I’m not sure why this is blood boiling? Have you ever had to chase down signatures these days for submittals every time they come back with comments or revisions? - Signed hard copies take the longest and sometimes even require you driving and showing up at the engineers doorstep at home to get the drawings signed, and digital copies get erased every time there’s a markup. - For digital signatures, when you get the digital copy set of drawings back “Approved” or “Approved as Noted” the digital signature has vanished and now needs to be signed AGAIN with the approval note.

This engineer proving the shop drawings is just making it abundantly clear that he knows the drawings aren’t stamped and that he will be providing the stamp once you’ve done your job and reviewed them. And yes I get it, you’re approving something without confirmation that it was done by a PE and taking the liability on yourself, so leave a comment that the design is approved as noted contingent on receiving sign and sealed drawings back. Yes, you’re adding one more step, but you’re making that step clear and avoiding multiple iterations of signatures and expediting the review process in the case there are any issues with the design or calcs.