A superseded drawing should no longer be used as it has been revised and a new version is now available.

Superseded drawings are very common amongst construction and engineering projects, and if not managed effectively, cause time delays and additional costs – particularly when working with consultants and sub-contractors.

QDMS provides a simple yet effective way to manage superseded drawings and distribute the latest documents to various recipients.

When a revised drawing is registered into the system, QDMS automatically updates the records and archives any previous drawings into a file history.

Project members should always destroy older versions of drawings or stamp them as ‘superseded’ to reduce the chance on working on a drawing which has been superseded.

Any change to a drawing makes the previous version superseded. However, superseded drawings can often be confused with cancelled drawings so drawing maintenance is an important factor in this process.

In QDMS, all drawings are stored in the Master Document Register and when a revision occurs, the older drawing is filed in the drawing history so that the superseded drawing is not used as the current version. This ensures that all users are working to the latest revision and all drawings are maintained in a secure system for convenience and reference purposes.

There are several drawing control software packages available from QA Software, each with their individual added features. Project and control requirements should be assessed prior to selecting the most suitable drawing control system for your work environment.


QA Software recommends TeamBinder as the web-based document management software solution and QDMS/QTRAK for LAN based access.