This post was borrowed from Ralph's weekly per-SPEC-tives email column. If you don't get this weekly writing on all things CSI and specifications, contact Ralph. I'm sure he'll be happy to add you to the distribution!
The title seems
to indicate a rather strange and innocuous discussion. How many clients really
care about submittals on their construction projects? Some will be quite
interested; others will take little if any interest.
Many clients
still see the submittal as the verification of what they will receive on their
project—a “checks and balances” ensuring the true value received for dollar
spent. Some see the submittal as the record of what is placed, for future
reference, maintenance and replacement or trouble shooting. This of course,
really is part and parcel of the Operating and Maintenance Manuals required on
most projects.
Well, a big part
of the answer may lie in the adverse impact of submittals when they disrupt the
project schedule, and completion of the project. Yet there are other considerations.
Some people has professed that submittals are useless, needless and obsolete.
Is that true? Or is there a valid and proper place for submittals—properly
requested, produced, processed, and utilized?
There is need to
address several issues with the Owner, so there is full understanding of all
circumstances surrounding submittals;
- Submittals
will be requested ONLY to ensure that the Contractor[s] understand the
requirements of the contract;
- Only a minimum
number of submittals will be required;
- Requests will
only be required for those submittals containing crucial information;
- The Contractor
is responsible for the “means and methods of construction” and is therefore the primary reviewer of
submittals and their compliance with the
contract documents; erroneous, incomplete, and non-compliant submittals are to
be returned to the preparer by the CONTRACTOR [all in accord with AIA A201,
General Conditions of the Construction Contract];
- The Contractor
is to review all submittals, check for errors, and stamp them with an approval
stamp, PRIOR to submitting them to the design professionals [complies with
A201];
- The design
professionals ARE NOT responsible for an extensive review, not for any information other than pointing out
errors-- NOT correcting them [in accord with A201];
- Reviewed
submittals will be returned in a prompt manner;
- Submittals
sent to the design professionals without proper Contractor review and approval,
will be DISCARDED/Returned with no further action [complies with A201];
- Any schedule
disruption[s] attributable to faulty processing of submittals accrue to the
Contractor [NOT the design professionals].
A conversation,
with the client, on this topic is most important--and strongly urged and
advised. It lays the groundwork for the procedures to be followed on the
project that will ensure compliance with the project requirements and will give
the full value of the work to the client. That context and conversation falls
within the purview of the design professionals.
The Contractor
may well have a very different “take” on submittals and the whole of the
process. AIA Document A201, however, makes the submittals program and process
quite clear and directed. It delineates the responsibilities of the various
parties, and denotes a very specific progression of preparation, processing,
review and approval—by several parties and with certain specific guidelines.
It is most
important that the client be aware of these provisions so the work of the
process will not be a surprise or an irritant to the client. Being made fully
aware of the reason for, the background of, and the inner-working of the
process is important, not so much in the minute details, as in the overall
value and correct operation.
The submittals
program is in place for good reason, and is time tested in the results it
produces. Obviously, it is wrong to obviate or ignore this program for any
reason or changed condition in a project. Of course, the client does have the
right to pursue the project as seen fit-- hopefully this determination does not
involve elimination of this clearly directed and helpful process.
Its value
directly contributes not only to project success, but to value given to the
client!
