action items and dates for resolution of them to all members of the design assist team.

Provide written documentation of all decisions that affect all team members. Commit to freely

sharing information that is necessary to accomplish the work.

17. Execute the contract with the fabricator/erector as soon as practical and prior to the commitment

of ﬁnancial resources by the fabricator/erector (e.g., ordering structural steel; placing mill orders;

starting fabrication and erection activities, etc.).

18. Closely monitor and document any changes to the design, project schedule and milestones that

affect the project budget and cost of the work. Formally approve in a timely manner any changes

that affect the schedule or cost of the work.

19. Consider deﬁning an alternative dispute resolution process for the project instead of litigation.

20. Resolve items of conﬂict among the design assist team members in a timely and professional manner

as they become known.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 27

APPENDIX B: PROJECT-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS FROM

ANSI/AISC 303-22 REQUIREMENTS

Appendix B provides a general checklist of trade practices and standards involved in the design and

construction of steel buildings, bridges, and other structures as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303 that are

applicable to the design assist method as described in the various examples in Appendix D. It is

included to provide guidance to the design assist team for many of the requirements that are covered in

ANSI/AISC 303-22 and which apply to the design assist process, barring any project-speciﬁc exceptions

or modiﬁcations.

A fundamental principle of design assist as applied to structural steel is that in the absence of any

speciﬁc instructions to the contrary in the contract documents, the trade practices deﬁned in ANSI/

AISC 303-22 govern the fabrication and erection of the structural steel on a project. Section 1.1 of

ANSI/AISC 303-22 states that the contract with the fabricator or erector shall identify by ANSI/AISC

303-22 section number any speciﬁc instructions to the contrary not contained in the design documents

and speciﬁcations. These new requirements are intended to help ensure a common understanding of

the scope of work and conditions of the contract for the work. This section also makes it clear that any

modiﬁcations speciﬁed must be fair and balanced without shifting risk unfairly to any of the parties to

the contract.

The design assist method of collaboration deﬁned in Part II of this document is intended to fully

embrace and adhere to all trade practices and industry standards as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 and

any modiﬁcations made to it. Refer to the Code and its commentary for additional information that

applies when managing the design assist plan as deﬁned in this Part II paper. A summary of items that

should be considered from ANSI/AISC 303-22 can be found in Appendix B of this document.

TABLE B-1. CHECKLIST FOR PROJECT-SPECIFIC DESIGN ASSIST MODIFICATIONS

FROM ANSI/AISC 303-22 CODE OF STANDARD PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS

CATEGORY ITEM

ANSI/AISC

303-22

REFERENCE

COMMENTARY

General

Provisions

Scope Section 1

1. Section 1 states that all Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and

Bridges (ANSI/AISC 303-22) provisions apply unless any modiﬁcations are

speciﬁcally listed by section number and clearly deﬁned in the contract.

This procedure should be implemented in the design assist plan.

2. The design assist provisions in Part II are intended to follow all trade

practices and industry standards as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 unless

speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the contract documents.

Classiﬁcation

of Materials

Deﬁnition of

Structural Steel

Section 2

Items that are, and are not, deﬁned as structural steel must be deﬁned in the

design assist plan.

Design

Documents

and

Speciﬁcations

Requirements

for

Construction

and for

Contract

Documents

Section 3

1. Section 3.1 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 lists all items that are required to be

shown on design documents and speciﬁcations issued for construction,

which references Section A4 of ANSI/AISC 360-22 and ANSI/AISC 341-22

and the IBC or applicable building code. The requirements should be

reviewed and modiﬁed as required to suit the project type.

2. Requirements for design documents and speciﬁcations issued as part of

the contract with a fabricator/erector for any applicable delivery method

are deﬁned in Section 3.2 of ANSI/AISC 303-22. This includes design assist

collaboration.

3. All design documents and speciﬁcations released on the project must be

labeled by the EOR for the purpose of issuance as stated in Section 3 of

ANSI/AISC 303-22. This section refers to Section A4.2 of ANSI/AISC 360-

22.

4. Requirements for managing the design process for member reinforcement

and all connections are deﬁned in Section 3.

