Hi Chet,
All of our detailing is farmed out too, and dealing with some of these outside detailers can be frustrating. Some of these detailers have no clue as to what goes on in a fabrication shop, let alone what we have to go through sometimes to do what they put on the drawings. In addition to that, I have problems with the drawings conforming to AWS and AISC requirements, or they can't seem to remember to put AESS notations on applicable members, etc., etc. I tell them about these things, but they turn right around and do the same things on the next job. I may be going out on a limb here, but does any of this sound familiar?
All shops have somewhat different practices, and like to see things detailed certain ways, and a lot of shops have a detailing standards manual. I wrote our detailing standards, which encompasses practices most economical and efficient for our shop. A copy is sent out to all the detailers we use and they are "required" to apply as much of it to the job as they possibly can. Our manual also includes things such as common welds on items like column base plates (outside of one flange, inside of the other, both sides of the web for a length of half the column depth). It also includes sketches of our standard detail material, such as standard bottom chord stablizer plates for joists and marked j1, (with that OSHA hole), 4" c/c framing angles, marked a1, a2, a3, a4 and so on, (for framing angles) and our standard AISC shear bars marked p2, p3, p4 and so on (for beam to beam, beam to column flange, and beam to pipe and tube column connections). The number in the piece mark indicates the number of holes in the piece. All the angles and plates have short horizontal slots. It's extremely beneficial to have standardized connection material, for several reasons. One reason is that barrels of these can be made in advance, or when the shop guys get caught up, this can be used as fill in work, rather than make them on a job to job basis. The more secondary material can be standardized, the more beneficial it is to the shop. We also have standard base plates made in advance, in thicknesses of either 3/4" or 1", and ranging in squares of 12" x 12", up to 16" x 16", with standard hole patterns with either 1 1/16" or 1 5/16" holes, and standard marks like bp1, bp2, bp3, and so on. The problem is getting the detailers to use the standards and the correct marks. One problem is that if they're doing autocad drawings, and they finish doing drawings for someone else, they sometimes don't take the time to change their program to suit your standards.
Also Chet, are you familiar with or have you checked out the green AISC Manual of Steel Construction's Allowable Stress Design? On page 5-71 under Size and Use of Holes, at 2e, in part it states that "Where long slotted holes are used in an outer ply, plate washers or a continuous bar with standard holes, having a sufficient a size sufficient to completely cover the slot after installation shall be provided", and goes on to state that "the materials shall be of a structural grade, but need not be hardened." "If hardened washers are required, they shall be placed over the outer surface of the plate washer or bar." I am familiar with some of the LRFD requirements, but I don't have a copy. I read your comments about this Table 6.1, and my question is can you tell me if plate washers are required over 1 1/2" slotted holes? Table J3.1 in the green manual defines short and long slots, but shows nothing for slot lengths in between, which without any knowledge of Table 6.1, lead me to call this "in between" area a gray area, and I saw it as a (for lack of a better word), loophole not to use plate washers.