A design change can affect engineering, scope, fee, schedule, and documents already in circulation. Treat each request as both a technical question and a contract question. The project manager should capture the request before work begins, especially when it arrives in a meeting, a markup, or a phone call.
Record who requested the change, when, why it is needed, and what outcome the client expects. Identify affected drawings, calculations, design assumptions, disciplines, permit submissions, and interfaces. For example, moving a building entrance may affect grading, accessible routes, drainage, utilities, and structural coordination. Ask the responsible engineers to review those effects before the team treats the markup as an approved design direction.
Next, compare the request with the current agreement and approved changes. Determine whether it fits the authorized scope or requires a fee, schedule, or deliverable adjustment. Explain the expected effect to the client and identify the person authorized to approve it. Follow the contract’s change process and obtain written authorization where required. If design work must proceed before approval, document who directed that step and the basis for proceeding, using the firm’s procedures and appropriate advice.
Once authorized, update the design basis, schedule, budget, issue log, and controlled documents. Make sure reviewers and other disciplines can identify the current version. Close out superseded files so they are not mistaken for current instructions. Preserve client comments, responses, approvals, and transmittals in the project record.
Ask the project manager: What work already issued could be affected? Which technical lead must review the change? Is a permit or third-party approval involved? What client decision is needed, by whom, and by what date? If the change may affect safety, code compliance, or previously issued work, escalate through quality and professional responsibility procedures.
A drawing markup alone may not authorize a contract change.
Contract terms, licensed PE judgment, and local codes govern.