5. These requirements apply to the design assist project unless speciﬁc

instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the contract.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 28

TABLE B-1 (CON’T.): CHECKLIST FOR PROJECT-SPECIFIC DESIGN ASSIST MODIFICATIONS

FROM ANSI/AISC 303-22 CODE OF STANDARD PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS

Approval

Process

Responsibilities

of Each Party

Section 4

Section 4 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 deﬁnes the requirements for the owner and

fabricator, when the fabricator is contracted to fabricate the ﬁnal steel frame,

for approval documents. These requirements apply to the design assist project

unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the contract.

Materials

Requirements

for Materials

Section 5

Section 5 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 deﬁnes requirements for materials that are

speciﬁed on the project. These requirements apply to the design assist project

unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the contract. Note

the requirements listed in Sections 5 through 11 generally apply to all projects,

including design assist projects.

Shop

Fabrication

and Delivery

Fabrication

Requirements

Section 6

1. Section 6 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 lists all the fabrication requirements

that apply to the project unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are

provided in the contract.

2. Standard practice for the treatment of shop cleaning and painting of

structural steel applies unless speciﬁc provisions to the contrary are

deﬁned in the contract with the fabricator.

Erection

Requirements

Section 7

1. It is stated in Section 7.1 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 that the erector will plan

to erect the structure in the most efﬁcient and convenient method unless

a speciﬁc sequence or plan is deﬁned, agreed to, and documented in the

contract.

2. The GC/CM (ODRC) must deﬁne any non-steel items that are part of the

erection sequence that must be imposed on the erector’s work plan.

3. The SER must deﬁne the lateral load resisting system and state any special

erection conditions that must be adhered to by the erector to maintain

stability, position, shores, jacking, or other requirements that are required

by the design.

4. Any temporary supports or shores that are required for purposes other

than as needed by the erector for the erection procedure and work plan

must be communicated by the ODRC to the erector and stipulated in the

contract.

5. Field painting requirements applicable to the erector that deviate from

ANSI/AISC 303-22 must be stipulated in the contract.

6. All erection requirements stipulated in Section 7 apply to the design

assist project unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the

contract.

Quality

Control

(QC)

Requirements

Section 8

1. The fabricator and erector’s quality control program requirements

are deﬁned in the applicable building code; design documents and

speciﬁcations; and ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 8.

2. The QC requirements stated above apply to the design assist project

unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are deﬁned in the contract.

Contracts

Contract

Requirements

Section 9

1. The provisions stated in Section 9 of ANSI/AISC 303-22 apply to the

design assist project unless speciﬁc instructions to the contrary are

documented in the contract.

2. Refer to Appendix A for other contract provisions that apply to the design

assist project.

3. Refer to Appendix C Table C-1 for contract provisions that apply that

related to the scope, quantity, and character of the work performed by the

fabricator/erector.

Architecturally

Exposed

Structural

Steel (AESS)

AESS

Requirements

Section 10

1. All AESS should be identiﬁed in the contract documents according to

the requirements of Section 10 of ANSI/AISC 303-22, unless alternative

provisions are speciﬁed.

2. A mock-up fabricated and approved in the shop and placed in the ﬁeld

should be speciﬁed for AESS Categories 3 and 4 unless stated otherwise in

the contract documents.

3. Refer to Table 10.1 (the Category AESS Matrix) in ANSI/AISC 303-22 for

additional requirements.

Fabrication

and Erection

Tolerances Section 11

1. Fabrication and erection tolerances are speciﬁed in Section 11 of ANSI/

AISC 303-22 and apply to the design assist project unless speciﬁc

instructions to the contrary are stated in the contract.

2. The design documents and speciﬁcations should deﬁne any modiﬁcations

to these tolerances and any additional tolerances that apply to the project

that are not speciﬁed in ANSI/AISC 303-22.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 29

APPENDIX C: PROJECT-SPECIFIC CRITERIA TO DEFINE SCOPE, QUANTITY, AND CHARACTER OF

THE WORK

Appendix C describes the characteristics of the structural steel design that deﬁne the term “scope,

quantity, and character of the work” for a project. The information contained here is intended to

assist the members of the design assist collaboration team in deﬁning the initial scope of work and

later changes in the work so that accurate costs of the work can be determined. This applies to lump

sum contracts and other contract types (see ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 9.1) for the steel fabrication

and erection scope of work that is deﬁned in the contract documents and to unit prices that must be

established when setting allowances for work that is undeﬁned at the time of contract execution. The

allowances are later converted to actual committed costs after the design is completed and an accurate

cost and schedule can be determined.

