Self-Checking Drawings
Self-checking drawings are drawings whose author, human or AI, verifies them against code, criteria, and source documents before handing them to a reviewer, and records what was checked.
Self-Checking Drawings in practice
Floor Plan, annotated
An architectural floor plan with walls, doors, room tags, and the column grid every other discipline draws on.
- 1Exterior wall with window openings
- 2Door, swing, and door tag
- 3Room name and number
- 4Partition type tag
Definition
Every firm has a QA step, but checking usually happens late and by a different person: a senior engineer marks up a printed set days after the drafter moved on. Self-checking moves the first pass to the moment of drafting. The author compares the drawing against the governing code edition, the engineer's criteria, and the inputs it was drawn from, such as the architectural background or the equipment cutsheet, then writes down what passed, what failed and was fixed, and what it could not determine. For AI drafting this step matters even more, because a reviewer needs a reason to trust output they did not watch being made. A self-check does not replace the reviewer. It changes what the reviewer spends time on: instead of hunting for missed tags or spacing errors, they review judgment calls and open questions. Nomic works in CAD on its own computer, saves real DWG files to the project in your layers, blocks, and title blocks, and checks each drawing against the code edition you name and the source documents before your licensed professionals review and stamp it. It clouds what it drew and lists open questions.
Examples
A sprinkler layout is checked against NFPA 13 maximum spacing and coverage area before it reaches the fire protection engineer.
A panel schedule is compared against the circuits shown on the power plan and two mismatched circuit numbers are flagged.
A door schedule check finds a door tag on A-102 with no matching schedule row and lists it for the architect.
Nomic Use Cases
See how Nomic applies this in production AEC workflows:
Frequently Asked Questions
Every firm has a QA step, but checking usually happens late and by a different person: a senior engineer marks up a printed set days after the drafter moved on. Self-checking moves the first pass to the moment of drafting. The author compares the drawing against the governing code edition, the engineer's criteria, and the inputs it was drawn from, such as the architectural background or the equipment cutsheet, then writes down what passed, what failed and was fixed, and what it could not determine. For AI drafting this step matters even more, because a reviewer needs a reason to trust output they did not watch being made. A self-check does not replace the reviewer. It changes what the reviewer spends time on: instead of hunting for missed tags or spacing errors, they review judgment calls and open questions. Nomic works in CAD on its own computer, saves real DWG files to the project in your layers, blocks, and title blocks, and checks each drawing against the code edition you name and the source documents before your licensed professionals review and stamp it. It clouds what it drew and lists open questions.
A sprinkler layout is checked against NFPA 13 maximum spacing and coverage area before it reaches the fire protection engineer.. A panel schedule is compared against the circuits shown on the power plan and two mismatched circuit numbers are flagged.. A door schedule check finds a door tag on A-102 with no matching schedule row and lists it for the architect.
Automated Drawing Review: Use agents to review drawings against building codes, internal standards, and client requirements. Code Compliance Review: Check drawings against 380+ building codes and standards with cited answers.
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