The designer's fundamental responsibility during the design development and construction documentation phases is to gather all necessary information for items being installed, including owner-furnished equipment like existing microwaves. The manufacturer's equipment specifications (or "cut sheet") provide the precise dimensions, clearance requirements, and utility connection locations (e.g., outlet height). By verifying this information directly, the designer can accurately note the required outlet height on the interior elevations and electrical plans. This proactive step ensures the construction documents are correct, thereby preventing installation errors by the contractor.

A. Coordinated the outlet heights with the electrical drawings: This is insufficient because the electrical drawings are created based on information provided by the designer; if that initial information is wrong, the drawings will be wrong.

B. Requested an appliance submittal from the general contractor: Submittals are for new equipment the contractor is providing. The microwaves were existing and being relocated by the tenant, so a submittal would not be part of the process.

C. Scheduled a site walk with the electrical contractor during installation: This is a reactive measure during the contract administration phase. The error should have been prevented proactively during the design and documentation phase by creating accurate drawings.

1. Ballast

D. K. (2022). The Interior Design Reference Manual (7th ed.). Professional Publications

Inc. Chapter 18

"Construction Drawings

" emphasizes that the designer is responsible for showing the location of electrical outlets on the plans and that these locations are determined by the specific equipment being used. The source for this information is the equipment's specifications.

2. Piotrowski

C. M. (2016). Professional Practice for Interior Designers (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 14

"Construction Documents and Specifications

" clarifies the designer's duty to coordinate all project elements

including owner-provided items. It states the designer must obtain the necessary technical information for such items to incorporate into the drawings for the contractor to execute properly.

3. Karlen

M.

& Ben-Ami

A. (2013). Space Planning Basics (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 6

"Developing the Plan

" discusses the integration of equipment and the necessity of using manufacturer's data to ensure utility connections are correctly located and documented in the planning phase.