The term “scope, quantity, and character of the work” is deﬁned as:

Scope, quantity, and character of the work. A project-speciﬁc description of the structural steel

that is fabricated and erected as shown in the design documents and speciﬁcations that are part of

the contract documents. The description is deﬁned by the type, cost, and availability of structural

steel and related materials in the marketplace; the type of members and assemblies (including

beams, girders, columns, trusses, moment frames, braced frames, transfer members, and other

types as shown on the design documents); the types of connections and member reinforcement,

including quantities of bolts and welds; the number of pieces; the material and labor rates required

for fabrication and erection of all members including their connections (where material and labor

rates are agreed to be part of the contract terms for deﬁning total cost); the size and weight of the

members, assemblies and connections; the surface area of members as required for coatings; the

project schedule for fabrication and erection; and other project-speciﬁc qualities that deﬁne the cost

of the work to be performed on the project.

It must be recognized that many of the items addressed in this deﬁnition will not be determined

until the design for the items listed above are completed and shown on the design documents at

some time during the design assist period. In an accelerated design and construction process, the

design is continually evolving until issued for construction, and the cost and schedule for the work

must be updated by the fabricator/erector and other members of the design assist team. Many of the

characteristics that can deﬁne the term “scope, quantity, and character of the work” are shown in Table

C-1. Members of the design assist team should all agree on a detailed description and cost of the work,

including means to assess changes in the cost of the work that are to be applied to a particular project,

using the enclosed table as a guideline. The table should be modiﬁed as appropriate and supplemented

with any additional requirements that apply to a speciﬁc project. Because the AISC design standards

and ANSI/AISC 303-22 must address all the many kinds of buildings and structures, it is not possible

for these standards to deﬁne the work or the means of addressing changes to the work using any one

deﬁnition and set of parameters. This must be worked out among the members of the design assist team

and included in the work plan and contract with the fabricator/erector.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 30

TABLE C-1

CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE SCOPE, QUANTITY, AND CHARACTER OF THE WORK (NOTE 1)

CATEGORY ITEM REFERENCE COMMENTARY

Deﬁnitions

Structural

Steel Items

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 2

Structural steel included in the cost of the work is based on the deﬁnition for structural steel

as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 unless speciﬁed otherwise in the contract documents.

1. All items speciﬁcally added in the contract to the list of structural steel items from what

is listed in ANSI/AISC 303-22 are to be speciﬁcally identiﬁed in the contract.

2. All items that are speciﬁcally excluded in the contract from the list of structural steel

items listed in ANSI/AISC 303-22 are to be speciﬁcally identiﬁed in the contract.

Weight

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 9

The method used to calculate the weight of structural steel assemblies, members,

connections, and all other components should be based on gross weight as determined

from the design documents and speciﬁcations and as deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22, unless

a speciﬁc alternate method is deﬁned in the contract.

1. When weights of members and connections are determined using the design

documents and speciﬁcations and used to deﬁne the work, the SER should specify

the offset dimensions from the work point required to permit a calculation of member

length.

2. Estimated connection weights and conceptual project speciﬁc connection details for

Option 3 delegated connection design shown on the design documents should include

all components, bolts, and welds required to determine an accurate cost for the work.

This information should be developed by the SER (working with the design assist

fabricator) and used to deﬁne the allowances that are part of the ﬁnal budget submitted

to the owner at the end of the design assist period.

Allowances

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 9

Allowances should be established and agreed to by all members of the design assist team

at the time of contract execution wherever elements of the structural design are not yet

deﬁned and accurately shown on the design documents and speciﬁcations. The allowances

should be converted to actual committed fabrication and erection costs when the design is

complete and the cost of the work can accurately be determined.

