Basis of design and criteria
Project requirements, owner standards, applicable references, system boundaries, assumptions, field inputs, and acceptance criteria organized before production starts.
RCDD-led contract-document coordination
Division 27 telecommunications design that aligns drawings, specifications, and scope.
Coordinated communications contract documents for A/E firms, general contractors, design-builders, and building owners. The work connects technical requirements to plans, schedules, details, testing, and named responsibility boundaries.
Drawings and specifications developed as one package.
The exact issue set follows the project phase and contract. Each deliverable is included, excluded, or assigned in writing before the team relies on it.
Section map and specifications
A project-specific Division 27 section index, edited technical requirements, drawing-to-specification cross-checks, and coordination with front-end and related divisions.
Telecommunications drawings
Plans, pathways, backbone risers, telecom-room layouts, rack elevations, details, keyed notes, and interfaces developed to the contracted project phase.
Schedules, testing, and closeout
Cable, equipment, and labeling schedules plus submittal, testing, record-document, training, warranty, and closeout requirements when included in scope.
Bid and construction support
Bid questions, addenda inputs, submittal and RFI review, design clarifications, change evaluation, and closeout review against the issued design intent.
QA and issue control
A coordinated review of drawings and specifications, tracked comments, named review gates, controlled revisions, and recorded open items before each issue.
Drawings answer where and how. Specifications answer what, how well, and what proves it.
Neither document should be treated as boilerplate. Coordination checks the same system, product, test, label, and responsibility across every place it appears.
Spatial and system intent
Locations, routes, topology, quantities, relationships, mounting, room layouts, elevations, keyed details, and discipline interfaces.
Quality and execution intent
Products, performance, substitutions, submittals, installation, testing, labeling, training, warranty, record documents, and closeout.
Conflict control
The QA review looks for mismatched media, counts, section references, product criteria, testing language, responsibilities, and drawing notes before the package is issued.
There is no universal trade split for Division 27.
The project manual assigns the work. This matrix is a coordination checklist, not a substitute for the architect’s, engineer’s, owner’s, or contractor’s contractual responsibilities.
| Interface | Division 27 design intent | Coordination decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Cabling topology and outlets | Division 27 drawings and schedules commonly define locations, media, topology, quantities, and termination intent. | Confirm owner IT standards, equipment assumptions, final device needs, and installer field verification. |
| Pathways and sleeves | Show route intent, capacity, service entrances, telecom-room interfaces, and coordination requirements. | Assign conduit, tray, sleeves, supports, penetrations, and installation scope to Division 26, 27, or another trade. |
| Power and environment | Document ICT equipment needs, loads, receptacle locations, redundancy assumptions, and room criteria. | Electrical and mechanical disciplines design their systems and confirm capacity, cooling, controls, and emergency-power requirements. |
| Grounding and bonding | Define the telecommunications bonding topology, connection points, labels, and ICT-side requirements. | Coordinate the grounding electrode system, electrical safety requirements, pathway bonding, and installer responsibility. |
| Firestopping and seismic restraint | Identify rated penetrations, support criteria, and project requirements that affect communications work. | The design team and project manual assign engineered details, special inspection, delegated design, and installation responsibility. |
| Security, AV, and electronics | Include only systems explicitly assigned to the Division 27 ICT scope and show known interfaces. | Confirm whether each system belongs in Division 27, Division 28, another consultant package, or owner-furnished work. |
Remote workflow, controlled inputs
The specification basis starts with the actual project.
Remote delivery works when current backgrounds, owner standards, procurement requirements, equipment assumptions, and a field-verification plan are named before they affect the contract documents.
Inputs identified in the proposal:
- Project manual, owner standards, drawing standards, and issue requirements
- System program, network and equipment assumptions, and growth criteria
- Existing-condition records, photographs, measurements, scans, or video walks
- Architectural and MEP backgrounds with named coordination milestones
- Review cycles, native-file needs, bid support, and construction-phase services
Five controlled steps from section map to closeout.
The depth changes by project phase, but the sequence keeps drawings, specifications, decisions, and revisions tied to the same design basis.
Collect the controlling inputs
Review the project manual, owner standards, available backgrounds, system program, drawing conventions, schedule, and jurisdictional requirements.
Build the section and responsibility map
Identify the required Division 27 sections, related divisions, drawing deliverables, delegated work, and every interface that needs a named owner.
Develop drawings and specifications together
Coordinate notes, details, products, schedules, testing, submittals, and closeout language at the same review milestones.
Run the issue-level QA check
Compare drawings, specifications, criteria, and comment logs; resolve contradictions or carry a clearly identified open item.
Support bidding and construction
When scoped, answer questions and review submittals, changes, testing, and closeout records against the issued contract intent.
Standards and owner specifications inform the work; they do not replace project decisions.
These official sources illustrate the standards layer and how public owners publish their own requirements. Applicable editions and contract requirements must be confirmed for each project.
TIA-569 Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces
TIA’s official standard page for telecommunications pathways and spaces.
BICSI Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual
BICSI’s official source for the current TDMM and distribution-design guidance.
Wisconsin DOA Division 27 revision history
A public-owner example showing that communications master specifications are maintained and revised over time.
Pinellas County Section 27 10 00
A public-owner structured-cabling section illustrating project-specific products, execution, testing, and closeout requirements.
Credential boundary
RCDD review covers the agreed ICT design responsibility. It does not replace a licensed PE, architect, code official, or the contractor's obligation to verify field conditions and perform the work correctly.
Division 27 design FAQ
Set the package boundaries before the documents become contractual.
Need the drawing side in more detail? Review the dedicated structured cabling design service. For room-specific layouts and interfaces, see telecom room design.
Division 27 is the communications division in the CSI MasterFormat framework. On a building project, it commonly organizes requirements for telecommunications pathways, spaces, cabling, grounding and bonding, identification, testing, and related communications systems. The project manual and owner standards determine the actual section list and scope.
Drawings typically communicate locations, routing, topology, quantities, interfaces, and details. Specifications define products, quality, execution, testing, submittals, and closeout requirements. A coordinated package makes the two say the same thing and identifies which document governs if a conflict remains.
An RCDD can develop or review Division 27 content within an agreed ICT design scope. The credential does not replace any architect, professional engineer, code official, or other licensed professional required by the project jurisdiction or contract.
Sometimes, but not universally. A project may place these systems in Division 27, Division 28, another division, or an owner-furnished package. The responsibility matrix should identify the location of each system before drawings and specifications are developed.
The project team must assign power, pathways, sleeves, grounding and bonding, supports, firestopping, and equipment interfaces. Those boundaries vary by contract, so the design should name the responsible discipline and show the required interface rather than assume a universal split.
Yes, when the engagement has controlled backgrounds, owner standards, system requirements, and a defined method for field-verified inputs. Existing conditions can be documented by a named site party using measurements, photographs, markups, scans, or a structured video walk.
Yes. A review can compare drawings, specifications, schedules, owner standards, and responsibility assignments, then record conflicts, omissions, assumptions, and decisions in a traceable comment log. The proposal defines whether comments are advisory or incorporated into revised deliverables.
Pricing depends on project phase, building area and complexity, systems included, background quality, drawing and specification count, coordination demands, review cycles, schedule, field-input plan, and construction-phase support. ICT Design Partners scopes those variables before offering a fixed-fee proposal.
Need a Division 27 package scoped?
Send the project phase, location, available backgrounds, project manual, owner standards, drawing and specification count, schedule, and required RCDD role. You'll get a direct fit assessment and a clear next step.