RFIs and Submittals at Scale: Workflows That Keep Projects Moving

Ask any superintendent what slows a job down, and you’ll hear about the electrician waiting on an answer about a wall penetration, or the storefront package still sitting with the architect three weeks after it was sent. Individually, RFIs and submittals look like paperwork. Collectively, they decide whether crews keep working or stand around.

On a large project, the volume adds up fast. Hundreds of RFIs and well over a thousand submittal items are common on commercial work, each one passing through several hands before it closes. When those items live in email chains and a shared spreadsheet, it only takes a few slow responses to push the schedule.

Start with a submittal register you can trust

The best submittal process begins before the first package is due. Build the register directly from the specifications so every required item is captured, then assign each one a responsible subcontractor, a reviewer and a required-by date tied to procurement and installation. Working backward from when material needs to be on site exposes long-lead items early, which is where most submittal delays actually cause damage.

Without this step, teams discover missing submittals when the material is already late.

Write RFIs that get answered

A vague RFI invites a vague answer, or a follow-up question that adds another week. Good RFIs share a few habits:

• They ask one clear question.
• They reference the exact drawing, detail or specification section.
• They include photos, markups or model views showing the condition.
• They suggest a solution when the team has one.
• They state the schedule impact if the answer is late.

That last point matters. Design teams prioritize what they understand to be urgent.

Keep everything connected to the documents

RFIs and submittals become far easier to manage when they’re linked to the drawings and models they reference. A reviewer can see the condition in context. A foreman in the field can open a sheet and immediately see the open RFIs on that area. When an answer changes the design, the affected sheets can be flagged so nobody builds from outdated information.

Separate systems break those links, and that’s usually where costly mistakes begin.

Make ball-in-court visible

Every item should show exactly who owns it right now and when it’s due. Automated reminders help, but visibility helps more. A weekly review of overdue items, grouped by responsible party, turns vague frustration into specific conversations. Many teams find that simply sharing an aging report with the design team shortens response times.

Track the numbers that matter

Average response time, overdue items, resubmittal rates and RFIs per drawing area reveal patterns. A high resubmittal rate from one subcontractor points to a training or quality issue. A cluster of RFIs in one area of the building often signals a coordination gap worth addressing before it spreads.

The bottom line

RFIs and submittals will never be glamorous, but they’re one of the clearest levers a project manager has over schedule risk. Structured registers, well-written questions, connected documents and visible accountability keep information moving at the pace of construction. Teams that get this right spend less time chasing answers and more time building. And because every item is documented in one place, they also walk into closeout and any dispute with a complete record of what was asked, answered and approved.