Deﬁne all

Members

and

Assemblies

for

Fabrication

Columns

Design Documents

and Speciﬁcations

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Sections 6 and 11

For all members, the design assist fabricator/erector (working with the SER and design assist

team members) should consider the following in establishing a budget and allowances:

1. Number of pieces for fabrication

2. Weight of all members and assemblies to be fabricated

3. Shop and ﬁeld splice number and locations, welded or bolted splice type

4. Material type (plate, rolled shape), ASTM Grade, and any special material requirements

5. End connection types and loads per ANSI/AISC 303-22, size and quantity of bolts & welds

6. Member reinforcement at end connections and along the member

7. Stiffeners, doublers

8. Additional fabrication tolerances or any that differ from ANSI/AISC 303-22

9. Any special requirements affecting fabrication cost not noted above

Identify all architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS) members and assemblies. Refer to

ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 10

Identify any members that are required to be shop-assembled into one assembly prior to

leaving the fabrication shop and shipping to the project site.

The above information should also be considered by the fabricator/erector performing the

work in establishing unit prices that are included in the contract for determining the cost for

changes in the work.

Beams/

Purlins

Girders

Trusses

Braces

Transfer

Girders

Transfer

Trusses

Assembly of

Members

Specialty

Items

Proprietary

Seismic

Members

Design Documents

and Speciﬁcations

1. Deﬁne performance criteria and loads

2. Identify manufacturers for bidding

Proprietary

Items incl.

Connections

Expansion

Joint Details

Deﬁne all

Members

and

Assemblies

for Erection

Columns

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Sections 7 and 11

For all members, the design assist fabricator/erector working with the EOR and design assist

team members should consider the following in establishing a budget and allowances:

1. Number of pieces for erection

2. Deﬁne all member and assembly weights to be erected, crane size and number of

cranes required

3. Deﬁne number of ﬁeld splices and locations, welded or bolted splice type

4. End connection types and loads per ANSI/AISC 303-22, size and quantity of bolts &

welds

5. Erection tolerances that deviate from ANSI/AISC 303-22

6. Any special erection sequence or conditions

7. Any special requirements affecting erection cost not noted above

8. Any members to be erected as an assembly

9. All AESS members and assemblies. Refer to ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 10.

The above information should also be considered for determining the unit price cost for

changes in the work.

Beams/

Purlins

Girders

Trusses

Braces

Transfer

Girders

Transfer

Trusses

Assembly of

Members

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 31

TABLE C-1 (CON’T):

CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE SCOPE, QUANTITY, AND CHARACTER OF THE WORK (NOTE 1)

CATEGORY ITEM REFERENCE COMMENTARY

Coatings

Paint

Requirements

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Sections 3, 6,

and 7

1. ANSI/AISC 303-22 provisions apply unless otherwise speciﬁed.

2. Identify all members to be left unpainted.

3. Identify surface preparation for all painted and unpainted members and

assemblies.

4. Identify all members that are to be shop-painted, paint type, number of coats, and

coat thickness.

5. Deﬁne paint system requirements at all connections.

6. Determine responsibility for ﬁeld touch-up painting.

Galvanizing

Requirements

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Sections 3 and 6

1. ANSI/AISC 303-22 provisions apply unless otherwise speciﬁed.

2. Identify surface preparation for galvanized members.

3. Identify all members to be hot dip galvanized or coated and coating thickness.

4. Deﬁne requirements at all connections.

5. Determine responsibility for ﬁeld touch-up of coatings.

Quality Control

Requirements

QC for Shop

Fabrication

and Erection

Applicable

Building Code,

Design Documents

and Speciﬁcations,

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 8

1. Identify any special QC requirements that modify or supplement the requirements

of the applicable building code, ANSI/AISC 360-22, ANSI/AISC 341-22, and ANSI/

AISC 303-22 contained in the design documents and speciﬁcations.

2. Identify any special QC requirements that could interrupt the normal ﬂow of

optimum fabrication or erection sequence and schedule as planned by the

fabricator/erector.

Quality

Assurance

Requirements

QA for Shop

Fabrication

and

Erection

Applicable

Building Code,

Design Documents

and Speciﬁcations,

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 8

1. Identify any special QA requirements that modify or supplement the requirements

of the applicable building code, ANSI/AISC 360-22, ANSI/AISC 341-22, and ANSI/

AISC 303-22 contained in the design documents and speciﬁcations

2. Identify any special QA requirements that could interrupt the normal ﬂow of

optimum fabrication or erection sequence and schedule as planned by the

fabricator/erector.

