How Do You Avoid Design Coordination Clashes?

Agree design responsibilities, coordinate the information and test the interfaces before construction. Clash detection helps identify conflicts between models. Resolving them takes a decision, an owner and a checked update to the information used by the project team.

A useful coordination meeting answers five questions: which issues matter, who takes the next action, what solution is agreed, which information changes and how the team confirms the result.

Which clashes deserve attention first?

Start with interfaces that could affect safety, buildability, procurement or the programme. Typical examples include major services crossing structure, plant replacement routes, ceiling zones, penetrations and space needed to inspect or maintain equipment. A high clash count alone does not explain the risk.

Check that the models use the agreed coordinates and relevant revisions before assigning work. Group repeated results around the same underlying problem. Record why an intersection is acceptable if the designers confirm it needs no change; otherwise it can return in the next review without context.

What does a working process look like?

1. Prioritise. Describe the location, affected elements and practical consequence. Decide when an answer is needed against the procurement and construction programme.
2. Assign. Name the person developing the solution and identify the designers, suppliers or trades who need to review it. Give the action a due date.
3. Resolve. Compare the available arrangements with the affected disciplines. Check clearances, access, tolerances and installation sequence alongside the geometric conflict.
4. Update. Identify every model, drawing, schedule or detail affected by the decision. Follow the project's established review and issue process.
5. Verify. Recheck the latest information and record the evidence supporting closure. Reopen an issue if the required change is incomplete.

The coordinator helps the right people reach a decision. Responsibility for design review and approval stays with the parties appointed to perform it. Changing a model does not, on its own, authorise work on site.

When should coordination happen?

Plan reviews at design milestones and before trade procurement, fabrication or installation. Match model exchanges to those dates. Waiting until a package is ready to order can leave little time to resolve a supplier interface or a constrained service route.

Repeat the relevant checks when new specialist information arrives or an agreed design changes. Include equipment access and maintenance space early, rather than relying only on whether the modelled objects intersect.

A checklist for your next coordination review

• Are the model revisions and shared coordinates agreed?
• Does each priority issue explain the location and the decision required?
• Is there one named action owner and a realistic deadline?
• Have the affected designers and trades reviewed the proposed arrangement?
• Are outstanding assumptions or supplier confirmations recorded?
• Which drawings, schedules and models must be revised?
• Has the revised information been issued through the agreed project process?
• Who will check the result before the issue is closed?

Example: a duct route meets a beam

This is an illustrative example, not a report of a particular project. A coordinated model shows a duct intersecting a beam above a corridor. Moving the duct sideways removes the intersection, but may reduce access to an adjacent damper or affect the ceiling arrangement.

The review therefore considers the surrounding services and access needs. The responsible designers assess a revised route, identify any specialist information still needed and agree the affected document updates. The action stays open until the required review and revisions are complete.

This avoids treating a clear screenshot as the only completion test. The final check is whether the current coordinated information supports the agreed arrangement and has reached the people who need it.

What should the issue register record?

Keep the register simple enough to use consistently: issue ID, location, description, relevant model revisions, priority, action owner, due date, status and links to the decision and revised information. Record review comments where they explain an unresolved dependency.

Tools vary. Autodesk's documented workflow includes assignment, status changes, review of updated models and verification before closure. Use the equivalent controls in your chosen platform and agree what each status means for your team.

Need help keeping coordination moving?

Vanguard Freadman / Team Vanguard supports design coordination, BIM/Revit modelling, architectural documentation and project delivery. We can help organise information exchanges, track outstanding decisions and coordinate the inputs needed for the next stage.

Read our introduction to BIM coordination, explore our services or discuss your project with us.

Sources and further reading

• Autodesk — Review and Respond to Issues
• Autodesk — Classify and Manage Clashes