CMI's Detailing Department

Detailing is really about figuring out how to make everything work together,” states Detailing Department Manager Dino Spadoni.
Creating precise shop drawings from construction plans requires skill, good communication, a strong sense of team work, and more than a little patience. “As a detailer you really need to have an open mind,” Dino explains. “At the same time we try to keep the systems as simple as possible by narrowing down the options.”
This might seem contradictory, but that is the life of a detailer. Detailers use CAD Duct and CAD Mech software to create shop drawings based on individual jobsite conditions. A big part of their job is planning how the HVAC system will fit in with the electrical, plumbing, piping and fire sprinklers. “Paying attention to all the trades, while at the same time working within the space designed by the architectural and structural engineers, can be a challenge,” explains CMI Detailer Julie Ponzini.
Detailers also research project specifications, such as slab penetrations, beam and well locations. This information helps the field foremen during onsite coordination meetings. “We have gathered a lot of information by the time our foremen get the shop drawings, which makes coordinating with the other trades go quicker and easier,” states Julie.
After shop drawings are marked up in the field, they are brought back to the Detailing Department for fine tuning. “Ideally, we shoot for three passes to get everything right,” explains Dino. Laughter is his only response when asked how many times a shop drawing could come back to the detailer. For a complicated job like the new Kaiser hospital building in Vallejo, where detailers are charting the course of nearly one million pounds of sheetmetal, no one will be counting. “It’s done when everything fits.”