We Only Want Code Checking. What Does That Leave Behind?
Helonic is an AI construction drawing analysis platform for architects, contractors, and plan reviewers deciding whether to buy AI drawing review for code checking only. Code checking is the easiest AI review to justify: a failed plan check costs weeks. So some teams scope the purchase to code and nothing else. That covers the permit, and leaves most of the bid risk on the table.
Direct answer. A code-only pass checks drawings against IBC, NFPA, ADA, and energy rules, and leaves behind the findings that drive most RFIs and change orders: coordination conflicts, dimensions that do not close, schedules that disagree with plans, broken detail callouts, and spec conflicts. Helonic checks code and those in the same run.
What does a code-only pass catch?
- Egress: travel distance, exit width, number of exits, and door swing.
- Fire separations and ratings that the occupancy requires.
- Accessibility clearances, ramps, and toilet room layouts.
- Energy code items that show on the drawings, like envelope values and lighting.
These are what a plan reviewer comments on. How automated checking works, and why the adopted edition matters, is in what is automated code compliance checking.
What does it leave behind?
| Check | Example | What it costs later |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination between disciplines | Duct on M-201 runs through a beam on S-201 | RFI and field rework |
| Dimensions | Dimension string on A-101 adds to 84'-6" against an 85'-0" grid | Layout error or RFI |
| Schedules against plans | Fixture count on P-101 differs from the plumbing schedule | Missed scope in the bid |
| Detail callouts | Callout points to 7/A-502, which does not exist | RFI before the detail can be built |
| Specs against drawings | Roof spec calls for TPO; detail shows modified bitumen | Change order after award |
A set can pass plan check and still carry every one of these. The building department does not check whether the duct fits.
When is code-only the right buy?
When your job ends at the permit. An architect preparing a submission, a plan review consultant, or an owner checking a set before it goes to the building department may only need code. A general contractor pricing and building the set needs the rest. The pre-submission use is in what AI drawing review is for if the AHJ will not accept it, with a checklist in the pre-submittal plan review checklist.
What should a code finding include?
- The code and the edition your jurisdiction adopted.
- The section the finding relied on.
- The sheet and location of the condition.
- What the drawing shows against what the section requires.
Ask for these on your own set during the pilot, following how to pilot AI drawing review software. Coverage across code and coordination is one of the criteria in what to look for in an AI construction drawing review platform.
How does Helonic handle code and coordination?
One run covers both. Code compliance and egress findings sit next to dimensional verification, clash, schedule, and spec findings, each boxed on the sheet for a reviewer to keep or dismiss.
Practitioner insight
“We bought it for plan check and it did that fine. Then the GC found the plumbing schedule didn't match the plans, and that one cost more than the resubmittal would have.”
Conversations with architects who scoped an AI review purchase to code compliance before permit submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a code-only drawing review miss?
When is code-only review the right purchase?
What should a code-checking tool tell you about each finding?
Does Helonic only check code?
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
Last reviewed by Manas Gandhi · November 2026
Related Reading
What Is Automated Code Compliance Checking?
Which codes can be checked automatically, and the wrong-edition trap.
Read moreThe AHJ Will Not Accept an AI Review. What Is It For?
Pre-submission checks that cut plan check comments.
Read moreWhat Does a Clash-Only Pass Miss?
The other single-check purchase, and its gaps.
Read more