Shop Drawing Process of Stone Veneered Cladding Systems

Abstract

In modern construction the timely and successful completion of shop drawings is critical for project performance. By containing specific instructions about the fabrication, assembly, and erection of a building component, these documents are the main interface between the end product described in the working drawings and specifications and its physical realization. The paper describes the lengthy engineering process of a thin-stone veneered cladding system of an office tower, namely the generation and review of its shop drawings and the verification of their design contents through the testing of a full size mock-up. Current standard contractual agreements and graphic representational protocols do not fully reflect the needs of modern construction. Tridimensional and time-scaled representations would be beneficial for the early consideration of the geometric boundaries of components, their assembly and erection requirements, and for the solution of trade interfaces. New communication technologies that allow real-time negotiation of the shop drawings' contents among project participants are needed for shortening the review process of these documents.