I'm considering the switch from hard copy to digital submittals: requiring general contractors to submit product data one pdf of instead of multiple paper copies of each product. Product samples, though, would still be submitted through mail, in the traditional method.
Have you accepted electronic submittals before, throughout the entire construction administration phase? What are the drawbacks of the switch, if any? What extra planning would be involved?
There is one interiors general contractor in the local market, that I know of, that does digital submittals. They tout this as an environmentally sustainable practice.
My take is that digital submittals will increase the level of expectation for the reviewers: GC to architect: "Hi, the sub just uploaded the submittals. Can you download and review them within the next two hours? We need your approval so they can start fabricating today." The process seems like it would allow for more pass-through submittals that aren't even opened/looked at/coordinated by the GC before they come to you. As much as we want to be team players, we just can't work like that.
But let's say the GC thoroughly reviews and comments on the submittals before uploading them, then gives you the customary 2 weeks for review. Okay, that's good. Digital submittals can reduce the transit time (hopefully to give you more time to review them), and it is also beneficial when multiple offices need to review the submittals concurrently (such as the architect and structural engineer).
My guess is that programs like Constructware and Primavera (do they still exist?) have the capabilities to manage such a submittal system. They can give real-time updates of who is reviewing what and when the due dates occur.
Good luck if you choose to implement this. It will be helpful for you to have ground rules about expectations to protect yourself and to make sure everyone in the process is on-board.
Yeh I agree with JW ...I get submittals via email when the contractor needs something in a rush.. so with the 100% digital submittals i can def. see some contractors who are not on top of there stuff forgetting to submit something in time then uploading the submittals and expecting them reviewed right away.
Depending on your filing system the submittals would need to be printed at your office costing you/your company money. Unless of course you keep a thorough record of printing to charge the client ..but not many offices do.
On the other hand it saves the client alot of $$$$... every submittal that I submit back to the contractor costs more than 40$ via fedex totaling 80$ both ways.
OF - Thanks for your post. That seems to be a very reasonable approach to E-docs. Some (maybe many) would call you advanced.
From the Contractor's side, we are in the process of switching to an e-doc system. I had never heard of attolist before, but had been evaluating New Forma and Submittal Exchange. Constructware seems to be in trouble, so we are not considering it.
Regarding the review of submittals. Our estimators use the large 21" monitors so they can use the drawings electronically for take offs. It is hard to review drawings on anything smaller than that. Even then it is a slightly different skill than reading a paper set that requires training and practice.
If you consider the time and money spent in shipping hard copies alone, you will realize the benefits of using an e-doc system. Procrastination and poor submittal management by either party should not be an issue when considering e-doc versus the traditional submittal process.
Above and beyond all, if there are canned spec's with stupid submittal requirements have the cajones to eliminate them. A sample of vapor barrier seam tape? Really?
We tried to do this on a medium sized office building. After the steel package coming from the fabricator to the GC to the arch to struct to arch again to the GC and back to the fabricator, costs add up. 6 times in the mail amounted to about $400 shipping. Not to mention the two follow-up submittals due to comments.
So, we proposed digital submittals. The GC appreciated the idea, but squashed it based on the fact that his subs wouldn't do it. And he's not going to scan in their submittals, nor is anyone else in his office. Shipping is reimbursable, scanning is overhead. But, we scan them here for record purposes and the ease of looking it up later.
I'm sure more savvy GCs are open to this or have made the switch. We bring it up at every project and write it into our Div 1 specs, but haven't had any takers.
I read a concern is the GC demanding a faster turn around. And it may be very well justified. We write in a standard 10 day turnaround, but 2-4 days of that is lost due to mailing. It may be best to state a 5-7 turnaround, instead.
10 day turnaround, increasing if consultants need review seemed standard at offices i've worked for.
but the digital submission thing is tricky. i usually end up printing them out on our end (i hate reading specs/msds/etc on computer), so i haven't seen any savings in time, paper or money.
Even if you end up printing a copy on your end, do you end up sending that hardcopy back to the contractor? or do you scan it and email it back to them with any markups??
Seems like even if you just emailed these things back and forth it would save mailing/courier costs??
Just started CA on a small project and the contractor asked me how many copies of a submittal we wanted. Typically we ask for two copies in addition to the number the contractor wants back. That way we keep one and we have one to give to a consultant if required. Seems like having one digital copy of the submittal and then a digital copy of any mark ups would simplify the whole thing. With the ability to easily scan something in color and email it, the idea of having mulitple hardcopies seems archaic.
