What is the Construction Documents Phase?
The Construction Documents Phase is an advancement of the Design Development Phase. The Construction Documents phase – often referred to as the ‘CD’ phase – is the final formal design phase for project. The Architecture and Engineering team will work to complete all of the technical requirements, program requirements, drawing requirements, and specification manual for the project’s design completion. There are two final deliverables for the CD phase: the Issue for Permit set of documents and the final Issue for Construction set of documents.
- Construction Documents phase is the final formal design phase of a theme park or themed entertainment project.
- Construction Documents phase often is completed by a design team with the most number of design team members.
- The Construction Documents phase precedes the ‘Bidding and Negotiation’ and ‘Construction’ portions of a project.
- Construction Documents phase final deliverables are used for three main final efforts: to achieve the necessary building permits, to assist in the final bidding and negotiations for the final project’s cost and estimating, and to provide the drawings and specifications by which the project can be constructed.
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Understanding the Construction Documents Phase
The Construction Documents (CD) phase is without a doubt the most important design phase of a theme park project. The final deliverables – the drawings and project specification book – will need to capture any and all project scope for construction. The goal – but not often the case in reality – is to have as few major design changes as possible in the CD design phase. Major design changes this late in the overall design process are more costly and can severely impact the overall project’s budget and greatly impact the Architecture and Engineering team’s design budget.
The two major deliverables packages, the ‘Issue for Permit’ and the ‘Issue for Construction’ need to contain all necessary legal, conforming documentation to meet all local, state and federal Code requirements set forth and dictated by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) – otherwise known as the Building Department. Throughout the design process, the Architect of Record will work closely with the AHJ and the Fire Marshal to ensure all Code related items are being met and documented in the two final release packages.
The ‘Issue for Permit‘ set of documents are submitted to the AHJ for a final review. Depending on the individual AHJ’s requirements, they may have as much as 30 days to review the Issue for Permit documents and return review comments back to the A&E design team to address. Any final AHJ review comments must be addressed and incorporated into the final set of deliverables, the ‘Issue for Construction’. The Architecture and Engineering design team members of Record will sign and seal these two final sets of deliverables – both the drawing sets and the project specification book will be signed and sealed prior to submission to the AHJ.
Once the ‘Issue for Construction’ has been submitted and accepted by the AHJ, any future design modifications – during construction for example – to this set of documents will need to be resubmitted signed and sealed back to the AHJ for review and acceptance prior to any work/modifications in the field during construction.
Depending on the Architectural and Engineering design team’s contract with the Owner and/or the Owner’s corporate requirements and Substantial Completion of Construction has been determined, often the Architects and Engineers of Record may be required by contract to provide a final ‘As-Designed’ and/or a ‘As-Built’ set of record documents. If required, these final sets of documents will be issues by the Architects and Engineers of Record at the end of the project’s construction phase and it shall incorporate any and all permitted, design modifications incurred during the construction phase of the project.