01
Sheet standards
Title blocks, view templates, naming and the drawing register set up before any sheet is produced.
MEP shop drawings and BIM documentation services
Drawings are a view of the coordinated model, not a parallel deliverable — which is the only way a change stays one event instead of two.
BIM documentation & drawings
The engineering position
Drawings are a view of the model, not a parallel deliverable
Where drawings are drafted alongside the model, a change is two events and they eventually disagree. Where drawings are derived from model state, a change is one event. Getting to the second condition requires template, view and sheet discipline set up before authoring starts, which is why we do that first and will not skip it to save a week.
Builders' work has to be agreed before the slab is poured
Penetrations, openings and cast-in items are the deliverable with the hardest deadline on the project and the one most often produced last. We take the coordinated model, extract every penetration, and issue it as a drawing and a schedule the structural engineer can review — before the pour, not as an RFI afterwards.
Level of detail is a scope decision
Installation drawings need real fittings, real support positions and real clearances. A design-stage model does not hold those by default, so the level of development for shop drawings is agreed explicitly — it is the largest single driver of drawing cost.
Deliverables
What is actually produced and issued
Any of these can be appointed on their own or combined. Nothing here depends on buying the intelligence layer, which is not for sale in any case.
DeliverableGeneral arrangements and MEP floor plans
GA drawings and MEP floor plans issued as PDF and DWG sheets.
DeliverableInstallation layouts and details
Detailed installation layouts, installation drawings, equipment installation and connection details.
DeliverableSections, risers and plant rooms
Sections and sectional elevations, riser diagrams, and enlarged plant and equipment-room drawings.
DeliverableBuilders' work and openings
Builders' work drawings, opening and penetration layouts and schedules.
DeliverableCeiling, shaft and service-zone coordination
Reflected ceiling coordination plans, shaft and service-zone layouts.
DeliverableShop drawing packages and registers
Issue-ready construction/shop drawing sets, drawing registers and revision schedules, with DWG and IFC exports where contracted.
DeliverableAs-built and record documentation
As-built drawings from verified site information, and record-model and handover documentation support.
Catalogue scope
Every scope item, with its typical output
The full list from the BIMRACE service catalogue. Each item can be included or excluded in a proposal; the code is the one used in our scope documents.
DOC-01General arrangement drawings
PDF/DWG sheets.
DOC-02MEP floor plans
PDF/DWG sheets.
DOC-03Detailed installation layouts
PDF/DWG sheets.
DOC-04Enlarged plant/equipment-room drawings
Plans, sections and details.
DOC-05Riser diagrams
Riser sheets.
DOC-06Sections and sectional elevations
Drawing sheets.
DOC-07Detailed installation drawings
Detail sheets.
DOC-08Builders' work drawings and opening layouts
Opening/penetration schedules and drawings.
DOC-09Ceiling coordination/reflected ceiling coordination
Coordination plans.
DOC-10Shaft and service-zone layouts
Plans and sections.
DOC-11Equipment installation and connection details
Detail sheets.
DOC-12Typical mounting/support details
Details, subject to design responsibility.
DOC-13Construction/shop drawing packages
Issue-ready drawing set.
DOC-14As-built drawings based on verified site information
Record drawings.
DOC-15Drawing registers and revision schedules
Register/spreadsheet.
DOC-16PDF drawing issue packages
PDF package.
DOC-17DWG exports
DWG files where contracted.
DOC-18IFC model exports
IFC files where contracted.
DOC-19Model views, sheets and print-ready sets
Revit sheets and PDF.
DOC-20Record-model and handover documentation support
Model and handover register.
How it runs
The sequence, and why it is in this order
Sequence is not a formality on this kind of work. Most of the expensive rework we are asked to fix was produced by doing step four before step two.
02
Level of development
Agree what has to be modelled to installation standard and what does not — the scope conversation, made explicit.
03
Coordinated basis
Drawings produced only from the coordinated model, so they reflect the resolved position of services.
04
Builders' work
Penetrations and openings extracted, dimensioned and scheduled for structural review.
05
Production
Plans, sections, risers, details and shop drawing sheets derived from model state.
06
Issue
Issued under revision control with the drawing register updated.
What we need to start
The inputs that decide whether a start is a real start
Missing any of these is survivable. Not knowing which of them are missing is not, so we establish it at enquiry stage rather than at forty per cent.
- Coordinated model, or design drawings to be modelled first
- Title block, sheet standards and naming conventions
- Equipment submittals and approved product data
- Issue status and approval workflow
- The structural engineer's review requirements for builders' work
AI & automation
Where AI and automation apply to this work
AI is used throughout our delivery workflow, and an engineer reviews every output. Every line carries its real status.
AIAI-assisted sheet checkingLive
Sheets, tags, title blocks and registers checked against the drawing standard before issue.
AIAI-drafted registers and notesLive
Drawing registers, revision schedules and issue notes drafted from model data for review.
AutomationPenetration extractionLive
Every service crossing a structural element identified and scheduled automatically across the federated model.
AutomationDrawing and schedule generationLive
Views, sheets and schedules derived from model state as a routine rather than drafted.
AutomationNaming and register checkingLive
Sheets and views tested against the project naming convention, and the register reconciled against issued sheets.
AutomationSupport layout routinesIn development
Generating bracket and support positions from routing and rules, for review. In development on our own delivery.
Scope boundary
What this appointment does not include
Published because a scope boundary discovered at month three is a dispute, and the same boundary stated at enquiry stage is just information.
- Shop drawing review and approval follow the project's contract and client process.
- Typical mounting and support details are prepared subject to the project's design responsibility.
- As-built accuracy depends on verified site information; we state the verification status rather than certify what we have not received.
Request a quote
Get a quote: MEP shop drawings & documentation
Tell us the building, the stage and what you need. An engineer replies within two working days with approach, deliverables and a fee basis.
Quote request received
Thank you — an engineer will reply within two working days.
Have drawings ready? Use the full enquiry form to attach them.
What a useful quote needs. Building type and approximate area, the disciplines, the project stage, and which drawings or models exist. If you have them ready, the full enquiry form takes file uploads.
NDAs. We sign before drawings or models are shared, as a matter of course.
FAQ
Questions we are asked at enquiry stage
Are shop drawings produced from the model or drafted separately?
From the model. Plans, sections and details are generated from the coordinated Revit model so drawings reflect the coordinated position of services.
Can you work to our title block and drawing standards?
Yes. We set up sheets, view templates and naming to your standards or the project's BIM requirements.
Do you produce builders' work drawings?
Yes. Penetration extraction from the coordinated model is automated, and the output is a dimensioned drawing plus a schedule the structural engineer can review.
Can you deliver DWG and IFC as well as PDF?
Yes, where contracted. The export settings and layer or IFC mapping are agreed at the start.
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