Don't do it. You'll inevitably loose track of some submittals. File sizes are often enormous. Additional time and money to do your own printing (which often doesn't end up being reimbursed unless you're the most proficient invoice monkey around, highly unlikely). Contractors stupidly often send large drawings this way when everyone knows you can't review a large drawing without printing it. Then some contractors will claim they sent you the files but for some reason it doesn't go through (perhaps bounced email) but they have a record of the email as if you should have received it and you look like you're the incompetent one. It just complicates things.
I always reject submissions unless there are 3 hard copies submitted. One for me, one for my consultant, and one for the contractor.
I used to like digital copies till I added up all my additional overhead costs associated with printing and all the additional processing time it takes to deal with the submission. It's just not worth it. There are reasons why the universal standard is hard copy submissions.
I believe if this is to work you would have to use a FTP site that tracks when things are posted, who posted it, etc. etc. You would also have to keep a paper copy of everything so you would have to track your printing costs. I believe there is software out there that can track your printing costs for each project you work on (or atleast there should be). I think if these two major things are covered it would be worth it.
If you are interested in streamlining your construction submittal process or have tried a digital approach but have run into some of the roadblocks mentioned previously in this thread, please visit our website at www.submittalexchange.com
Six years ago I was a frustrated architect, similar to many of you, who couldn't understand why the firm I worked at was wasting so much time & money shuffling paper submittals when we were supposed to be technology-savvy and environmentally-friendly. After spending a lot of time looking for architect and construction-friendly solutions to the problem, and not finding any that really met my needs or understood the construction process, I started my own.
Today the Submittal Exchange website solution has thousands of users and projects nationwide utilizing it, with a tremendous amount of positive feedback from architects, contractors, and owners alike. We also have a large team of people whose job is to help you implement the solution and improve your processes in the quickest, most efficient manner possible.
Architerp: it sounds like you are having trouble getting your contractors on board with a digital process. Please email me at [email protected] or call our team at 1-800-714-0024 x1 and we can walk you through how to fix this. On projects using Submittal Exchange, we typically have 90-95% participation from ALL of the subcontractors (and we provide a scanning network that can digitize paper copies from the remaining 5%). Why? Because our system is intuitive and easy to use, we provide hands-on training to the contractors & subs to show them exactly what to do, and our staff has a ton of experience in doing this. Give us a try on your next project and I'm certain we can get you going with a digital submittal process.
Jul 25, 09 11:55 am ·
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how to streamline construction submittals process?
I'm considering the switch from hard copy to digital submittals: requiring general contractors to submit product data one pdf of instead of multiple paper copies of each product. Product samples, though, would still be submitted through mail, in the traditional method.
Have you accepted electronic submittals before, throughout the entire construction administration phase? What are the drawbacks of the switch, if any? What extra planning would be involved?
Thank you for any help.
There is one interiors general contractor in the local market, that I know of, that does digital submittals. They tout this as an environmentally sustainable practice.
My take is that digital submittals will increase the level of expectation for the reviewers: GC to architect: "Hi, the sub just uploaded the submittals. Can you download and review them within the next two hours? We need your approval so they can start fabricating today." The process seems like it would allow for more pass-through submittals that aren't even opened/looked at/coordinated by the GC before they come to you. As much as we want to be team players, we just can't work like that.
But let's say the GC thoroughly reviews and comments on the submittals before uploading them, then gives you the customary 2 weeks for review. Okay, that's good. Digital submittals can reduce the transit time (hopefully to give you more time to review them), and it is also beneficial when multiple offices need to review the submittals concurrently (such as the architect and structural engineer).
My guess is that programs like Constructware and Primavera (do they still exist?) have the capabilities to manage such a submittal system. They can give real-time updates of who is reviewing what and when the due dates occur.
Good luck if you choose to implement this. It will be helpful for you to have ground rules about expectations to protect yourself and to make sure everyone in the process is on-board.
Yeh I agree with JW ...I get submittals via email when the contractor needs something in a rush.. so with the 100% digital submittals i can def. see some contractors who are not on top of there stuff forgetting to submit something in time then uploading the submittals and expecting them reviewed right away.
Depending on your filing system the submittals would need to be printed at your office costing you/your company money. Unless of course you keep a thorough record of printing to charge the client ..but not many offices do.
On the other hand it saves the client alot of $$$$... every submittal that I submit back to the contractor costs more than 40$ via fedex totaling 80$ both ways.
OF - Thanks for your post. That seems to be a very reasonable approach to E-docs. Some (maybe many) would call you advanced.
From the Contractor's side, we are in the process of switching to an e-doc system. I had never heard of attolist before, but had been evaluating New Forma and Submittal Exchange. Constructware seems to be in trouble, so we are not considering it.
