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ABC Status

• Introduction - What is 'ABC' status?
• What does 'B' status really mean?

Introduction - What is 'ABC' status?

• The process of assigning a specific status when 'checking' Sub-Contractor's drawings became common practice for management-type contracts during the late 1980s.
• A typical description for each of the three categories might be:
  A - No comments. May be used for construction.
  B - May be used for construction subject to the comments (of the CA) being incorporated. Revise and resubmit for information only.
  C - Do not use for construction. Revise and resubmit for further inspection.
  
• It is now widely used for many other forms of contract.
• Some professional practices have now extended the system to include commenting on the drawings of other consultants working on the project. Whilst this may be considered good practice, it should be referred to at an early stage in the project protocol to minimise the possibility of causing offense to consultants unfamiliar with receiving comments from their fellow professionals in this way.
• Some practices use rubber 'ABC stamps' when commenting on drawings. It is strongly recommended that such stamps include disclaimer wording to ensure that any comments made do not transfer liability for the design from the contractor to the 'checker' (usually the architect). Your professional liability insurance supplier can probably supply suitable wording.
• If the project is using a project extranet, or a similar means of electronic data transfer, it will be necessary to ensure that the "commenting" protocol is compatible with your own office standards.
• It is also good practice to refer to the use of the 'ABC stamp' somewhere in the ContractPreliminaries, and this also provides a good place to define exactly what 'A', 'B', and 'C' actually mean. Although the meaning is generally understood, clarification minimises the chance for any subsequent dispute.

What does 'B' status really mean?

There has been some debate about what 'B' status actually means and the phrase "Revise and resubmit for information only" may be misinterpreted. This is one view:

• The sole reason for granting 'B' status is one of timing. It is a concession which allows the contractor to commence construction whilst the drawing approval process continues concurrently.
• In principle, every drawing used for construction should be re-submitted and the process repeated until, ultimately, all construction drawings achieve an 'A' status. This may not be possible in all cases but it is the goal to aim for.
• For drawings which, for whatever reason, do not achieve 'A' status during construction, it is crucial to check that the "As built" issue reflects the comments you have made on previous revisions of the drawing awarded 'B' status.
• There is, of course, the possibility that a re-submitted drawing may 'drop' from a 'B' status to a 'C' status when re-submitted and the implications of each such situation will need to be considered individually.

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