Start with the one-line: confirm each switchboard’s voltage, main bus, and short-circuit ratings, its main and feeder device types, which breakers are drawout, and which have electronic trip units with ground fault or arc energy reduction. Then compare the alignment, rear access, and metering the specification retains with the electrical room plan, the elevations, and the controls drawings.
Assemble the review package
Gather the electrical one-line, the switchboard schedule or elevation, the electrical room plan with clearances, the grounding plan, the feeder schedule showing cable entry, the arc flash and fault current label details, the metering and controls drawings, and the issued Section 26 24 13 with Section 26 20 00 and Section 26 05 73 if it is invoked. Review one switchboard from its incoming source to its largest feeder before assuming another lineup matches.
WBDG publishes UFGS 26 24 13: Switchboards as a public guide-specification reference (accessed October 18, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | Ratings article + one-line + switchboard schedule | Are the voltage, number of wires, main bus rating, and short-circuit rating stated once and consistently, rather than left “as indicated” with nothing indicated? |
| Service entrance use | Ratings and Service Entrance Available Fault Current Label articles + one-line | If the switchboard is service equipment, is it identified that way, and is the available fault current label detail on the drawings? |
| Main and feeder devices | Protective Device article + one-line | Do the device types drawn (power, insulated-case, molded-case breakers, or fusible switches) match the options the issued section keeps? |
| Drawout breakers | Drawout Breakers article + one-line | Are the breakers that must be drawout identified on the one-line or schedule, since the article applies to breakers “as indicated”? |
| Trip units and arc energy reduction | Electronic Trip Units article + one-line | Do the drawings show which breakers have electronic trips, ground fault protection, and the arc energy reduction method the section’s note asks designers to locate? |
| Alignment, access, and room | Construction article + room plan + elevations | Does the rear or front-and-rear alignment the section selects agree with the room plan, with no rear-access lineup drawn against a wall and space shown for any future sections? |
| Metering | Metering article + one-line + controls drawings | Are the meters, current transformers, and any communication to the building controls shown on the one-line and coordinated with the controls section? |
| Labels, grounding, and pad | Arc Flash Warning Label, Grounding, and Foundation for Equipment and Assemblies articles + details | Are the arc flash label detail, the grounding connections, and the housekeeping pad either detailed on the drawings or left to the section’s defaults on purpose? |
Worked example: rear-access switchboard drawn against a wall
Illustrative example: the issued Section 26 24 13 selects a front-and-rear aligned switchboard with rear-accessible load connections. The electrical room plan places the lineup tight to the back wall, and the one-line labels two feeder breakers as drawout while the Drawout Breakers article was deleted from the specification.
Ask the electrical engineer whether the switchboard needs rear access, then either move it off the wall with clearance shown or change the alignment in the specification. Restore or remove the drawout requirement so the one-line and specification agree, and recheck the room’s working space after the change.
Avoid a false conflict
A switchboard drawn as one rectangle on a room plan says nothing about how it is accessed. The alignment and connection choices live in the specification, so check them against the room before the room is fixed.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.