How to Streamline the Construction Submittal Process

The construction submittal process is where procurement meets design review. Before a contractor can order materials, fabricate components, or install products, the design team needs to confirm that what's being proposed actually meets the project specifications. That confirmation happens through submittals — and when the submittal process is slow, disorganized, or poorly tracked, everything downstream suffers. Material orders get delayed. Fabrication timelines slip. Field crews show up to install products that haven't been reviewed. And by the time the schedule impact surfaces, it's too late to recover without premium shipping, overtime, or both.

For small and mid-size contractors, the submittal process is often the bottleneck they don't see until the damage is done. This guide covers the submittal types you'll encounter, how the review cycle actually works, where the process typically breaks down, and how to organize and streamline it — whether you're using spreadsheets today or ready to move to a digital platform.

What Are Construction Submittals?

A construction submittal is a document package that the contractor sends to the design team — typically the architect, engineer, or both — for review and approval before procuring or installing materials and equipment. The submittal demonstrates that the proposed product meets the project's specification requirements.

Submittals are required by the contract documents and are one of the formal quality control mechanisms in construction. They protect both the contractor and the design team: the contractor gets written confirmation that their product selection is acceptable, and the design team verifies that design intent is maintained as the project moves from drawings to physical construction.

There are several common types of submittals, each serving a different purpose in the review process:

Shop drawings are detailed fabrication or installation drawings prepared by the contractor, subcontractor, or manufacturer. They show dimensions, connections, materials, and assembly details that aren't included in the design drawings. Structural steel shop drawings, for example, show every beam, connection, and bolt pattern at a level of detail the structural engineer's drawings don't provide.

Product data sheets (cutsheets) are manufacturer's literature that documents a product's specifications, performance characteristics, dimensions, and installation requirements. When the spec calls for a particular type of lighting fixture, the contractor submits the manufacturer's cutsheet for the proposed fixture so the design team can verify it meets the specified performance criteria.

Test reports document the results of material testing — concrete cylinder breaks, soil compaction tests, steel tensile strength tests, and similar quality assurance data. These submittals confirm that materials delivered to the jobsite meet the specified standards.

Samples are physical specimens of materials — paint colors, tile selections, wood finishes, carpet squares — submitted for the design team's visual review and approval. While most submittals are documents, samples require physical handling and are often reviewed in person.

Certificates and warranties document manufacturer warranties, product certifications (UL listings, FM approvals, Energy Star ratings), and compliance with applicable standards. These submittals are often required for closeout but may also be reviewed during construction.

The Submittal Review Cycle

Understanding the full submittal review cycle helps identify where delays happen and where process improvements have the most impact.

Step 1: Identify required submittals. During preconstruction, the project team reviews the specifications to identify every submittal requirement. The spec typically lists required submittals by section — Division 03 might require concrete mix designs and test reports, Division 05 requires structural steel shop drawings, Division 09 requires finish samples and cutsheets. This identification step produces the initial submittal log — a master list of every submittal the project requires.

Step 2: Prepare and submit. The responsible party — usually the subcontractor or supplier — prepares the submittal package and sends it to the general contractor. The GC reviews the submittal for completeness and contract compliance before forwarding it to the design team. This intermediate review step catches incomplete or non-conforming submittals before they reach the architect, reducing unnecessary rejection cycles.

Step 3: Design team review. The architect, engineer, or designated reviewer examines the submittal and responds with one of four standard dispositions: Approved (proceed as submitted), Approved as Noted (proceed with the reviewer's noted modifications), Revise and Resubmit (correct the identified issues and submit again), or Rejected (the proposed product or detail is not acceptable — start over or propose an alternative). Each disposition has different implications for the contractor's next action and the project schedule.

Step 4: Distribute the response. The reviewed submittal — with the reviewer's stamp, comments, and disposition — is returned to the GC, who distributes it to the responsible subcontractor. If the disposition is Approved or Approved as Noted, procurement and fabrication can proceed. If the disposition is Revise and Resubmit or Rejected, the cycle repeats from Step 2.

