Roles & authorities
Superintendent
Also called: super, site superintendent
The superintendent runs the job in the field for the general contractor: sequencing the trades, keeping the site safe and moving, scheduling the code inspections, and holding the work to the contract standard. They're the person on site making the daily calls about what gets built when and whether it's ready. Their authority over the field and the subs comes from the GC's contract and the company that employs them, so what a super can direct varies with the job.
Why it matters
Quality is won or lost on sequencing, and sequencing is the super's job. Whether the rough-in gets inspected and photographed before drywall closes it, or gets buried under schedule pressure, comes down to how the super plans the week and whether they hold the hold points.
The super is also who requests the building department's inspections and makes sure the work is actually ready when the inspector arrives — a wasted inspection trip is a lost day the super owns.
How it shows up on site
The superintendent walks the work, runs the daily huddles, keeps the daily report, and decides what's ready to cover. On a photo-gated program, the super is the enforcer at the point where it counts: no closing in a wall until the inspection is done and the photos are captured against the checklist.
Checklists that put superintendent to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- General contractor (GC)The contractor who holds the prime construction contract and is responsible for delivering the whole project — trades, means and methods, and completed work.
- Quality control managerThe person responsible for running the project's quality control program — inspections, hold points and the records that prove them.
- Competent person (safety)A designated person capable of identifying hazards in the work and authorized to take prompt action to correct them.
- SubcontractorA specialty contractor hired under the general contractor to perform a defined scope of work, such as electrical, plumbing or drywall.
- Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)The office or official empowered to enforce a code and approve materials, methods and completed work on a given project.
- Engineer of record (EOR)The licensed engineer who stamps a design discipline and stays responsible for its intent through construction.
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.