MEP drawing QA checklist for Revit: what to check before you issue a sheet

A drawing set goes out with a name on it. QA is the last chance to catch the missing tag, the stale revision, and the disconnected duct before a contractor does. Most offices have a checklist in someone's head or in a spreadsheet nobody updates.

This guide gives the checks in the order that saves the most time, with the Revit command for each. Check the model first, then the views, then the sheet, because a fault in the model shows up in every view. RayCAD places tags in Revit and keeps them aligned and clear of each other. Where a check eats hours on a real project, you will see what RayCAD does about it.

1. Check the model

Systems

1. Go to the Analyze tab.
2. Run Check Duct Systems and Check Pipe Systems.
3. Run Show Disconnects to find open connectors.
4. Fix what they flag. A disconnected system gives wrong flows, wrong system names, and tags that read zero or blank.

Warnings

1. Go to Manage, then Inquiry, then Review Warnings.
2. Sort the list into three groups. Fix what affects schedules, quantities, and tags. Review with the lead what you are unsure about. Accept the rest with a name and a date.
3. Pay attention to duplicate instances and duplicate marks first.

Links

1. Go to Manage, then Manage Links.
2. Confirm every link is loaded and is the current version.
3. Check the link positions. A moved link makes the whole set wrong.

2. Check the views

For every view that goes on a sheet:

1. Open the view and confirm it uses a view template. A view with no template is one nobody set up.
2. Check the scale, the detail level, and the discipline.
3. Check that no temporary hide or isolate is on. The thin blue border in the view is the sign.
4. Check the crop region and the view range. Elements outside the crop do not show.
5. Check the visibility of the categories the sheet needs, in Visibility/Graphics (VG).
6. Check the Annotation Categories tab. Hidden tag categories are a common reason a sheet looks untagged.

3. Check the tags

This is the check that takes the longest, because Revit gives no list of what is missing.

Does every element that needs a tag have one?

1. Duplicate the view, with no detailing.
2. Run Annotate, Tag, Tag All, and select the tag categories the sheet needs.
3. Whatever gets a tag was missing one. Add the tag in the real view, then delete the duplicate.

Do this for ducts, fittings, accessories, air terminals, equipment, pipes, and valves.

Is each tag correct?

• The size matches the model. Click the element and compare.
• The elevation uses the right datum.
• No tag shows a question mark or an empty label.
• The system name or abbreviation is present.
• Units and symbols match the standard.

Do the tags read cleanly?

• No tag covers a fitting, a valve, or another tag.
• No tag sits on a linework crossing.
• Leaders do not cross each other.
• Parallel pipes and ducts have unambiguous tags.
• Text is readable at plot size.

4. Check dimensions and notes

1. Confirm that every dimension shows the measured value, not an overridden one.
2. Check that notes and keynotes match the current spec.
3. Run Annotate, Check Spelling on the view.
4. Check that text and leaders sit clear of linework.

5. Check the schedules

1. Open each schedule on the sheet.
2. Look for blank cells. A blank means a parameter nobody filled in.
3. Sort and spot-check the values against the model.
4. Check that duct and pipe sizes, flows, and equipment marks match the tags.
5. Look for duplicate marks.

6. Check the sheet

1. Fill and check the Project Information. The title block pulls from it.
2. Confirm sheet numbers and names follow your convention.
3. Check the Revisions. Go to View, then Sheet Composition, then Revisions, and confirm the current revision is issued with the right date and description.
4. Check revision clouds against the revision schedule.
5. Check that each view sits on the sheet at the right scale and does not overlap another.
6. Check the sheet index lists every sheet in the set.

7. Check the output

1. Print or export one sheet to PDF and read it at plot size.
2. Check line weights, text sizes, and halftones.
3. Compare the PDF against the last issue. Look for tags that moved or disappeared.
4. Export the full set only when one sheet is right.

What goes wrong with the checklist?

What else breaks when QA is manual?

Time. The tag check alone is hours per project, and it happens at the end, under deadline.

Rework. Each fault found at the end sends someone back through the sheet.

Model changes after QA. A revision after the check can undo it. The checklist is only as current as the last run.

How does RayCAD help with sheet QA?

RayCAD handles the tag side of the checklist. It tags ducts, pipes, fittings, accessories, air terminals, and equipment in the view you select, to your firm's standard, and it places each tag clear of the model and of other tags. A click-saver plugin makes each manual action faster and leaves the checking with you. RayCAD tags the view, and the review panel lists every tag it could not place.

After a model change, RayCAD's Retag tool re-tags the elements you select.

RayCAD does not replace the model, link, schedule, or revision checks. Those stay in Revit.

Try RayCAD in Revit 2021 to 2027, or email us for a demo and free onboarding. For setting up the standard these checks measure against, see how to set up a firm tagging standard. If reviewers mark up the set in Bluebeam, see RayCAD with Bluebeam.

What building a sheet QA script yourself really costs

• Time. Whoever builds and maintains the script is doing software development instead of the billable engineering and drafting work they were hired for.
• The AI loop.With Claude or ChatGPT it becomes an endless loop of “fix this”, “now fix that”. Each fix can break a case that worked before, and nobody on the team owns the code.
• Cost. Hours spent building and maintaining scripts, times your hourly rate, against $200 per month for RayCAD for the whole company.

You can build a sheet QA script, and this page shows how. For production MEPF sheets, RayCAD is the cheaper and safer choice. Try it free for 15 days.