RFIs and submittals

1. Start it.

   Select New RFI. On the company-wide page, pick the Job first. The RFI gets the next number on the job.

2. Ask the question.

   Enter the Subject and the Question. Under What we suggest, give your own answer if you have one; it is often the quickest way to theirs.

3. Say who it is to, and by when.

   Choose To from the job's contacts, or Someone not on the job's contacts and type Their name. Set Answer needed by, and add the Spec section and Drawing or sheet.

4. Save or email.

   Select Save as draft, or Save and email to open the email straight away.

Attach sketches or photos under Files with Attach a file. To pick the engineer from a list and have their email filled in, add them to the job's Contacts first.

On the phone, a foreman opens the job, taps RFIs, then Ask an RFI: the Subject, the Question, photos, and Who answers it (optional). Send it marks it sent; without a name, it's kept as a draft for the office to finish and email.

Open the RFI and select Email it…. Emailing a draft sends it: it's marked sent, and the answer is due back from then. The email carries the RFI as a PDF (the question, your suggestion, the references, the list of attached files and a space for the response) and a link to answer it.

The reviewer needs no account. The link opens the question; they write Your answer, give Your full name and Your title, type Your signature, check the statement and select Send the answer. The answer lands on the RFI, signed, and you are told. Every email sent is listed under Sent.

An answer from the link is recorded for you. For one that came another way:

1. Enter it.

   Open the RFI and, under Answer, enter The answer as it was given, Answered by and On. Attach their letter under Files.

2. Say whether it changes the cost or the time.

   For Cost impact? and Schedule impact?, choose Yes, No or Not said, and say How if either is yes. Select Record the answer.

3. Start a change order if it does.

   Under Change order, a project manager selects Start a change order for a draft titled from the RFI, or Link an existing change order.

4. Close it.

   Select Close when nothing more is needed. Reopen brings it back; Void withdraws it.

When an answer is recorded, the person who asked and the project managers are told. The RFI's History keeps every step.

The log shows each RFI with who it is to, the Ball in court, when it is due, its status and how many Days it has been open. Late rows are marked in red, and rows where the ball is in your court in amber. Filter with Showing, Ball in court and Overdue only.

Each morning, an RFI past its due date sends a notice to the person who asked and to the project managers. The home page lists them under Waiting on RFIs and submittals.

1. Add it.

   Select New submittal and enter the Title, Spec section, Kind (product data, shop drawing, sample, mix design, certificate, test report or other), From (supplier or sub), Reviewer, Needed on site and Due back. Select Save as draft. It gets the next number on the job.

2. Attach the documents.

   Open it and attach the product data or drawings under Files. Attach them first: their names go on the transmittal.

1. Send it.

   Under The transmittal as a PDF, select Email…. Emailing sends a draft, and the email carries a link for the reviewer to stamp it. For one sent another way, select Mark as sent. The ball passes to the reviewer and the status becomes Under review.

2. The stamp comes back.

   From the link, the reviewer chooses Your stamp, adds notes, gives their name and title, types their signature and selects Send the stamp; it lands on the submittal, signed, and you are told. For a stamp that came another way, choose the Reviewer’s stamp under What came back: Approved, Approved as noted, Revise and resubmit, Rejected or For record. Enter Their notes and Came back on, and select Record the stamp. The project managers are told.

3. Resubmit if needed.

   For revise and resubmit, or rejected, select Resubmit as Rev with the next number. A new draft revision is made, linked to the earlier one under Revisions.

The log marks submittals late back in red, and those due back this week or waiting on you in amber. Each morning, a submittal under review past its due-back date sends a notice to the person who wrote it and the project managers.

• The Submittal log, on a job's Submittals view, prints every submittal on the job and where it stands, with late ones marked. Select Download PDF or Email….
• The transmittal as a PDF, on each submittal, lists the files enclosed, earlier revisions, and boxes for the reviewer's stamp and signature.

A look-ahead ready check can name a submittal or an inspection, and checks itself off when that submittal is approved or the inspection passes. The submittal then shows what it is holding up in the log, such as "Holding up: Storm line A1000–A1900, week of Nov 9", so the one to chase is plain. See The look-ahead for setting up ready checks.