Supporting Structural Documentation for a US Engineering Firm
Client profile
US-based structural engineering consultancy delivering commercial and light industrial projects, with licensed Engineers-of-Record in-house.
The Challenge
Structural engineers were spending increasing time on detailing updates, drawing revisions, and late-stage coordination changes. This reduced time available for analysis and review — the highest-value parts of their role.
Local hiring was slow and expensive, while short-term contractors introduced inconsistency and rework.
What was breaking
The issue wasn’t lack of technical skill. It was the absence of a stable production layer that could absorb documentation work without disrupting engineering focus.
Each new hire or contractor reset context and standards.
The Approach
NOW provided offshore structural AutoCAD production support based strictly on engineer-issued sketches, redlines, and direction.
The offshore team maintained client-specific drafting standards, managed revision logs, and executed drawing updates. All outputs were reviewed and approved by the licensed Engineer-of-Record before any release.
How Responsibility Was Structured
- Engineers-of-Record retained design authority and compliance responsibility
- NOW’s team executed production documentation
- Final review and approval remained internal
No interpretation or certification was delegated.
The Outcome
Engineers reclaimed time for analysis and oversight. Documentation consistency improved across projects, and fluctuating workloads were absorbed without staffing volatility.
The offshore team became a predictable extension of internal production capacity.
Key Takeaway
Structural engineering didn’t need more hands — it needed a reliable execution layer.
Once that layer existed, pressure eased upstream.
Why it worked
Our Engineers Were Too Involved in Execution — and It Was Costing Us
We’re a structural engineering firm. Our engineers are licensed for a reason. Their judgment matters.
But over time, they were spending more and more hours updating drawings, coordinating revisions, and managing documentation changes late in the design cycle.
We told ourselves this was just part of the job.
It wasn’t.
Those hours came at the expense of analysis, review, and oversight. Hiring locally took too long, and contractors never stayed long enough to really understand our standards.
When we brought in offshore production support, we were cautious. Very cautious.
What surprised us was how little changed — except where it mattered.
Our engineers still decided everything. They still reviewed everything. They just stopped doing the execution themselves.
And that’s when we felt the difference.
Engineering didn’t become faster.
It became quieter.
The NOW Factor
What Happens When Engineers Spend Time Drafting Instead of Engineering
I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly in engineering firms, especially in the US.
Highly trained engineers — people whose judgment carries real liability — spending hours updating drawings, coordinating revisions, and managing documentation churn.
Not because it’s the best use of their time.
Because no stable production layer exists underneath them.
In one firm we worked with, hiring locally wasn’t the issue. They could hire. It just took too long. Contractors filled gaps, but every new person reset standards and context.
So the engineers stayed involved longer than they should have.
When we introduced offshore production support, we were careful not to blur any lines.
Engineers still owned design, analysis, and compliance.
Our team executed from their direction — nothing more.
The result wasn’t faster drawings.
It was quieter engineers.
They stopped being pulled into execution loops and returned to analysis and review — the work only they could do.
That’s when I realized:
Offshore doesn’t replace engineers.
It protects their time.