How to Vet a Steel Detailing Partner: A Buyer's Checklist

Vetting matters because a detailer's errors become your costs. A wrong dimension or missing weld on a drawing becomes rework in the shop or a fix in the field. Under AISC 303, the fabricator remains responsible for shop and erection drawings even when an outside detailer prepares them, so the detailer's process becomes your risk.

The purpose of vetting is to replace claims with evidence: drawings you can inspect, a checking process someone can describe in detail, references you can call, and terms you can read. A useful checklist also applies equally to every firm, including the ones that are selling to you.

A complete checklist covers track record, sample drawings, checking process, standards knowledge, connection design scope, credentials and insurance, software and file formats, capacity, communication and time zone, document handling, and pricing. For each, ask a specific question, know what a good answer sounds like, and watch for the answers that should end the conversation.

Evaluate sample drawings the way your shop would use them: check that general notes are complete, marks agree across erection drawings, details and bills of material, weld symbols and hole call-outs are complete, revisions are clouded, and the drawings follow US conventions. Also check that other clients' information is redacted.

• General notes state materials, bolts and joint type, welds and finish
• Ship marks and minor marks agree across every sheet and list
• Bills of material match the details beside them
• Weld symbols include size, type and length
• Hole sizes and bolt call-outs are shown
• Revision clouds and revision blocks are used consistently
• Dimensions are imperial and sheets follow US sizes
• Title blocks, client names and project details are removed from shared samples

Ask who checks every drawing, whether the checker is someone other than the person who drew it, what the checker compares the drawing against, whether corrections are back-checked before release, and how NC files and bolt lists are kept on the same revision as the drawings. A firm with a real process can describe each step without hesitating.

If possible, ask to see a redacted marked-up check set. The markups show what the checker actually looks for. How a firm handles revisions after release, clouds, logs and reissued NC files, matters as much as the first check. Vertex publishes its own sequence on the quality control page, which you can use as a benchmark when asking other firms the same questions.

Ask directly whether the firm designs connections or details connections designed by others. Detailing firms typically detail to the Engineer of Record's design or to a delegated connection engineer's design. If a firm offers connection design, ask which licensed engineer seals it, in which states that engineer is licensed, and what insurance covers the design.

Blurred answers here are a real risk: a detailer who adjusts connections to make them fit, without an engineer's review, has quietly taken on design decisions nobody authorized. A firm that says plainly what it does not do is easier to work with safely. See connection detailing for how that scope is stated at Vertex.

Ask about credentials you can verify and insurance you can see. The National Institute of Steel Detailing (NISD) offers voluntary individual detailer certification and a quality procedures program for detailing firms. AISC Certification is a separate program that audits fabricators, erectors and component manufacturers, not detailing firms. Professional liability insurance terms should be confirmed in writing.

For any credential a firm lists, check it with the issuing organization. For insurance, ask for a certificate, the coverage limits, and whether the policy applies to work on US projects. Absence of a credential is not automatically disqualifying, particularly for a new firm, but it should be disclosed rather than blurred.

Capacity decides whether a detailer can meet your schedule, and time zone and communication decide how the work feels day to day. Ask how many detailers and checkers the firm has, how much of that capacity it will commit to your package, what hours the team works, how RFIs are drafted and routed, and how urgent questions are handled.

A small team is not a problem if the schedule is planned around it; a promise to absorb any package on any schedule is. An offshore team is not a problem if the time-zone rhythm is stated and planned for; vague availability promises are. The guide to outsourcing steel detailing covers these tradeoffs in detail.

Start with a first package that is small enough to review closely and representative enough to be meaningful, such as one building area or a miscellaneous steel release. Judge the checked drawings, the quality and timing of questions, how revisions are handled, and whether the schedule assumptions held. Then decide on larger work with evidence in hand.

Before that first package, confirm the deliverables and formats you need, send your shop standards, and agree pricing and revision terms in writing. If the firm works in a different platform from your in-house team, confirm that its deliverables work without a native model; the SDS/2 vs Tekla comparison explains when that matters.

Vertex Steel Detailing meets some criteria on this checklist and not others. It was founded in 2026, has completed five projects, holds no NISD credentials and runs only SDS/2. It publishes its rate, its checking sequence and its location. The table below states each position plainly, so you can weigh it against other firms on the same terms.

For the full scope of what Vertex details, see structural steel detailing.