Hi Doug,
Columns can also be short by reasons other than saw operator error too. I have had detailers that figured the wrong bottom of base plate elevations, or was given the wrong elevations by the engineer, that caused us to splice many columns that were, in turn, detailed too short.
Do you get the shop to splice a piece on that is least a foot or more to make it easier to UT the joint, when the splice only needs to be a couple inches (particularly when the splice is at the base plate end of the shaft)?
John Wright