Frequently Asked Questions

What is steel detailing? Who or what is a Detailer? And how does the NISD fit in all of this?

Steel detailing is the production of shop fabrication drawings and steel erection plans from architectural and engineering drawings.

A Steel Detailer is an engineering draftsperson familiar with fabrication and erection methods. The Detailer must be knowledgeable in welding and must be familiar with various types of fasteners and bolts and their strengths and installation procedures. The Detailer must know about paint, finish and cleaning specifications as well as know about all types of structures, conveyors, bins, hoppers, chutes, bridges, trusses, girders, ladders, railings, stairs and all other miscellaneous steel. The Detailer must be a good draftsperson, be proficient in reading and understanding structural design drawings and architectural drawings, be able to solve geometry problems and produce clear and accurate detail and erection drawings. The Detailer must know about material stresses and wind and gravity loads. The Detailer must know about different types of steel and other materials, be familiar with architectural details of construction, and be able to develop various types of connections.

The NISD consists of volunteer directors and committee chairs at both the local and national level that work to make improvements on many fronts for detailing firms - through legislation, negotiation, legal action, and customer relations. As a unified group, the NISD has brought about real changes in the industry to combat problems that all detailers have encountered in their business. Issues that have been addressed and continue to be addressed include:
• Quality of design drawings
• Reduction of retainages
• Speedup of final payments
• Fair change order procedures
• Management software
• Erection & fabrication liaison
• Back charges policies

This is just the tip of the iceberg, of course. Contact our Administrator for more information.
If you are interested in joining the NISD, click here.