Schedule

Requirements

Project

Schedule

Project schedule

as prepared by the

GC or CM (ODRC)

Deﬁne schedule milestones that are required to achieve the established schedule for

ordering material, fabrication, and erection.

Shipping

Requirements

Shipping

Schedule,

Details, and

Limitations

Project Schedule

as prepared by the

GC or CM (ODRC)

1. Identify number of members and assemblies to be shipped to the site to meet the

required schedule developed by the ODRC.

2. Identify shipping weights.

3. Deﬁne any limitations on shipping that could affect normal fabrication and erection

schedule and cost as deﬁned by fabricator/erector.

Site

Requirements

Site Laydown,

Details, and

Limits

Site Layout and

Project Schedule

1. Identify marshalling, laydown areas, and site access points.

2. Identify crane locations for erection.

3. Deﬁne dimension and weight limits.

4. Identify work hour restrictions.

5. Deﬁne any other site restrictions.

Deﬁne

Payment

Methods and

Unit Cost Rates

Payment

Terms

Design Documents

and Speciﬁcations,

General

Conditions,

ANSI/AISC 303-22

Section 9

1. The contract should identify the method(s) of payment for the work according to

the options speciﬁed in ANSI/AISC 303-22 Section 9. Some projects may require

different methods of payment for different components or conditions on the same

project. An initial method of payment based on the contract documents may be

a lump sum ﬁxed price for all work that is deﬁned, and other methods (e.g. unit

price, price per item, etc.) may be required for allowance items or change orders

that occur later in the project. Methods of payment can be deﬁned as:

a. Lump-sum ﬁxed price for the work deﬁned in the contract documents

b. Price per pound

c. Price per item

d. Unit-cost prices for categories of structural stee

Other methods of payment should be deﬁned in the contract documents.

2. Deﬁne fabrication manhours/ton for all member categories where stipulated in the

contract as backup for unit-cost member categories.

3. Deﬁne what percent change in actual unit cost constitutes a justiﬁcation for a

higher or lower unit-cost rate change for each category of unit cost. This may be

speciﬁed in contract negotiations for each member type and project type, size, and

complexity.

NOTES:

1. Many items identiﬁed in the table will not be known initially and will be deﬁned as the design assist

collaboration progresses. Allowances should be developed for items known to be required on the

project that are not deﬁned until after the contract is signed and a ﬁnal cost is determined.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 32

APPENDIX D: EXAMPLE DESIGN ASSIST MODELS FOR FABRICATED STRUCTURAL STEEL

Different approaches have been used to apply a design assist collaboration method to structural steel

fabrication and erection. As previously discussed, design assist can apply to any of the common industry

delivery methods such as design-bid-build (DBB), design-build (DB), construction manager at risk (CM

at-risk), CM as advisor, and integrated product delivery (IPD).

The common topics for consideration for all design assist projects in structural steel are:

• A fabricator/erector is brought into the project early on as a consultant to the owner and design

team to bring their skill, experience, and knowledge of market conditions to reduce project cost and

shorten the schedule for construction.

• It is crucial to the success of any design assist project that all designated team members act in

accordance with their duty and fair dealing and work with each other honestly, fairly, and in

good faith.

• A qualiﬁcations-based selection (QBS) process used in selection of the design assist team members

is recommended.

• A documentation of the work plan deﬁning the roles and responsibilities of the parties is

recommended to be agreed to and signed by all parties or referenced in a memorandum of

understanding signed by the parties.

• Conformance to the applicable building code, ANSI/AISC 360-22, and ANSI/AISC 341 requirements

is mandatory.

• Conformance to the trade practices and industry standards deﬁned in ANSI/AISC 303-22 (except

for speciﬁc instructions to the contrary deﬁned in the contract with the fabricator/erector) is a

fundamental principle in the industry.

• Frequent and documented communication among the design assist team members is essential.

• Evaluation and frequent updates to the project budget and schedule are required.

• Clear deﬁnition of the scope, quantity, and character of the work for the fabrication/erection is

essential for cost control.

