AI for MEP engineers: coordination and code review on 2D drawings
Helonic is an AI construction drawing analysis platform for MEP engineers who review 2D PDF drawing sets.
MEP engineers use Helonic to check their own sets before they go out. It reads the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection sheets together with structure and architecture, and returns a list of coordination conflicts and code misses, each tied to a sheet and location.
Direct answer. MEP engineers use AI drawing review to find plenum conflicts, clashes with structure, and code clearance misses across the issued 2D PDF set before construction. Helonic flags each finding with the sheet, the location, and the code section where one applies. The engineer still makes every design call and stamps the set.
Where does AI fit in an MEP engineer's workflow?
AI review fits at each point where the MEP set gets checked against other disciplines, from early coordination to submittals.
| Stage | What Helonic checks |
|---|---|
| SD and DD coordination | Plenum depth against the systems drawn through it, mains crossing structure, and equipment rooms too small for their equipment. |
| Before each coordination meeting | A sheet-referenced list of duct, pipe, conduit, and sprinkler conflicts, so the meeting resolves issues instead of finding them. |
| CD QA/QC before issue | Schedules against plans, panel schedules against one-lines, and callouts that point to the wrong detail. |
| Pre-permit code check | IMC, IPC, NEC, NFPA, and energy code items the plan reviewer will look for. |
| Construction administration | Equipment submittals and sub coordination drawings checked against the contract set. |
For submittals, see submittal review, which compares equipment data and shop drawings with the schedules and specs.
What does AI check on MEP coordination drawings?
Helonic checks whether the systems drawn actually fit the space and structure they are drawn in. Each MEP discipline tends to draw its work at the same plenum elevation, and the conflicts only show up when the sections are stacked.
- Plenum stacking. Supply duct, sprinkler mains, conduit racks, and cable tray are stacked against the ceiling-to-structure depth at each corridor and congested zone, so a 36-inch stack in a 24-inch plenum shows up on the drawings, not in the field.
- MEP against structure. Ducts and waste lines routed through beams, columns, or grade beams, and penetrations that never made it onto the structural sheets.
- Rated wall and floor penetrations. Ducts crossing rated assemblies with no fire damper, and pipe or conduit penetrations with no firestopping detail.
- Reflected ceiling plan conflicts. Diffusers, light fixtures, and sprinkler heads drawn at the same location, and heads too close to an obstruction.
- Equipment access and service clearance. Filter pulls, coil pulls, and access doors that the architectural layout does not leave room for.
- Schedules against plans. Equipment in the mechanical, plumbing, or panel schedules that never appears on plan, or plan tags with no schedule entry.
The detail behind these checks lives under clash detection, ceiling coordination, and penetration analysis. For the manual process these replace, see MEP coordination best practices.
Which MEP codes does Helonic check?
Helonic checks the drawn MEP design against the codes below, using the editions and amendments the project's AHJ has adopted.
| Code | What gets checked on the drawings |
|---|---|
| IMC | Ventilation and exhaust rates, equipment access and service clearances |
| IPC | Fixture counts against occupancy, vent terminations, and drainage slope |
| NEC (NFPA 70) | Section 110.26 working space at panels and switchgear, panel schedules against one-line diagrams |
| NFPA 13 | Sprinkler head spacing and obstructions at ducts, lights, and structure |
| NFPA 72 | Smoke detector spacing after ceiling and layout changes |
| ASHRAE 90.1 | Prescriptive items shown on the drawings: equipment efficiency, lighting power density, and controls |
MEP code review is slow because it is thousands of small dimensional checks across an 80-sheet set, not a few big decisions. Helonic runs that volume so the PE spends review time on judgment. Energy code compliance by the performance path still needs an energy model. Helonic checks the prescriptive items visible on the drawings. The full rule list is on code compliance checking, and the electrical clearance rules are explained in NEC panel clearance requirements.
How is this different from BIM clash detection?
Helonic works on the 2D PDF set that gets issued, while BIM clash detection works on a federated model. Many projects never get a full model from every trade, and the 2D documents are the contract documents either way.
Teams with a Navisworks model still use Helonic for the disciplines that were left out of it, and for code checks a clash run does not cover. The tradeoffs are laid out in 2D vs 3D clash detection.
What does an MEP engineer get back?
Helonic returns a ranked list of findings, and each one names:
- The sheet and the location on it.
- The disciplines involved and the conflicting elements.
- The code section, where the finding is a code issue.
- A severity, so the team starts with what costs the most to fix in the field.
Findings can go straight into Procore or Autodesk as RFIs. If you are reading MEP sets for the first time, start with how to read MEP drawings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can MEP engineers use AI?
Which tools help MEP firms add code compliance review?
Can AI check MEP coordination drawings without a BIM model?
Does Helonic check NEC working clearances?
Does Helonic do MEP drafting or design calculations?
When should an MEP engineer run the review?
Manas Gandhi
Co-founder & CTO, HelonicManas is the co-founder and CTO of Helonic, where he leads engineering and AI research for construction drawing analysis. He works directly with structural, MEP, civil, and fire protection engineers to translate the way they review drawings into AI systems that flag the issues that actually matter in the field. Before Helonic, he built machine learning pipelines for technical document understanding and has spent the last several years interviewing licensed design engineers and discipline leads to ground product decisions in real practice rather than industry assumptions.
- AI for technical document understanding
- Cross-discipline coordination workflows
- Code compliance automation (IBC, NEC, NFPA, IPC, IMC, ASCE)
- Structural and MEP drawing review systems
How this page was researched: Code checks reference the IMC, IPC, NEC (NFPA 70) including the Section 110.26 working-space rules, NFPA 13, NFPA 72, and the prescriptive sections of ASHRAE 90.1, run against the editions the project's AHJ has adopted. Coordination examples come from Helonic's review of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection sets checked against structural framing and reflected ceiling plans.
Last reviewed by Manas Gandhi · October 2026