Step 5: Close and archive. Once a submittal receives final approval, it's closed in the submittal log. The approved submittal package — including all revisions, reviewer comments, and approval stamps — becomes part of the permanent project record for closeout and future reference.

The entire cycle, from initial submission to final approval, can take anywhere from one week for simple cutsheets to several months for complex shop drawings that require multiple revision cycles. Each additional cycle adds two to four weeks to the timeline — which is why getting submittals right the first time matters enormously.

Common Bottlenecks in the Submittal Process

The construction submittal process breaks down in predictable ways. Recognizing these bottlenecks is the first step toward eliminating them.

Slow design team reviews. Architects and engineers review submittals from multiple projects simultaneously, and submittals compete with their other responsibilities — design work, site visits, meetings, and RFIs. Without explicit review deadlines and a tracking system that shows approaching due dates, submittals languish in review queues. On some projects, the average review time exceeds 20 business days — long enough to impact procurement on nearly every trade.

Unclear routing. When the project doesn't have a clearly defined routing matrix — specifying which reviewer is responsible for which spec sections — submittals get sent to the wrong person, forwarded between reviewers, or stuck waiting for someone to claim responsibility. This confusion adds days to every review cycle and creates frustration on both sides.

Lost revisions. When a submittal is returned for revision, the revised package needs to be clearly connected to the original submission and the reviewer's comments. If the revised package is submitted as a standalone email attachment with no reference to the original, the reviewer wastes time re-establishing context. If the original submission and reviewer comments aren't preserved alongside the revision, the project record is incomplete.

Incomplete initial submissions. Submittals that arrive without complete documentation — missing test data, incomplete shop drawings, or cutsheets for the wrong product — get rejected immediately and sent back for correction. Each incomplete submission adds an entire review cycle to the timeline. GC review before forwarding to the design team is supposed to catch these issues, but when the GC is rushed, incomplete submittals leak through.

No connection between the submittal log and the actual documents. Many teams maintain a submittal log in a spreadsheet that tracks status, dates, and responsible parties — but the actual submittal documents (PDFs, shop drawings, cutsheets) live somewhere else: email attachments, shared drives, or filing cabinets. When the log says "Approved" but nobody can find the approved cutsheet, the log's value is theoretical.

Late submittal identification. If the team doesn't identify required submittals during preconstruction, they discover them when the spec section becomes relevant to active work — which is too late. A submittal that should have been started six weeks ago is now on the critical path, and the review timeline compresses into a crisis.

Organizing Your Submittal Log

The submittal log is the backbone of construction submittal management. It tracks every submittal from identification through final approval, and it's the document that project managers, owners, and design teams reference during OAC meetings and closeout.

Align with specification sections. Organize your submittal log by CSI division and spec section number. This alignment makes it easy to cross-reference the log with the specifications and ensures that every required submittal is accounted for. When a reviewer asks "What's the status of the Division 09 submittals?", the answer should take seconds, not an email chain.

Track status consistently. Use standardized status labels that everyone on the team understands: Not Started, In Preparation, Submitted to GC, Submitted to Reviewer, Under Review, Approved, Approved as Noted, Revise and Resubmit, Rejected, and Closed. Consistent status labels eliminate ambiguity and make log-level reporting meaningful.

Include key dates. For each submittal, track the required-by date (when the approved submittal is needed to maintain the procurement schedule), the submission date, the review response date, and the approval date. These dates establish the timeline and make it clear when a slow review is becoming a schedule risk.

Assign responsibility clearly. Every submittal should have a named responsible party (the sub or supplier preparing it) and a designated reviewer. When responsibility is assigned to a company or a role instead of a person, accountability disappears.

Connect the log to the documents. The most effective submittal logs link directly to the actual submittal documents — so clicking on a log entry opens the cutsheet, shop drawing, or test report rather than requiring a separate search through email or shared drives. This connection is where dedicated submittal tracking software provides the most value over spreadsheets.

Going Paperless: The Case for Digital Submittals

Paper-based submittal processes introduce friction at every step. Printed shop drawings get marked up with a red pen, scanned at low resolution, and emailed as multi-megabyte attachments. Cutsheets are printed, reviewed, stamped, scanned, and re-emailed. Samples are the only submittal type that inherently requires physical handling — everything else can be managed digitally from start to finish.

