Documents & records
Request for information (RFI)
An RFI is how the field asks the architect or engineer to clarify something before it gets built wrong — a dimension that doesn't add up, two details that contradict each other, 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.
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.
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.
- Punch listThe running list of incomplete or defective work a contractor has to fix before an area is accepted and closed out.
- Submittal registerThe master log that tracks every required submittal, its review status and its due date across the whole job.
- Inspection and test plan (ITP)A document that lays out, activity by activity, what gets inspected or tested, who does it, against which standard, and what record it produces.
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.