TIL that a single missing dimension on a shop drawing can cost over $5,000 in rework

I was reading an old trade magazine from 2019 and saw a case study from a steel fab shop in Tacoma. They had a beam detail that didn't show the exact location of some bolt holes. The crew in the field had to stop work for two days while they got answers, and the delay plus extra labor came out to over five grand. I always double-check my own work, but I never put a real dollar amount on a simple mistake like that before. Has anyone else seen a small drafting error blow up a budget that bad?

4 comments

4 Comments

kim_mason552mo agoTop Commenter

My buddy's missing weld symbol cost ten grand.

alex8202mo ago

But what if the missing symbol was obvious to any decent welder on the floor?

nancyramirez2mo ago

Forget the cost, that's a safety issue waiting to happen. A missing symbol means someone on the floor has to guess. Guessing on welds can lead to real bad failures down the line. The ten grand hurts now, but it's cheap compared to a lawsuit or worse. Details matter way too much to skip them. Your buddy learned the hard way.

kai8395d ago

Man @kim_mason55 that story reminds me of this time my cousin forgot to mark a bolt torque spec on a drawing and the whole assembly line had to shut down for two days. Ten grand feels about right for these kinds of lessons.