AISC, AIA release second part of design assist guidelines for the structural steel industry

The American Institute of Steel Construction and AIA Contract Documents have released the second part of a document intended to provide guidance for three common collaboration strategies.

The document, Design Assist: Collaborative Design Approach Guidelines for the Fabricated Structural Steel Industry, is a follow-up to part one, Delegated Design, Design Assist, and Informal Involvement: What does it all mean?

The strategies covered are informal involvement, design assist, and delegated design. Part II focuses on the implementation of design assist in the fabricated structural steel industry. The document describes the roles and responsibilities of various project participants and provides general guidelines about applying those strategies to fabricated structural steel projects.

“Great teams drive great projects—and great teams rely on clear communication,” said Babette Freund, vice president of special projects, Dave Steel Company, Inc., and chair of AISC’s Code of Standard Practice Committee. “This paper aims to help project teams use design assist strategies to meet a defined project schedule and budget while minimizing the costs and disruptions that might arise from team misalignments.”

How AISC defines design assist for the structural steel industry

According to the guidelines, design assist is, "A form of collaboration where a structural steel fabricator and/or erector (or a fabricator/erector team under one contract, depending on project circumstances) provides information under a contract with the owner or other party as designated by the owner, to assist a structural engineer of record (SER) and other designated members of the design assist team with the design of the structural steel for buildings or building-like structures."