Not reporting clash until duct is already installed

An unreported clash gets worse, not better. Every day it goes undocumented, the other trade keeps building toward the same space and the fix gets more expensive.

Watch out

• Do not run duct through a clash area and assume someone else will figure it out before the ceiling closes.

Check

• Stop work in the affected area. Do not run duct past a clash point hoping the other trade will move later.
• Identify what is clashing and who owns it: sprinkler pipe, cable tray, structure, electrical conduit, plumbing, another HVAC system, or equipment access.
• Take a photo showing both systems in frame with enough context to locate it on the drawing. Add grid, room, elevation, date, and your name if that is job practice.
• Check whether there is already an RFI, coordination note, sketch, or foreman direction for this area. The clash may be known but not communicated to you yet.
• Do not modify another trade's work or reroute your duct on your own. Bring the documentation to the foreman before the ceiling gets more crowded.

Steps

• Stop work in the affected area. Do not run duct past a clash point hoping the other trade will move later.
• Identify what is clashing and who owns it: sprinkler pipe, cable tray, structure, electrical conduit, plumbing, another HVAC system, or equipment access.
• Take a photo showing both systems in frame with enough context to locate it on the drawing. Add grid, room, elevation, date, and your name if that is job practice.
• Check whether there is already an RFI, coordination note, sketch, or foreman direction for this area. The clash may be known but not communicated to you yet.
• Do not modify another trade's work or reroute your duct on your own. Bring the documentation to the foreman before the ceiling gets more crowded.

More in Coordination, Clashes, Sequencing & Rework