Security Sales & Integration April 2021 - 23

SMARTS & PARTS

Fireside Chat by Shane Clary

Shop Drawings 101
Shop drawings
should not
be confused
with the
engineering
drawings.
These
drawings
would be
completed and
in most cases
sealed by a
professional
engineer.

Shane Clary, Ph.D., has
more than 45 years of
security and fire alarm
industry experience. He
serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.

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SS2104 pp22-23 Tech Talk-Fireside.indd 23

▶ THE THEME OF this month is shop drawings, and what should be the minimum requirements for any set - from the smallest system to
a large complex system.
Since the 2013 edition of NFPA 72, National
Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, there has been
a chapter on documentation. This is Chapter 7.
Prior to the 2013 edition, the requirement for
documentation was located within the chapter
on Fundamentals. The Technical Committee on
Fundamentals still has oversight for Chapter 7, as
documentation is viewed as being a fundamental
requirement for all systems.
Shop drawings should not be confused with
the engineering drawings. These drawings would
be completed and in most cases sealed by a professional engineer. The professional engineer in
most cases will either be an electrical engineer or
fire protection engineer. In the engineering drawings, the location of the detection devices and
notification appliances are laid out. A sequence
of operation as well as the intent and description
or narrative of the system would be provided.
This information is then taken by the installing
contractor and converted into the working drawings or shop drawings. It is these drawings to
which the system is installed.
The minimum requirements for the design
or layout drawings are found in Section 7.3 of
the 2019 edition. The standard states that these
are only necessary when required by local laws
or regulations. The building owner may also require that a design professional prepare the initial layout. This would certainly be the case if the
system is to be based on a performance design
as opposed to prescriptive. It is my opinion that
in no case should a contractor be doing a layout
of a system based on performance requirements
unless they are also a registered design professional qualified for the scope of work that is to
be performed.
Within Chapter 7, there are minimum requirements as to what is to be included within
the documentation for the project. These are
found within paragraph 7.2.1. They include but
are not limited to the following:
▶ System description
▶ Riser diagram

smclary@bayalarm.com

▶ Floorplan
▶ Sequence of operation
▶ Battery calculations
▶ Voltage-drop calculations
▶ Mounting heights
▶ Location of devices and appliances
▶ Wiring details

The requirements for shop drawings are found
in Section 7.4. Paragraph 7.4.5 has the minimum
requirements. These include but are not limited to:
▶ The direction of north
▶ Graphic scale
▶ All walls and doors
▶ All partitions that extend to within 15% of
the ceiling height
▶ Room descriptions
▶ Locations of system devices and appliances
▶ Ceiling heights and geometry
▶ Location of the primary power source
The list of minimum shop drawing requirements begin with this statement " ...Floor plan
drawings shall be drawn to an indicated scale and
shall include the following information, where
applicable for the particular system. " It is the end
of the statement that is important to note. If one
is installing a smoke detection system within a
building that has unique ceiling geometries, then
a side elevation would be warranted. But if the
ceiling has been documented as being flat and
smooth and at 9 feet above grade, a note to that
affect shall suffice.
If the project is to just supervise the building's
fire suppression sprinkler system, the inclusion
of ceiling details or even all rooms within the
structure may not be required. The scope of the
project should dictate the complexity of the
shop drawings.
The installer of the system needs to note on
the shop drawings any deviations that may have
been taken so that a set of Record-Set or As-Built
drawings can be completed. The minimum requirements for these drawings are to be found in
Section 7.5.5. In my observations, it is rare that
the final installation of a system matches the shop
drawings. The production of the record drawings
is required by 72, and should not be placed on a
" backburner. " These tend never to get completed.
A proper set of drawings, from the start to the
conclusion well go a long way in assuring that the
system is installed correctly and to code, and will
eliminate issues that could occur during the installation if this documentation was not present.
APRIL 2021 Security Sales & Integration

3/22/21 10:20 AM

http://www.securitysales.com

Security Sales & Integration April 2021

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