• Establishment of appropriate contingencies for the work and setting of allowances for work that is

undeﬁned at the time of contract execution is also important.

The variables that exist for application to the different delivery methods and project types are:

• Experience and knowledge of the owner and the role the owner plays in the process. Does the

owner have the in-house experience and knowledge to manage the process, or do they rely on an

agent or GC/CM to manage the process?

• The contract form used can vary, and the contractual relationships and services provided can change

depending on the delivery method chosen.

• It is required that the fabricator/erector be compensated for design assist services pursuant to a

formal design assist consultant agreement. The main goal of fabricators and erectors that pursue

design assist projects is to participate in early stages of project development bringing steel-speciﬁc

expertise and input to the design, planning, budgeting, and scheduling process, so they can

participate in a successful project as the selected fabricator/erector team. The conditions and timing

upon which a contract for the design assist consultant may be executed, (beyond the initial design

assist consulting services) for the actual fabrication and erection of the structural steel is an owner

option that can vary depending on project conditions.

This appendix will present three example models that have been used and are relatively common in the

industry. Numerous other variations on these examples are also possible. The third example, which uses

the CM at-risk delivery method, is a very common model that has many advantages and is believed to

have a large probability of success if the basic principles of Section 3 of this document are followed.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 33

D.1 Case 1 Example Model: DBB

In this example model, a fabricator/erector is hired under contract as a design assist consultant for

the owner or CM as advisor serving as the owner’s agent. The contract states that the fabrication and

erection work will be bid and negotiated after the design is completed. There is no agreement that

this fabricator/erector will perform the work under a later contract. This example is explained further as

follows:

STEP 1: The owner hires an architect who in turn hires an SER and other consultants as part of the design

team. A QBS process is used by the owner to hire the design team.

STEP 2: A fabricator/erector is hired for design assist consultation under contract to the owner or owner’s

agent using a QBS process.

STEP 3: The fabricator/erector works collaboratively with the SER and the members of the design team

to optimize the structural steel design and to develop the budget and schedule for this work as the

design progresses.

STEP 4: At the end of the design, the owner puts the building design, including the structural steel

fabrication and erection, out to a select group of GC/CM bidders. Each GC/CM bidder selects a

fabricator/erector to be part of the construction team or competitively solicits bids from various

fabricators and erectors. The design assist fabricator/erector consultant may or may not (at the owner’s

preference) be allowed to submit a bid on one or more of the GC/CM teams.

STEP 5: The owner selects a GC/CM based on qualiﬁcations, schedule, and cost of the work.

STEP 6: The selected fabricator/erector must perform the work based on the information provided

by the SER as shown on the design documents but may submit requests for information (RFI) for any

changes requested to optimize cost and schedule. Any changes must be approved in the normal

construction administration period by the owner and design team.

This process has the advantage of bringing informed knowledge about structural steel fabrication and

erection cost, schedule, and overall market conditions to the project. However, some of this information

may not be preferred by the successful fabricator/erector who may propose changes to the design

based on its own preferences. Thus, the structural engineer may have to redesign some of the work if

the requested change is in turn approved by the owner as a beneﬁt to the overall project. The redesign

work may be an additional cost borne by the owner or successful fabricator/erector depending on the

perceived beneﬁt to the owner, considering both the overall project cost and schedule of construction.

See Fig. D-1.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 34

NOTES:

1. Owner agent representative is at owner’s option.

2. Leader of design assist team may vary at owner’s option.

3. Design assist consultant fabricator/erector may be permitted to bid the work with other bidders at

owner’s option.

4. Owner bids to multiple general contractors (GC).

FIG. D-1. DESIGN-BID-BUILD (DBB)

DELIVERY METHOD

Design Assist Team

OWNER

AGENT

SER

(ODRD)

MEP

EOR

Note 1

Note 2

Note 3

Note 4

BUILDER

FAB/ER

OWNER

ARCHT

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 35

D.2 Case 2 Example Model: DB

While both design assist and design build can take on many forms in practice, this case will focus on two

possible design build scenarios. The scenario selected often depends on the past relationship(s) with

the owner of the different parties involved. It may also depend on the sophistication of the owner with

the particular delivery method. Scenario A represents a case in which a single entity, frequently a GC,

contracts with an owner for the single-source responsibility to design and then build a project to the

owner’s performance requirements and other criteria. In this scenario, a fabricator/erector serves as a

design assist consultant to the owner. See Fig. D-2a. Scenario B represents a case in which a fabricator/

erector contracts with another party (for example, the owner) to design, fabricate, and erect the structural

frame as a design-builder. See Fig. D-2b.

