AEC definitions
A cut sheet is a manufacturer's product page, sometimes called a catalog cut, submitted to identify the exact item proposed. In practice it is the everyday form of product data. The model, options, and accessories have to be marked, or the page is only advertising.
Definition
Contractors say cut sheet more often than they say product data. The reviewer should treat them as the same kind of submittal unless the specification draws a distinction. A cut sheet shows ratings, dimensions, and options as the manufacturer publishes them. It does not show this project's connections, curbs, or quantities. Those belong on a shop drawing or a schedule. A stack of unmarked cut sheets is not a completed submittal, no matter how relevant the products look.
In depth
Circle the model. Note the voltage, the finish, the size, and the accessories. If the sheet lists ten configurations, nine of them are not what you are buying. Say which one is.
The cover form should name the spec section and the schedule tag. A light fixture cut that does not name the type mark forces the reviewer to guess which row it answers.
Equipment schedules state capacities and electrical data. The cut sheet has to meet those numbers, not a nearby model in the same family. If it does not, flag the deviation. Do not assume the reviewer will notice a 2 amp difference.
When the schedule is wrong and the cut is right for the design, the path is an RFI or a revision, not a quiet substitution.
Many reviewers want the cut sheet approved before the shop drawing, so the fabricator is not detailing a rejected product. Division 01 or the technical section should say whether they may be submitted together.
Approving the cut does not approve the shop. The stamps are separate actions with separate scopes.
The submittal should be the current sheet, and the record should keep the approved one. A link to a product page is a poor record because the page will change. Submit a PDF with a date.
If the manufacturer supersedes the model before shipment, that is a new submittal, not a purchasing detail.
Operations staff need the sheet that matches what was installed, including options. A generic family brochure in the closeout binder does not tell a technician which board is in the unit.
As-built schedules and the cut sheets should use the same tags the drawings used.
Examples
A lighting cut sheet circles type F1, 3500 K, with the dimming driver the schedule requires. Other distributions on the page are crossed out.
A pump cut shows 5 horsepower. The schedule says 7.5. The contractor flags the deviation instead of burying it.
The approved chiller cut, with the selected options marked, is the one inserted in the O&M manual.
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