Has the quality of construction documents declined in recent years? That depends on who you ask.
Some construction industry professionals would answer, “Absolutely.” In a post right here on the CSIResources.org CSI Blog last week, several members said the quality has declined, whether from a propensity to ‘cut-and-paste’ information from archived documents, or, at least appear to have declined as a result of rising expectations due to the quality of computer-generated documents.
These members offer a different take on the matter. Add your voice to the conversation here.
“I think time horizon and market niche plays into this discussion too much to have there be any real broad consensus about document quality trends.
I have personally worked on many projects that were built between the 30’s and the 50’s, and usually renovated and added onto in the 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s. Without question, the documents from the older eras are less ‘clear’ and less ‘complete.’ Whole concert venues were built with (13) size D sheets, including MEP and Civil!
However, coordination was simple because the strategies for building systems were simple. Details were nearly non-existant because the contractors were more skilled (think about the decline of masonry through the 20th century). Many drawings overlapped and had multiple views (plan/section/profile) on the same drawing.”
—Cam Featherstonhaugh CSI, CDT, AIA
“This subject has been revisited several times during my career. Despite a lot of talk, there has been little documented evidence of a decline in quality.
In 1997, Michael Chambers and I presented ‘Document Coordination’ for the Minnesota chapter of AIA. Our handout included reprints of several articles about document quality; some, with scary titles, tried to prove that construction documents were atrocious and getting worse.
The frequency of problems in construction documents makes it easy to accept claims that they are getting worse. In 1997 I believed those claims, but I now believe the opposite. I would argue that overall, construction documents are better than ever before.”
—Sheldon Wolfe FCSI, CCS, CCCA
“There are factors which make even things that appear measurable to be unmeasurable. It is like comparing the number of home runs Babe Ruth amassed over his career to a player of today. How many games were played per year then and now? How good was the pitching?
Someone who knows more than me about baseball might add that the balls and bats are different. It is an interesting discussion that can be likely argued to any point desired. In general, I believe they are getting better, particularly when we consider the increased time constraints and technical issues that have been added.”
—Gary Johnson CSI, CCS, CDT, AIA, LEED AP