Tender drawings help bidders understand and price the proposed work. Construction drawings are issued for use in delivering work under the project’s document-control and approval procedures. Before work starts, Saudi project teams should compare the relevant issues, identify changes and confirm which current documents are authorised for the specific activity.
The label on a drawing is only one part of that check. The contract, design responsibilities, permits, authority approvals and approved site procedures determine how each document is used. This guide provides a practical review process for owners, consultants and contractors.
Understand what each drawing package is for
A tender package communicates the scope and design information bidders need to prepare their offers. Depending on the procurement route and design maturity, it may include drawings, specifications, schedules, pricing documents, site information and tender instructions. The contract determines how those documents are incorporated and interpreted.
A construction issue provides design information released for the intended construction activity under the project procedure. It may be marked “issued for construction” or use another status defined by the project. Confirm who may issue it, its revision and the approvals needed for the work. A tender drawing should not be treated as a construction instruction merely because it was used for pricing.
Distinguish construction drawings from shop drawings
The phrase “construction drawings” is not always used consistently. In one appointment it can refer to drawings issued by the designer; elsewhere it may refer to more detailed drawings prepared by the contractor. Shop drawings commonly develop the details of a particular product or installation for project review. Ask the contract administrator to define each deliverable, its author, review status and permitted use.
Check the tender package before pricing
Begin with a register of drawings and documents issued to bidders, including document numbers, revisions, dates and issue purpose. Check that the register matches the files received and that the specifications and pricing documents refer to the same scope. Record missing drawings, unclear interfaces and assumptions before submitting the offer.
RICS’s UK guidance on tendering recommends identifying the revision status of tender documents and drawings. It is useful professional guidance rather than a Saudi-specific rule: RICS tendering strategies guidance.
Issue questions through the tender’s stated clarification process. Track answers, addenda and revised drawings, then check that all bidders receive the information through the appropriate channel. Confirm whether an addendum changes quantities, specifications, programme assumptions or contractor design responsibilities. Follow the tender instructions for how to price unresolved matters.
Compare the tender and construction issues
After award, establish the tender baseline actually incorporated into the contract: the drawings and revisions, addenda, accepted clarifications and other relevant contract documents. Compare that baseline with the construction issue using a documented register and, where helpful, visual overlays. Do not rely only on revision clouds; they may not show every difference or the commercial effect of a change.
For each change, record the drawing number and revisions, what changed, affected disciplines, instruction or approval reference, and its potential impact on cost and programme. The project’s contract administrator should determine the required notice, valuation and instruction process. A technical revision does not automatically establish entitlement to a variation, and a change in work may have causes beyond a revised drawing.
Review coordination across disciplines
Check that the architectural layout, structure, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designs and specialist systems describe the same building. Review levels, grids, openings, equipment spaces, access and interfaces. For example, a duct route may require a structural opening and a coordinated ceiling layout; changing one drawing can affect the others.
Identify who leads coordination, which drawings or models are being checked and how comments are closed. A clash report is an input to the review, not proof that every construction issue has been resolved. Agree who owns each open item and whether it must be resolved before the affected work is released.
For a more detailed review of contractor-prepared services drawings, see the Crown Axis MEP shop drawing review checklist.
Confirm approvals and drawing status
For each work package, verify the current drawing issue and required project approvals before proceeding. Check applicable permits, authority conditions and design approvals with the responsible consultant and project team. A contractor’s shop drawing review, a designer’s construction issue and an authority approval can serve different purposes; one should not be assumed to replace the others.
Requirements vary by location and project. For example, the Diriyah Development Authority’s published design-compliance service sets conditions for changes to approved designs within the Diriyah Development Area. Check the authority and service that apply to the actual site rather than applying another area’s procedure automatically.
See Diriyah’s design compliance certificate service for its published scope and conditions.
Control drawings on site
Maintain a current drawing register that records document number, title, discipline, revision, issue status, date and recipient. The document controller should distribute new issues through the agreed system and notify affected parties. Site teams and subcontractors should check that the copy available at the workface is the current authorised issue for the activity.
Remove or clearly mark superseded copies according to the project procedure, while retaining the controlled history. If drawings conflict, are missing or appear unsuitable for the site condition, raise a formal request for information and obtain the required response before proceeding with affected work. Record related instructions and changes in the appropriate project registers.
Drawing review checklist
Use the following table as a review aid. Assign an owner and close date to open items; adapt the checks to the contract and the relevant authority’s requirements.
| Check | Question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Tender baseline | Which documents were priced and incorporated? | Issue register and addenda |
| Revision and status | Is the issue current and intended for the work? | Controlled drawing register |
| Design coordination | Do grids, openings and systems align? | Review and open-item records |
| Change control | What changed since the tender baseline? | Comparison and instruction log |
| Approvals | What project and authority approvals apply? | Approval and permit records |
| Site distribution | Do teams have the current authorised issue? | Transmittals and superseded-copy control |
Worked example: a change after tender
Imagine that a tender drawing shows an equipment room in one location. During design development, the team moves it to another part of the building. The revised construction issue changes the architectural room layout and the routes shown on the MEP drawings. This is a fictional example to illustrate the review process.
The team records the earlier and revised drawing numbers, identifies the reason for the change and checks structural openings, power, drainage, access and coordination. The contract administrator reviews any required instruction, cost and programme effects under the contract. The responsible consultant checks whether the change affects permits or approved designs, and the document controller distributes the authorised revised package.
Agree the drawing review process early
Before tender, agree the deliverables, drawing status definitions, review responsibilities and approach to change control. Crown Axis discusses these project inputs in its engineering design brief for Riyadh commercial projects. To discuss your project’s design and coordination requirements, contact the Crown Axis team.
FAQs
Need Help before You build?
Can a contractor build from a tender drawing?
A tender drawing is issued primarily to support the tender process. Before using it for construction, check the contract and document-control procedure and obtain the appropriate authorised issue or instruction. Confirm the current revision, required project reviews and any permits or approvals for the specific work. The drawing’s title alone does not establish permission to proceed.
Are issued-for-construction drawings the same as shop drawings?
Not necessarily. A designer may issue construction drawings as part of the design package, while a contractor or supplier may prepare shop drawings to develop installation or fabrication details for project review. Terminology and responsibilities vary by contract. Agree who authors, checks and releases each document and what its review status permits.
What should a team do when drawing disciplines conflict?
Identify the affected documents and revisions, then raise the conflict through the project’s request-for-information or coordination procedure. The responsible designers should assess the interfaces and issue a coordinated response. Record the decision and any effect on other work. Do not assume that one discipline’s drawing automatically resolves a conflict in every contract.
How should tender addenda be carried into the construction package?
Establish which addenda and clarifications form part of the contract baseline, then check that relevant decisions are reflected in the subsequent design issue. Record any differences and missing responses in a comparison log. The design and contract teams should agree who checks the technical effect and who handles any required commercial instruction.
Does every drawing change require a new authority approval?
No single answer applies to every Saudi project. The need for further approval depends on the type of change, the existing approval conditions, the location and the responsible authority’s procedures. Ask the appointed consultant to assess each relevant change against those conditions before the affected work proceeds and document the outcome.
Who removes superseded drawings from site use?
The project’s document-control procedure should assign that responsibility. The document controller commonly manages registers and distribution, while contractors and subcontractors must also control copies used by their teams. Agree how electronic and printed copies are updated, how superseded issues are marked or removed, and how the historical record is retained.