Submittal
A submittal is documentation a contractor provides for review before fabrication or installation — product data, samples, or shop drawings — showing that what will be supplied meets the specification.
Also written as submittals, product submittal.
Last updated
Reviewed by Eric Collin · President and Founder of Firmo Construction, 20+ years in preconstruction and bid evaluation
The process and its timing are set in Division 01: what must be submitted, in what form, how many copies or in what system, how long review takes, and what happens when something is rejected and must be resubmitted.
Its purpose is to catch a mismatch on paper rather than on site. A product data sheet showing an air handler that does not fit the mechanical room is a scheduling problem; the same unit delivered is a much more expensive one.
The cost of the process is routinely underestimated at bid. Assembling submittals, tracking review cycles, and handling resubmittals consumes project management time, and a specification requiring extensive samples, mock-ups, or third-party calculations consumes considerably more. That effort belongs in the estimate.
Review durations belong in the schedule for the same reason. Every long-lead item has a submittal review in front of its fabrication, and a schedule that shows the lead time but not the review that precedes it is short by weeks before work has begun.
- Shop drawings
Shop drawings are detailed drawings prepared by a contractor, fabricator, or supplier showing how a specific element will actually be fabricated and installed.
- General requirements
General requirements are the Division 01 specification sections that set the administrative and procedural rules of a contract — submittals, meetings, closeout, quality control, and site conduct.
- Request for information
A request for information is a formal written question from a contractor to the design team seeking clarification of something the contract documents do not resolve.
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