Revisions to the design documents and specifications shall be made either by issuing new design documents and specifications or by reissuing the existing design documents and specifications. In either case, all revisions, including revisions that are communicated through responses to RFIs or the annotation of the approval documents (see Section 4.4.2), shall be clearly and individually indicated in the contract documents. The contract documents shall be dated and identified by revision number. When the design documents are communicated using design drawings, each design drawing shall be identified by the same drawing number throughout the duration of the project, regardless of the revision. See also Section 9.3.
When revisions are communicated using design models, revisions shall be made evident in the revised design model submitted by identifying within the design model which items are changed. Alternatively, the changes shall be submitted with a written document describing in explicit detail the items that are changed. A historic tracking of changes must either be present in the revised design model or maintained in the written record of changes.
The party or entity that is contractually assigned responsibility for managing the design model shall maintain accurate accounting and tracking records of the most current design model, as well as previously superseded design models, and shall facilitate a tracking mechanism so that all contracted parties are aware of, and have access to, the most current design model.
Commentary
Revisions to the design documents and specifications can be made by issuing sketches and supplemental information separate from the design documents and specifications. These sketches and supplemental information become amendments to the design documents and specifications and are considered new contract documents. All sketches and supplemental information must be uniquely identified with a number and date as the latest instructions until such time as they may be superseded by new information.
When revisions are made by revising and reissuing the existing structural design documents and/or specifications, a unique revision number and date must be added to those documents to identify that information as the latest instructions until such time as they may be superseded by new information. When the design documents are communicated using design drawings, the same unique drawing number must identify each design drawing throughout the duration of the project so that revisions can be properly tracked, thus avoiding confusion and miscommunication among the various entities involved in the project.
When revisions are communicated through the annotation of the approval documents or contractor submissions, such changes must be confirmed in writing by one of the aforementioned methods. This written confirmation is imperative to maintain control of the cost and schedule of a project and to avoid potential errors in fabrication.
When design models are used, a similar unique method of identifying each revision must be used. This method can vary in various digital modeling software, but the same level of notation of changes must be present in the revised design model as would be used on design drawings.