Submittals, RFIs & Documentation

Welcome

Hello, and welcome. This is Super Structures General Contractors — a national general contractor headquartered in Powhatan, Virginia — here to help you and your clients build something that lasts. We're glad you're with us, and we look forward to connecting with you.

Alright, Submittals, RFIs & Documentation. Don't let the plain title fool you. Here's the part that actually matters on the job: Use submittals to confirm what's installed and RFIs to clarify the design — and document everything; the paper trail protects you. Learn it well and you'll stop paying for tear-outs and start winning the arguments that used to cost you money.

Most disputes are won or lost on documentation, not on who was right. Two processes keep a job clear while it's running — submittals confirm what goes in, and RFIs confirm how — and a steady paper trail records what actually happened. This lesson walks through all three the way a project manager runs them.

Submittals confirm what you will install

Before many products are ordered or installed, the contractor sends a submittal to the architect or engineer for review. The specs (usually Division 01, the submittal procedures section, plus each technical section) say exactly what is required. Common types:

• Product data — manufacturer cut sheets showing the model, finish, rating, and compliance with the spec.
• Shop drawings — fabrication and installation drawings for things like structural steel, rebar, millwork, ductwork, and curtain wall.
• Samples — physical pieces for color, texture, and finish selection.
• Mockups — a built sample of an assembly (a section of brick veneer, a typical hotel room) that becomes the accepted standard for the rest of the job.
• Certifications, test reports, and warranties — proof the product meets the standard named in the spec.

The review comes back with a stamp. Wording varies by firm, but the common outcomes are No Exceptions Taken / Approved, Make Corrections Noted (proceed, incorporate the comments), Revise and Resubmit (not approved, fix and send again), and Rejected. Only the first two let you order and install. One rule never changes: do not order or install before approval. A product installed without an approved submittal is at your risk, and if it is wrong it comes out at your cost.

Review does not shift responsibility. The architect reviews for general conformance with design intent; the contractor is still responsible for dimensions, quantities, means and methods, and coordination with other trades.

RFIs clarify the design in writing

When the drawings are unclear, conflict with each other, or are silent on something the field needs, you send a Request for Information. An RFI creates a record of the question and the official answer, and that answer becomes part of the contract documents.

A good RFI is specific and easy to answer:

• One question per RFI, numbered, with the drawing sheet, detail, and spec section referenced.
• A clear statement of the conflict (for example, "Sheet A-501 shows an 8-inch CMU wall; S-201 shows 12-inch at the same location").
• A proposed answer when you have one. Designers answer a well-framed question faster, and your proposal is on the record.
• A date needed by, tied to when the work is scheduled.
• A note on cost or schedule impact if the answer could change the work, so nobody is surprised when a change order follows.

Keep the tone neutral; the log is read later by people who were not there.

The paper trail that records what happened

• Daily reports — weather, manpower by trade, equipment, work performed, deliveries, inspections, visitors, delays, and safety items. Written the same day.
• Photos — dated and organized by area, especially before anything is covered up.
• Meeting minutes — the weekly owner-architect-contractor (OAC) meeting and sub coordination meetings, with action items and owners. Issue them promptly and state that silence is agreement.
• Logs — submittals, RFIs, change orders, and open issues, each with dates in and out and ball-in-court.
• Transmittals and notices — the written record that something was sent, and formal notice when the contract requires it.

If it isn't written down, it didn't happen.

Going Deeper (Intermediate)

The submittal log is built at the start of the job, not as submittals arrive. Go through every spec section, list each required submittal, assign it to the responsible sub, and set a required submission date that works backward from the install date: install date, minus fabrication and lead time, minus review time, minus a resubmittal cycle. That calculation tells you which submittals must go in during the first weeks of the job.

The RFI log earns its keep in two ways. Day to day, it is a tracking tool: what is open, who has it, and how old it is. Later, it is evidence. If the owner's design team takes four weeks to answer a question that was holding up the critical path, the log shows the dates, and a delay that would otherwise be your problem becomes a documented owner delay.

Build the review cycle into the schedule. Sub to GC to architect to consultant and back takes time — many contracts set a review period such as 10 or 14 days, and a resubmittal starts the clock again.

Advanced / Pro-Level

Where PMs win or lose the schedule:

• The submittal log drives procurement. Long-lead items — switchgear, generators, elevators, structural steel, custom glazing, roof-top units, custom millwork — must be submitted and approved first or their lead time becomes the critical path. Pros run a separate long-lead tracker with submit, approve, release, ship, and deliver dates.
• Substitutions go through a formal substitution request, not a submittal. Slipping an "or equal" through as a product data submittal is how approved-but-wrong products end up on walls.
• RFI discipline — track response time against the contract, escalate at the OAC meeting, and never let the field improvise an answer. When an RFI response changes scope, convert it to a change order request promptly; many contracts limit how long you have to give notice.
• Closeout starts on day one — the same logs, approved submittals, and photos become the record drawings, O&M manuals, and warranty files you need to get retainage released.

Practice Challenge

The switchgear has a 16-week lead time and the job is 20 weeks long. The electrical sub says they will "get the submittal in after they get mobilized." When must the submittal be approved, and what happens if you treat it like any other? (Answer: it has to be submitted in the first week and approved within the first two to three — review time plus 16 weeks of fabrication already consumes almost the entire schedule, so the switchgear is effectively on the critical path from day one; treated as routine, the lead time alone pushes power-on past the finish date and every system that needs permanent power waits with it.)

In Practice

One PM builds the submittal log in the first week, flags the long-lead items, and chases resubmittals every Monday; when a drawing conflict shows up, the RFI goes out the same day with a proposed answer and a need-by date. Another PM waits for subs to send what they send, lets the field "work it out," and finds out at inspection that the installed product was never approved. The first has a paper trail that explains every delay; the second has a tear-out and a memory contest.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Installing or ordering before submittal approval, or treating "Make Corrections Noted" as approval of the uncorrected item
• Forwarding sub submittals without reviewing them for coordination and completeness
• Writing vague, multi-question RFIs with no proposed answer and no date needed
• Skipping daily reports and photos until something goes wrong, then trying to reconstruct them
• Letting the logs lag so nobody knows what is open or who has the ball

Takeaway: Use submittals to confirm what's installed and RFIs to clarify the design — and document everything; the paper trail protects you.

Educational content — not legal, accounting, safety, or contractual advice. Follow your contract's specific procedures and deadlines, your company's policies, and the codes and requirements that apply in your jurisdiction.