A shop drawing is produced by the fabricator, the manufacturer or their detailer and shows how a component will be made, assembled and installed. It is prepared from the design drawings and the specification, not in place of them, and carries the detail those documents leave out, cut lengths, hole patterns, weld symbols, material grades, finishes and piece marks, which is what Plumb reads a package for across 14 categories.
The design drawings say what the building needs and where it goes. The shop drawing answers how. A structural sheet may show a beam framing into a column; the shop drawing shows that beam's exact length, its copes, the connection plate, the bolt grade and the shipping mark.
Who makes it: the detailer, in-house or at a detailing firm. Who reviews it: the general contractor first, then the architect or engineer of record, who checks it against the design intent and returns it stamped. That review shifts no responsibility: the design stays with the design team, the fabricator with dimensions, quantities and fit.
How Plumb uses the term
The package, as a PDF, is what a customer uploads; Plumb reads it sheet by sheet and returns a marked-up set, an Excel comment log and an online viewer within 24 hours. See the sample review and how it works.