Who is responsible for coordinating the architectural, structural and MEP drawings?

Each designer is responsible for their own drawings, and unless someone agrees to coordinate the whole set, that job falls to you as the owner. The California Architects Board's guide for building officials says an architect only has to take responsibility for their own documents, that arranging coordination among separately hired designers is the owner's responsibility, and that an architect can coordinate others' work if they accept that responsibility.

What the rules say

• Each preparer signs for their own work. B&P 5536.1 requires people who prepare plans for others to sign them as evidence of responsibility for those documents. Engineers' documents carry their name and license number under B&P 6735.3 and 6735.4.
• No automatic coordinator. In the Board's example of an owner with separate contracts with an architect and engineers, the building official may not require the architect to sign for changes to others' work. The official should notify the owner that coordination is required.
• Changes by others. Under B&P 6735.3 and 6735.4, an engineer is not responsible for later changes to their documents that they did not authorize. Changes to one designer's sheets should go back to that designer.
• Deferred items. Some departments expect a design professional of record to review later submittals. San Diego requires a statement from the architect or engineer of record in responsible charge that deferred submittal documents conform to the building design.

How to set up coordination

1. Decide in writing who coordinates. That can be the architect or building designer, if they agree to take it on.
2. Use one current architectural background. When the floor plan changes, send the new version to every designer.
3. Track revision dates on each discipline's sheets so the set matches.
4. Check common conflict points: panel and equipment locations against shear walls and windows, duct routes against framing, plumbing walls against structural walls, and the mechanical schedule against the Title 24 report.
5. Review the full set together before submittal, and again before each resubmittal.

Signs coordination is slipping

• A sheet index that lists sheets you do not have.
• Different room names or door locations between the architectural and MEP sheets.
• Equipment models that differ between the plans and the energy report.
• Correction comments that ask one designer to fix something another designer drew.

What this means for your MEP plans

When you order the Full MEP Package with a Title 24 report, MEP Plans USA prepares the mechanical, electrical and plumbing sheets and the energy report together, which keeps those pieces consistent with each other. Your architect or designer remains responsible for the architectural sheets, so tell us when they change; two revisions are included with every order. See why order M, E and P together, MEP vs. architectural plans and the Full MEP Package. Confirm local expectations with your building department; this is not legal advice.

Sources: cab.ca.gov, cab.ca.gov, bpelsg.ca.gov, sandiego.gov.