Documents & records
Request for information (RFI)
A request for information (RFI) is how the field asks the architect or engineer to clarify something before it gets built wrong. It covers a dimension that doesn't add up, two details that contradict each other, or a spec that doesn't match the plan. It's logged, numbered and tracked, and the written answer becomes part of the contract record. RFIs are how gaps in the documents get resolved on paper instead of in the field by guesswork.
Run it with the Photo Gate
Every checklist in the library runs with the submit button locked until its photos exist.
How it shows up on site
A trade hits an unbuildable or ambiguous condition, the GC writes it up with the question and usually a proposed answer, and it goes to the design team on a clock. Work in that area often pauses or gets flagged until the response comes back. The response can trigger a drawing revision, a submittal change, or a cost and schedule impact.
Why it matters
An RFI answered after the work is installed is an NCR waiting to happen. The value is in the log: an open RFI on a location is a signal not to inspect or accept that work yet, and the answered RFI is the authority the as-built revision traces back to.
Guides that use it
- How to track submittals on a projectBuild and run a submittal register that tracks every shop drawing and product data item from log to approval so no feature starts without the right paper.
- How to write an RFIWrite an RFI that gets a clear, usable answer fast: one specific question, the documents it references, and a proposed answer, instead of a slow round of clarifying questions.
- How to organize as-built drawingsKeep as-built drawings current as the work goes in: red-lining changes as they happen, tracing each to its RFI or change, and backing concealed runs with dated photos.
- How to review a submittalReview a shop drawing or product data submittal against the specification, mark a defensible action, and route it so the right, approved revision reaches the field.
Related terms
- SubmittalThe product data, shop drawings or samples a contractor sends for review to confirm what will be installed matches the spec before it's ordered.
- Nonconformance report (NCR)A formal record raised when installed work does not meet the drawings, specs or an accepted standard, and the plan to resolve it.
- As-built drawingsThe construction drawings marked up to show how the work was actually installed, including every field change from the original design.
- Field observation reportA dated record of what a design or QC professional observed during a site visit, noting conditions, concerns, and items needing action.
- Means and methodsThe contractor's own choices of technique, sequence and equipment to build the work: the how, which the design usually leaves to the builder.
- Contract documentsThe full set of drawings, specifications and agreements that define what has to be built and to what standard: the requirement everything is checked against.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.
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