The Construction Submittal Process, Step by Step

What submittals actually are

A submittal is the contractor's documentation that the materials, equipment, and fabrication they intend to provide conform to the contract documents. It is the design team's chance to confirm what you plan to install matches what they specified, before money is committed and steel is cut.

They come in a few forms, and the type drives how much review time to expect.

• •Shop drawings: detailed fabrication and installation drawings, common for steel, rebar, millwork, and MEP
• •Product data: manufacturer cut sheets, specifications, and performance data for specified products
• •Samples: physical examples of finishes, colors, and materials for the design team to approve
• •Other: mock-ups, certificates, calculations, and warranties called out in the specs

The review workflow

Submittals move along a predictable path, and a delay at any handoff pushes the whole chain. Knowing each step lets you see where a package is stuck and who is holding it.

• •The subcontractor or supplier prepares the submittal per the specification
• •The GC reviews it for completeness and coordination, then forwards or returns it
• •The architect or engineer reviews against the design and applies a review stamp
• •The stamped submittal comes back down the chain to the sub or supplier
• •Once approved or approved as noted, the material can be ordered or fabrication can start

Approval stamps and what they mean

The review stamp tells you whether you can proceed, and reading it correctly prevents costly missteps. Exact wording varies by reviewer, but the categories are consistent.

Approved or no exceptions taken means proceed. Approved as noted or make corrections noted means proceed while incorporating the marked changes, usually without resubmitting. Revise and resubmit means the package is not acceptable and must be corrected and run through the full cycle again, which is the one that hurts your schedule because it restarts the clock. Rejected means start over. A review stamp generally does not relieve you of responsibility for accuracy or for meeting the contract, so do not treat an approval as a transfer of liability.

Why the submittal log is non-negotiable

A submittal log, or register, lists every required submittal with its spec section, who is responsible, the dates it moved through each step, its current status, and the required-by date. Without it, packages slip silently and you find out only when the field is waiting on material that was never ordered because the submittal was never approved.

The log is also your early-warning system. Sorted by required-by date, it tells you which submittals must move now to protect the schedule. Keeping the submittal log alongside your daily reports and look-ahead schedule in Field PM means the same information that drives the field also flags a stalled submittal before it becomes a stalled crew.

Lead time is where submittals wreck schedules

The real schedule risk is not the review itself but the total lead time: preparation, review cycles, and then fabrication and delivery after approval. For a long-lead item like switchgear, structural steel, elevators, or custom glazing, that total can run months, and the clock does not start until the submittal is approved.

Work backward from the date the field needs the material. Subtract fabrication and delivery time, subtract the review cycle plus a buffer for one revise-and-resubmit, and that is your deadline to get the submittal in. Identify long-lead items at the start of the job and process those submittals first, before the easy ones, because they are the ones that will stop the job if they slip. A single late switchgear submittal can idle an entire electrical crew weeks later, long after anyone remembers the paperwork was the cause.