The advantages of a digital construction submittal process are substantial:

Speed. Digital submittals move instantly. There's no printing, mailing, scanning, or physical transport. A subcontractor uploads a cutsheet, the GC reviews and forwards it, and the architect receives it — all within minutes. The document is available to anyone with access to the platform, at any time, from any device.

Version control. Digital platforms automatically track which version of a submittal is current, who submitted it, and when. Previous versions and reviewer comments are preserved in the record. Nobody has to ask "Is this the latest version?" because the system answers that question automatically.

Searchability. Finding a specific submittal in a digital system takes seconds — search by spec section, status, date, or keyword. Finding the same submittal in a filing cabinet or email archive can take hours, especially when the person who managed the submittal originally is no longer on the project.

Reduced administrative overhead. Maintaining a paper-based submittal log requires manual data entry for every status change, date, and disposition. A digital platform updates the log automatically as submittals move through the review cycle. This automation saves the PM hours per week and eliminates data-entry errors.

Defensible closeout records. Digital submittal records include timestamped submissions, reviewer comments, approval stamps, and revision history — all in one connected record. For closeout packages, owner handover, and dispute documentation, a digital submittal record is more complete and more defensible than a paper file.

The transition from paper to digital doesn't have to happen all at once. Start with one project or one trade and prove the workflow before rolling out broadly. The most common adoption path is to begin with cutsheets and product data (which are already digital in most cases) and expand to shop drawings and test reports as the team gains confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many submittals does a typical project require?
Submittal volume depends on project size and complexity. A small tenant buildout might have 30-50 submittals. A mid-size commercial project typically requires 100-300. Large institutional projects can exceed 500. The number is driven by the specification — every spec section that requires product review generates at least one submittal.

Who prepares submittals — the GC or the subcontractor?
The subcontractor or supplier typically prepares the submittal because they're procuring or fabricating the product. The GC reviews the submittal for completeness and contract compliance before forwarding it to the design team. On some projects, the GC prepares submittals for materials they're self-performing.

What's the difference between "Approved" and "Approved as Noted"?
"Approved" means the submittal is accepted as submitted — proceed with procurement. "Approved as Noted" means the submittal is acceptable with the reviewer's noted modifications. The contractor should incorporate the noted changes before proceeding. Both dispositions allow procurement to move forward, but "Approved as Noted" requires the contractor to confirm that the notes are incorporated.

How long should submittal review take?
Industry standard is typically 10-14 business days from the time the reviewer receives the submittal. Some contracts specify shorter turnaround for critical-path items. The key is to agree on review timelines during preconstruction and track actual performance against those targets throughout the project.

Can a rejected submittal delay the project schedule?
Yes. A rejected submittal means the proposed product is not acceptable and the contractor must propose an alternative or revise the submission. Each rejection adds a full review cycle — typically 2-4 weeks — to the timeline. If the submittal is on the critical path for procurement, the delay flows directly into the construction schedule.

How AECify Helps

AECify's submittal tracking software combines the submittal log, the documents, and the review workflow in one platform — so small contractors can manage the entire construction submittal process without spreadsheets, email chains, or manual data entry.

Create submittals by spec section, attach cutsheets and shop drawings, and route them to the appropriate reviewers. AECify tracks every submission, revision, and reviewer action with timestamps, creating a defensible record from first submission through final approval. Multi-reviewer workflows support sequential and parallel routing, so complex review chains don't require manual coordination.

The platform's submittal register gives your team a real-time view of every submittal on the project — what's been submitted, what's under review, what's approved, and what's overdue. Deadline tracking and automated reminders keep the review cycle moving so procurement stays on schedule.

For teams currently managing submittals through email and spreadsheets, AECify eliminates the disconnect between the tracking log and the actual documents. Every submittal, every revision, and every approval is connected in one searchable record — ready for OAC meetings, closeout packages, and owner handover.

Start with the free tier and see how much time you recover on your next project by moving your submittal process into AECify's submittal tracking.