Regarding the review of submittals. Our estimators use the large 21" monitors so they can use the drawings electronically for take offs. It is hard to review drawings on anything smaller than that. Even then it is a slightly different skill than reading a paper set that requires training and practice.
If you consider the time and money spent in shipping hard copies alone, you will realize the benefits of using an e-doc system. Procrastination and poor submittal management by either party should not be an issue when considering e-doc versus the traditional submittal process.
Above and beyond all, if there are canned spec's with stupid submittal requirements have the cajones to eliminate them. A sample of vapor barrier seam tape? Really?
We tried to do this on a medium sized office building. After the steel package coming from the fabricator to the GC to the arch to struct to arch again to the GC and back to the fabricator, costs add up. 6 times in the mail amounted to about $400 shipping. Not to mention the two follow-up submittals due to comments.
So, we proposed digital submittals. The GC appreciated the idea, but squashed it based on the fact that his subs wouldn't do it. And he's not going to scan in their submittals, nor is anyone else in his office. Shipping is reimbursable, scanning is overhead. But, we scan them here for record purposes and the ease of looking it up later.
I'm sure more savvy GCs are open to this or have made the switch. We bring it up at every project and write it into our Div 1 specs, but haven't had any takers.
I read a concern is the GC demanding a faster turn around. And it may be very well justified. We write in a standard 10 day turnaround, but 2-4 days of that is lost due to mailing. It may be best to state a 5-7 turnaround, instead.
10 day turnaround, increasing if consultants need review seemed standard at offices i've worked for.
but the digital submission thing is tricky. i usually end up printing them out on our end (i hate reading specs/msds/etc on computer), so i haven't seen any savings in time, paper or money.
Holtz,
Even if you end up printing a copy on your end, do you end up sending that hardcopy back to the contractor? or do you scan it and email it back to them with any markups??
Seems like even if you just emailed these things back and forth it would save mailing/courier costs??
Just started CA on a small project and the contractor asked me how many copies of a submittal we wanted. Typically we ask for two copies in addition to the number the contractor wants back. That way we keep one and we have one to give to a consultant if required. Seems like having one digital copy of the submittal and then a digital copy of any mark ups would simplify the whole thing. With the ability to easily scan something in color and email it, the idea of having mulitple hardcopies seems archaic.
Don't do it. You'll inevitably loose track of some submittals. File sizes are often enormous. Additional time and money to do your own printing (which often doesn't end up being reimbursed unless you're the most proficient invoice monkey around, highly unlikely). Contractors stupidly often send large drawings this way when everyone knows you can't review a large drawing without printing it. Then some contractors will claim they sent you the files but for some reason it doesn't go through (perhaps bounced email) but they have a record of the email as if you should have received it and you look like you're the incompetent one. It just complicates things.
I always reject submissions unless there are 3 hard copies submitted. One for me, one for my consultant, and one for the contractor.
I used to like digital copies till I added up all my additional overhead costs associated with printing and all the additional processing time it takes to deal with the submission. It's just not worth it. There are reasons why the universal standard is hard copy submissions.
I believe if this is to work you would have to use a FTP site that tracks when things are posted, who posted it, etc. etc. You would also have to keep a paper copy of everything so you would have to track your printing costs. I believe there is software out there that can track your printing costs for each project you work on (or atleast there should be). I think if these two major things are covered it would be worth it.
If you are interested in streamlining your construction submittal process or have tried a digital approach but have run into some of the roadblocks mentioned previously in this thread, please visit our website at www.submittalexchange.com
Six years ago I was a frustrated architect, similar to many of you, who couldn't understand why the firm I worked at was wasting so much time & money shuffling paper submittals when we were supposed to be technology-savvy and environmentally-friendly. After spending a lot of time looking for architect and construction-friendly solutions to the problem, and not finding any that really met my needs or understood the construction process, I started my own.
Today the Submittal Exchange website solution has thousands of users and projects nationwide utilizing it, with a tremendous amount of positive feedback from architects, contractors, and owners alike. We also have a large team of people whose job is to help you implement the solution and improve your processes in the quickest, most efficient manner possible.
Architerp: it sounds like you are having trouble getting your contractors on board with a digital process. Please email me at [email protected] or call our team at 1-800-714-0024 x1 and we can walk you through how to fix this. On projects using Submittal Exchange, we typically have 90-95% participation from ALL of the subcontractors (and we provide a scanning network that can digitize paper copies from the remaining 5%). Why? Because our system is intuitive and easy to use, we provide hands-on training to the contractors & subs to show them exactly what to do, and our staff has a ton of experience in doing this. Give us a try on your next project and I'm certain we can get you going with a digital submittal process.
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