Submittal

A submittal is documentation the contractor provides to the design team for review and approval before fabricating or installing an element of the work — most commonly shop drawings, product data sheets and physical samples. The submittal process verifies that what the contractor intends to build or purchase actually complies with the contract documents: the architect or engineer reviews each submittal and returns it approved, approved as noted, or revise-and-resubmit. Because long-lead equipment cannot be ordered until its submittal is approved, the submittal schedule directly drives procurement and the construction schedule; a stalled submittal can quietly consume weeks of float. Submittal logs track each item's status, revision cycle and ball-in-court so the team can see what is holding up a release, and they pair naturally with the RFI log in project management software.

Related term: RFI (request for information)