Submittal Types and Requirements: Shop Drawings, Product Data, Samples, Mock-Ups, and Review Procedures

Covers the types of construction submittals, the contractor and architect responsibilities in the submittal process, review scope and limitations under AIA A201, submittal scheduling, and the impact of resubmittals and substitutions on project documentation and additional services.

ARE · Project Development & Documentation

Overview

Submittals are the contractor's way of showing how they plan to carry out the design intent. Shop drawings, product data, samples, and mock-ups each serve a distinct purpose in that chain, and the architect's review of them is one of the most consequential responsibilities during construction administration.

Here's the thing that trips up candidates: the architect is NOT checking submittals for accuracy and completeness. Under AIA A201 Section 4.2.7, the review has a limited scope. You're confirming conformance with the design concept expressed in the contract documents. That's it. You're not verifying field measurements, installation instructions, or construction means and methods.

The contractor, on the other hand, bears the obligation to review and approve submittals before sending them to the architect. Under A201 Section 3.12.6, the contractor's submission represents that they have verified materials, checked field measurements, and coordinated the information with the contract documents.

Submittal scheduling matters too. The submittal schedule must coordinate with the construction schedule and account for review lead times, fabrication, and shipping. When submittals are late, resubmittals pile up, or substitutions get proposed after contract execution, all of these events can trigger additional services for the architect and impact project documentation requirements. Recognizing those triggers is a core skill NCARB tests in this objective.

Essential

Construction submittals are the bridge between design documents and built reality. They demonstrate how the contractor intends to execute the architect's design concept. Getting this right is critical for documentation quality, and the ARE expects you to know exactly what each submittal type does, who is responsible for what, and when the submittal process triggers changes to project documentation. ## The Four Main Submittal Types Shop Drawings are drawings, diagrams, schedules, and other data prepared by the contractor, subcontractor, manufacturer, or supplier. They show how specific portions of the work will be fabricated and installed. A structural steel fabricator's connection details or a curtain wall manufacturer's assembly drawings are classic examples. Shop drawings translate design-level information into fabrication-level and installation-level detail. Product Data includes illustrations, standard schedules, performance charts, instructions, brochures, diagrams, and other information furnished by the contractor to illustrate materials or equipment for the work.

Professional

Consider a mid-rise mixed-use project where the structural engineer's design calls for custom steel connections at a cantilevered corner condition. The steel fabricator submits shop drawings showing connection details that differ from the design drawings. The architect's responsibility here is to check whether those shop drawings conform to the design concept. Evaluating the structural adequacy of the connection itself falls to the structural engineer of record. The architect coordinates the review but does not certify the fabricator's engineering. Now consider a scenario where the contractor submits a substitution request for a specified curtain wall system three months after contract execution. The proposed alternative is from a different manufacturer with different mullion profiles and thermal break details. The architect must evaluate whether the substitute meets the performance criteria in the contract documents.

TLDR

Four submittal types: shop drawings (fabrication/installation details), product data (manufacturer literature), samples (physical examples), and mock-ups (full-size assemblies tested on or near site)
Contractor responsibility: must review and approve all submittals before sending to architect, verify materials and field data, coordinate with contract documents (A201 Sections 3.12.5 and 3.12.6)
Architect's review scope is LIMITED: checking conformance with design concept only (A201 Section 4.2.7); NOT checking accuracy, completeness, safety precautions, or construction means/methods
Component approval does NOT equal assembly approval: approving a hinge does not approve the door assembly
Submittal schedule coordinates with construction schedule and must include review lead times, fabrication, and shipping
Resubmittals beyond a specified number can trigger additional compensation for the architect under B101
Substitutions after contract execution require contractor to certify equal/superior performance; architect evaluation may be an additional service
No work on any portion requiring submittal review can proceed until the architect has reviewed it
Government projects use G (government approval), S (sustainability), and information-only classifications
Contractor retains full responsibility for contract compliance even after architect approval of submittals

ELI5

Think of building a house from a recipe book. The recipe (contract documents) tells you what the final dish should look like and what ingredients to use. But before you start cooking, you need to show the head chef (the architect) exactly which brand of flour you're using, how you plan to cut the vegetables, and maybe even make a test batch of the sauce. That's what submittals are. The contractor is saying: "Here's exactly what I plan to use and how I plan to build it. Does this match what you designed?" There are four main types. Shop drawings are like detailed step-by-step instructions showing exactly how something will be built. Product data is the manufacturer's information sheet, like the nutrition label on a food package. Samples are actual physical pieces you can touch and see.

AREProject Development & Documentation

Submittal Types and Requirements: Shop Drawings, Product Data, Samples, Mock-Ups, and Review Procedures

2 min read209 words

Understanding Submittal Types and the Review Process

Want to track your progress and access more study tools?

Create a free account