Shop drawings
& detailing,
built to AISC 303.

Under AISC 303 Section 4 (Plans and Specifications), the structural engineer of record (SER) issues the general arrangement drawings: member sizes, grades, loads and the typical connection details. The fabricator’s detailer then produces the shop drawings — piece-marked assembly and single-part drawings, weld symbols to AWS A2.4, bolt schedules, anchor-bolt setting plans and erection sequence — and submits them back to the SER for review and approval.

AISC 303 is explicit: the SER reviews shop drawings for general conformance with the design intent; the fabricator is responsible for accurate fits, dimensions and quantities. The same split is codified in BS EN 1090-1 Annex A and the EXC class requirements of BS EN 1090-2.

Reference: AISC 303-22 Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges

• Tekla Structures 2024 for the primary structural BIM model, IFC export and DSTV NC1 output to the beam/tube line
• Autodesk AutoCAD & Advance Steel for 2D detailing and consultant’s drawings, and for projects where the consultant’s GA is delivered as DWG
• SolidWorks 2024 for bespoke parts, helical balustrades, sculpture armatures, sheet-metal flat patterns and complex tube intersections that exceed Tekla’s native modelling
• Autodesk Navisworks for federated-model clash detection between structural steel, RCC, MEP and architecture
• Project CDE (Autodesk Construction Cloud or BIM 360, or the client’s preferred CDE) for ISO 19650-compliant information delivery

• AISC 303 (Code of Standard Practice) for the scope split, approval cycle, and tolerance rules between SER, fabricator and erector
• BS EN 1090-1 / -2 for execution of steel structures, including the execution class (EXC1–4), inspection plan and CE marking documentation requirements
• AWS A2.4 & AWS A3.0 for welding symbols and weld terminology on drawings
• ISO 128 & ISO 129-1 for technical drawing conventions and dimensional tolerancing
• ISO 5817 for weld quality levels (B / C / D) called up by the consultant against EXC class
• BS EN ISO 13920 for general weld tolerances
• ISO 19650-1 / -2 for the BIM information management workflow on collaboratively delivered projects

Working under ISO 19650 we deliver to the project’s BIM Execution Plan (BEP):

• Native Tekla model (.db1) for full coordination handback
• IFC 2x3 / IFC 4 export for federation in Navisworks or Solibri
• LOD/LOI compliance: typically LOD 300 at design issue, LOD 400 at fabrication issue, and LOD 500 (as-built) at handover, with the LOI (Level of Information) matrix agreed against the BEP
• Clash reports in BCF or PDF, resolved revision-by-revision
• COBie or asset data export where the client’s Asset Information Requirements (AIR) call for it

Reference: ISO 19650-1:2018 — Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works including BIM

1. GA receipt & review — consultant’s stamped general arrangement, structural calc summary, architect’s elevations and BEP/AIR if a BIM job
2. Model build in Tekla against the GA, with connection design to AISC 360 (or Eurocode 3) for the typical details called up in the consultant’s specification
3. Internal squad check — second detailer reviews the model and approval-set drawings before issue
4. Approval issue to the consultant: assembly drawings, anchor-bolt setting plan, erection sequence, bolt schedule, weld map
5. Consultant review and comments incorporation, typically one or two cycles
6. AFC (Approved for Construction) issue to the workshop floor: single-part drawings, DSTV NC1 files, DXF nests, paint/HDG schedule
7. Erection package issue to site with marked-up sequence and lifting points
8. As-built capture of any site variations back into the federated model for handover

Yes. The two codes adopted in Dubai under Administrative Resolution No. (37) of 2021 are AISC 360 (US) and Eurocode 3 / BS EN 1993 (European); we routinely detail to both. Where a consultant nominates BS 5950 for an older legacy project, we hold the typical-connection capacities under the original code and only migrate where the consultant calls for it. For projects in Saudi Arabia and Qatar we also detail to the Saudi Building Code (SBC 301 / 306) and to Qatar Construction Specifications (QCS) on request.

Every drawing carries a revision block. New revisions are clouded and tabulated in the revision history per ISO 7200. On Tekla projects, the revision flows through the model first: a part’s position number is stable while its geometry can be re-issued under a new drawing rev, and the system flags already-fabricated pieces against any new geometry change so the workshop never builds yesterday’s revision.

On ISO 19650 projects, all drawings move through the shared → published → archive CDE workflow with full audit trail; the last-published revision is the only one valid for procurement and fabrication.

Yes, but selectively. Our detailing team principally serves our own fabrication scope, where the value of the in-house detail/floor feedback loop is highest. Standalone detailing — producing shop drawings for another fabricator to build — is taken on for selected consultant/main-contractor clients where the project scope, programme and quality expectations align with our internal standards. Talk to us with the GA and we’ll come back on capacity.

• PDF approval-set, AFC-set and as-built-set shop drawings, signed and stamped
• Native Tekla model (.db1) and IFC 2x3 / IFC 4 export
• SolidWorks part files where used (.sldprt) for bespoke pieces
• DSTV NC1 files for the beam/tube line and DXF nests for the lasers
• Bend-allowance and flat-pattern schedules for the press brake
• Weld map indexed to WPS, weld symbols per AWS A2.4
• Mill-cert pull list, paint & galvanizing schedule, NDT scope
• BIM CDE deliverables per the project BEP (clash reports, BCF, COBie if required)
• ISO 9001-traceable QA records of internal squad checks and drawing approvals

• Detailers sit beside the floor. Connections are designed for what the workshop can actually cut, bend, weld and erect — not what reads cleanly on a PDF.
• Code coverage. AISC 303 / 360 (US), Eurocode 3 / BS EN 1090 / BS EN 1993 (European), BS 5950 for legacy retrofits, SBC and QCS on request.
• BIM-ready. Tekla Structures 2024, AutoCAD & Advance Steel, SolidWorks, Navisworks, ISO 19650 information delivery against any project BEP.
• CNC-direct output. DSTV NC1 to the beam/tube line, DXF nests to the 6 kW lasers, bend allowances to the 170 t press, all under one revision-controlled model.
• Internal squad check on every issue. Two detailer review before drawings ever leave the office.
• ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 certified.