Submittal log: tracking construction submittals from request to approval

A submittal log is the register of every item a contractor must submit for approval before it is built or installed: shop drawings, product data, samples, test reports and certificates. It records what is required, when it is due, who is reviewing it, and what came back. On most projects the submittal log is the best early warning of delay, because a product that has not been approved cannot be ordered, and a product that has not been ordered will not arrive on time.

What a submittal log should record

• Submittal number, following the specification section it responds to.
• Description and type: shop drawing, product data, sample, mock-up, certificate.
• Responsible subcontractor or supplier.
• Required-by date, worked back from the procurement lead time and the installation date.
• Date submitted, reviewer, and date returned.
• Status: approved, approved as noted, revise and resubmit, rejected.
• Revision number and the reason for any resubmission.
• Link to the submitted documents and the marked-up response.

Plan dates backwards from installation

1. Start from when the item must be installed on the programme.
2. Subtract the manufacturing and delivery lead time.
3. Subtract the review period stated in the contract — often ten working days per cycle.
4. Allow for at least one resubmission on complex items.
5. The result is the date the submittal must go in; put that date in the log.
6. Flag items where the required date has already passed so they are escalated now, not discovered later.

The most expensive submittals are the ones nobody listed. Build the log from the specification sections at the start of the project, not from what subcontractors happen to send.

Keep reviews moving

Review turnaround is where schedules quietly slip. A shared submittal log makes the delay visible: filter by status and age and the items sitting with a reviewer beyond the contract period are obvious. Ettex Records holds the log with one row per submittal, the documents attached to the row, and date fields that make "overdue with reviewer" a view rather than a manual count. Transmittals and responses belong on the same record so the history of each item is in one place.

Submittal log vs RFI log

The two are often confused. A submittal asks the design team to approve something the contractor proposes to supply; a construction RFI asks the design team a question because the documents are unclear or conflicting. They share reviewers and often reference each other — an RFI answer can trigger a revised submittal — but they need separate logs and separate numbering.

On construction and fabrication work, these checks are usually planned in advance. An inspection and test plan lists every inspection, hold point and acceptance criterion for a work package, so each record here can point back to the line it satisfies.

Common submittal log failures

• Required-by dates missing, so nothing looks late until it is.
• Resubmissions overwriting the original entry instead of adding a revision.
• "Approved as noted" treated as approved without actioning the notes.
• Submittals sent by email and never logged.
• No link between an approved submittal and the purchase order that depends on it.