Design Assist in Scenario A:

In this scenario, an owner may wish to retain a fabricator/erector as a design assist consultant

to provide advice on such topics as a recommended structural steel framing system, its layout,

members, materials, etc.; recommendations on performance criteria for the structural system;

the budget; and the schedule to complete the system. The design assist consultant may also be

retained to evaluate the sufﬁciency of the various fabricator/erector design build proposals received

or to evaluate the work of the design-build contractor to ensure its conformity to the design-build

agreement.

In Scenario A, the single responsible design-build entity may elect to have their own in-house

structural engineers or an external structural engineering consultant design the structural steel

framing. The completed design could be bid to eligible fabricator/erectors, or the fabricator/erector

could be chosen through negotiation. An alternative approach would be for the single responsible

design-build party to contract with a fabricator/erector to design and build (fabricate and erect) the

structural frame. This alternative is related to Scenario B.

Design Assist in Scenario B:

In this scenario, the fabricator/erector is responsible to design and build (fabricate and erect) the

structural frame. The contract for this design build work could be made with a variety of entities

depending on the overall project environment. For example, the design build contract could be

with the owner (in the case of multiple prime contracts with or without a construction manager), with

a single responsible design build entity as described above, or perhaps another third party such as

an entity that has responsibility for the design and/or construction of the building shell. While the

possibilities are seemingly endless as to who has contracted with the fabricator/erector, one thing is

constant: The fabricator/erector has design-build responsibility.

In Scenario B, the design assist fabricator/erector consultant can be retained by the party that best

beneﬁts from their advice. That entity is most likely the party that is setting performance criteria,

evaluating the design-build proposals, and conﬁrming that the design-build work conforms to the

performance criteria. In both scenarios, the most likely major beneﬁciary of design assist advice is

the owner. Whether the design build fabricator/erector is retained directly by the owner or indirectly

through others is a project-speciﬁc detail.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 36

NOTES:

1. Owner agent representative is at owner’s option.

2. Design builder CM/GC may hold all contracts with design team or contracts only with architect, who

then holds all consultant contracts.

3. Owner contracts directly with design builder CM/GC.

4. Leader of design assist team is usually design builder CM/GC but may vary at owner’s option.

5. Design assist fabricator/erector sets performance criteria, sets the budget and schedule, evaluates

fabricator/erector proposals and monitors work of design builder CM/GC.

6. Design assist consultant fabricator/erector may be permitted to bid or negotiate to perform the work

at owner’s option. Otherwise, design builder CM/GC may bid to multiple fabricator/erectors.

FIG. D-2A. DESIGN-BUILD DELIVERY METHOD

SCENARIO A – FAB/ER AS DESIGN ASSIST CONSULTANT

Design Assist Team

SER

(ODRD)

MEP

EOR

Note 1

Note 2

Note 3, 4

BUILDER

FAB/ER

ARCHT

Note 5

Note 6

OWNER

AGENT

OWNER

CM/GC

FAB/ER

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 37

NOTES:

1. Owner agent representative is at owner’s option.

2. Structural consultant for owner sets performance criteria, evaluates design build proposals and reviews

all design build structural designs. May act as leader of design assist team if owner elects not to hire a

CM advisor.

3. Construction manager acts as advisor to owner, optional hire for owner.

4. Design assist consultant fabricator/erector sets performance criteria with structural consultant,

evaluates design build frame proposals and monitors work of design builder of frame.

5. Separate design builder for foundation and building shell with own design team.

6. Design build fabricator/erector for structural frame designs, fabricates and erects the structural frame.

7. Design assist fabricator/erector may be allowed to bid as design builder at owner’s option.

FIG. D-2B. DESIGN-BUILD DELIVERY METHOD

SCENARIO B – FAB/ER AS DESIGN BUILDER

Design Assist Team

Note 1

Note 2

Note 4

Note 5

Note 6

OWNER

AGENT

OWNER

ADVISOR

FAB/ER

STRUCTURAL

CONSULTANT

Fdn. & Bldg.

