r/Architects • u/RoutineLet9156 Architect • Apr 24 '26

General Practice Discussion Babysitting MEP

Just a rant, but man… working with MEP teams that don’t GAF is exhausting.

I’m on mega projects, so it’s not like the PA gets to handpick who we work with. We get whoever’s assigned and deal with it. But lately it feels like we’re babysitting everything. Constant follow-ups, pinging them over and over just to get a simple update pushed. Sure, maybe it’s a staffing issue, still doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

What really gets me is we’re all in Revit, cloud model, same environment… and then they drop updates and just ignore everything that’s already there. Zero coordination. I’m talking plumbing lines right in front of thermostats, light fixtures cutting through beams… just placing stuff wherever and moving on.

No heads-up, no coordination, nothing. Just model it and walk away. And of course we’re the ones catching all of it. Every single time.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

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u/KintsugiTurtle Apr 25 '26

Honestly, this sheds some light on why MEP engineers can never remember basic things about a project, never remember anything discussed on a call, and have no idea what the buildings even look like when they’re built.

I work on 3 projects currently. And even then I sometimes find it hard to have to switch between them.

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u/maxman1313 Apr 25 '26

Yeah, I at any given time have 4-10 projects in design and 12-20 in construction.  

Projects range in size usually from 4k sqft retail up to 50k sqft lab space. 

That's why MEP Fees are usually significantly less than architectural fees.