Submittal Schedule and Tracking: Contractor's Submittal Log, Review Turnaround, Resubmittals, and Project Impact

How the submittal schedule is developed and coordinated with the construction schedule, the contractor's obligations for maintaining the submittal log, review turnaround time expectations, resubmittal procedures, and how submittal delays affect project progress.

ARE · Construction & Evaluation

Overview

The submittal schedule is the contractor's plan for when each required submittal will be prepared, submitted for review, reviewed by the architect, and returned in time for fabrication, delivery, and installation. It is coordinated with the construction schedule to ensure that no work proceeds without reviewed submittals, and that architect review time does not become the bottleneck.

Under A201, the contractor is responsible for developing the submittal schedule. This schedule should be discussed at the preconstruction conference and should include lead times for architect review, fabrication, and shipping. The architect reviews submittals in accordance with the approved submittal schedule; if no schedule exists, the architect reviews with reasonable promptness.

The submittal log (sometimes called the submittal register) tracks every submittal through its lifecycle: submission date, date received by the architect, review action, date returned, and distribution. For items requiring resubmission, the log tracks the resubmittal and its review cycle. This log is a critical project management and legal documentation tool.

Understanding how submittals affect the project schedule is tested on the CE exam because late or poorly managed submittals are among the most common causes of construction delays, and the architect must understand both the contractor's obligations and the architect's own role in keeping the submittal pipeline moving.

Essential

The Submittal Schedule The submittal schedule is developed by the contractor and coordinated with the construction schedule. It identifies every required submittal, its planned submission date, the expected review period, and the date the reviewed submittal must be returned to maintain the construction schedule. Key components of the submittal schedule include: - Submittal identification: Each submittal is assigned a unique number corresponding to the specification section and the sequence of submission - Planned submission date: When the contractor intends to submit each item - Required return date: The latest date the architect must return the reviewed submittal for the contractor to maintain the construction schedule - Lead times: Time required for fabrication, shipping, and installation after the submittal is approved - Critical path items: Submittals that directly affect the construction critical path and cannot be delayed without affecting the completion date The submittal schedule should be discussed at the...

Professional

The submittal schedule is one of the earliest coordination deliverables on a project, yet it is frequently undervalued. A poorly developed submittal schedule creates a cascade of problems: shop drawings arrive in waves that overwhelm the architect's review capacity, critical path items are mixed with non-critical submittals, and the review timeline becomes the default scapegoat for contractor-caused delays. The architect should evaluate the contractor's proposed submittal schedule for realism. Does it account for lead times on long-lead items such as structural steel, elevators, and custom curtain wall systems? Does it distribute submittals evenly across the review period or cluster them in the first few weeks? Does it allow adequate time between the planned review return date and the date the contractor needs the approved submittal to maintain the construction schedule? Under A201 Section 3.

TLDR

The contractor develops the submittal schedule, coordinated with the construction schedule, including lead times for review, fabrication, and shipping. The submittal log tracks each submittal's status: submitted, reviewed, returned, distributed. A201 does not set a fixed review period; 'reasonable promptness' applies when no schedule exists. Resubmittals add time and may entitle the architect to additional compensation under B101. Critical path submittals must be prioritized to avoid extending the project completion date.

ELI5

Imagine you have a huge school project with many parts due at different times. You need to plan when to work on each part so the teacher has time to check it and you still finish on time. If you turn in everything the night before the deadline, the teacher cannot check it all, and you will miss the deadline. That is what the submittal schedule is in construction. The contractor has to send many different documents (shop drawings, product information, samples) to the architect for checking. Each one takes time to prepare, time for the architect to review, and then time for the material to be ordered and delivered. The contractor makes a schedule showing when each document will be sent, when it needs to come back from the architect, and when the material needs to arrive at the construction site.

Overview

Essential

The Submittal Schedule The submittal schedule is developed by the contractor and coordinated with the construction schedule. It identifies every required submittal, its planned submission date, the expected review period, and the date the reviewed submittal must be returned to maintain the construction schedule. Key components of the submittal schedule include: - Submittal identification: Each submittal is assigned a unique number corresponding to the specification section and the sequence of submission - Planned submission date: When the contractor intends to submit each item - Required return date: The latest date the architect must return the reviewed submittal for the contractor to maintain the construction schedule - Lead times: Time required for fabrication, shipping, and installation after the submittal is approved - Critical path items: Submittals that directly affect the construction critical path and cannot be delayed without affecting the completion date The submittal schedule should be discussed at the...

Professional

TLDR

ELI5

AREConstruction & Evaluation

Submittal Schedule and Tracking: Contractor's Submittal Log, Review Turnaround, Resubmittals, and Project Impact

2 min read208 words

Submittal Scheduling: Keeping the Document Pipeline Moving

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