Shell

FAB/ER

Stl.

Frame

SER

Fdn.

MEP

EOR

ARCHT

Note 3

Note 7

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 38

D.3 Case 3 Example Model: CM at-Risk

CM at-risk is a model that has been successful for many different structure types, sizes, and complexities.

When applied using the fundamental principles described in Section 3 of this document, it fairly balances

the risks across the various stakeholders and often represents the best opportunity for achieving the

owner’s goals for project success. While variations to this model can certainly be considered, it is

important to balance the risks with the rewards for each stakeholder. In some instances, practices such

as the early bidding of fabrication and erection of structural steel using incomplete progress level

design drawings shift risk without shifting reward. The more uncompensated risk that is shifted to the

design team, fabricator, or erector by these practices, the more the project costs may increase to cover

these originally unanticipated risks; inevitably, there will be an increased possibility for change orders,

misunderstanding, miscommunication, disputes, and possible litigation. These conditions and potential

risks may be detrimental to the project in the long run, despite the purported short-term gains. This

example model is shown in the Figure D-3 and is explained further as follows:

STEP 1: The owner selects the design assist team (GC/CM, architect, and structural engineer) using

a QBS process. The GC/CM provides a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) cost and schedule under

contract with the owner. The GC/CM consults with a fabricator/erector to establish the steel contract

price.

STEP 2: A fabricator/erector is chosen among a qualiﬁed shortlist of candidates for design assist

consultation under contract based on a QBS process and interviews, with the other members of the

design assist team participating and providing feedback to the owner and GC/CM.

STEP 3: The fabricator/erector works collaboratively with the SER and GC/CM to optimize the design

and to further develop the budget and schedule as the design progresses.

STEP 4: The consultant contract with the fabricator/erector states that they will be designated by the

owner to fabricate and erect the structural steel as long as the budget and schedule are developed and

maintained during the design period to the satisfaction and approval of the owner and other design

assist team members.

STEP 5: If the design assist fabricator/erector fails to maintain the established schedule and budget

to the satisfaction of the owner or if there is a failure to reach agreement on these or other material

terms, the owner may elect to put the ﬁnal design documents and speciﬁcations out to a select list of

fabricator/erector bidders.

STEP 6: If the condition in Step 5 applies, the owner may select the ﬁnal fabricator/erector based on

qualiﬁcations, negotiation of terms, cost, and schedule of the work.

It is usually in the interest of the owner to award a contract for fabrication and erection to the fabricator/

erector consultant in order to preserve the established schedule and maintain the design assumptions

and decisions worked out with the structural engineer and design assist team. This would avoid the

need for a potential redesign with a different fabricator/erector team. It is usually in the interest of the

fabricator/erector consultant to maintain the budget and schedule established as the design progresses

to have the opportunity to fabricate and erect the work. If such a win-win scenario can be achieved, it

can avoid any need by the owner to bid the ﬁnal design documents and speciﬁcations.

AISC | AIA Contract Documents Design Collaboration on Construction Projects – PART II 39

NOTES:

1. Owner agent representative is at owner’s option.

2. Owner may hold all contracts with design team or contracts only with architect, who then holds all

consultant contracts.

3. Owner contracts directly with CM/GC under a GMP contract.

4. Leader of design assist team is usually CM/GC but may vary at owner’s option.

5. Design assist consultant fabricator/erector may be permitted to perform the work at owner’s option

with budget and schedule control conditions, which is preferred option to beneﬁt all members of

design assist team. Otherwise, owner may bid to multiple fabricator/erectors.

FIG. D-3. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK (CM@R)

DELIVERY METHOD

Design Assist Team

CM/GC

GMP

OWNER

AGENT

SER

(ODRD)

MEP

EOR

ARCHT

BUILDER

FAB/ER

Note 1

Note 2

Note 5

Note 3, 4

F260-24

Smarter. Stronger. Steel.

American Institute of Steel Construction

312.670.2400 | www.aisc.org