Why Your Construction Submittals are Totally Chaotic (and How to Fix It Now)

Table of contents

• What is a Submittal in Construction?
• ‍The 6 Elements of Construction Submittal Chaos
• Calm the Chaos with Construction Tech
• Take Control of Your Submittal Process

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Submittals are at the heart of profitable construction projects and a huge factor in keeping things going according to plan. Unfortunately, managing them in modern construction can feel like herding cats.

But before we get into how to fix that problem, let’s talk about the purpose of submittals in construction and the elements they include. 

(If you’re a seasoned professional who’s already suffered through managing your share of submittals, feel free to skip to the next section.)  

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Submittal meaning in construction is similar to its meaning in any goods-producing industry. In a nutshell, a construction submittal is a collection of information outlining the materials, equipment, or procedures planned for an individual project or part of a project.

They’re a standard element in most construction projects, although the extent and complexity varies depending on project size.

Given the sophistication of the industry today, construction project submittals are the best way to control a project’s quality and make sure it follows the approved plans and specifications.

Essentially, the construction submittal definition encompasses all the documents, samples, or other information that a subcontractor or supplier provides to the project team for review and approval.

Once delivered, these assets go through the construction submittal review process, where the project team reviews everything to make sure the details align with the project's design intent, specifications, and building codes. 

It’s usually the responsibility of the general contractor (GC) or project manager (PM) to finalize approval once everything checks out. After that, the team moves forward with the process implementation, materials procurement, or product installation outlined.

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What are the Types of Construction Submittals 

You'll encounter three main types of submittals throughout the project lifecycle, from pre-construction to closeout:

Pre-Construction Submittals

• Shop Drawings: Detailed plans submitted by contractors, outlining how they intend to construct or install specific elements of the project.
• Product Data: Technical information provided by manufacturers about materials, equipment, or systems, including specifications, performance data, and installation instructions.
• Material Samples: Physical examples of materials proposed for use in the project, allowing for visual and tactile assessment.
• Mockups: Full-scale or scaled-down physical representations of portions of the project, used to demonstrate design intent, construction methods, or material compatibility.
• Testing & Inspection Plans: Documents outlining the procedures for testing materials, equipment, or completed work to guarantee compliance with specifications and codes.
• Certificates of Compliance: Documents certifying that materials or equipment meet certain standards or regulations.

Construction Phase Submittals

• Progress Schedules: Charts or timelines showing the planned sequence and duration of construction activities.
• Quality Control Reports: Documentation of inspections and tests conducted during construction to ensure quality workmanship and adherence to specifications.
• Requests for Information (RFIs): Formal inquiries from contractors seeking clarification or additional information from the design team.
• Change Orders: Documents proposing modifications to the contract scope, schedule, or budget.

Closeout Submittals

• As-Built Drawings: Revised drawings reflecting any changes made during construction.
• Operation & Maintenance Manuals: Instructions for operating and maintaining the completed facility.
• Warranty Documents: Guarantees from manufacturers or contractors covering materials or workmanship for a specified period.
• Project Closeout Documents: Final reports and documentation summarizing the project completion.

What is a Technical Submittal in Construction?

This subcategory includes any submittal that gives detailed technical info or specs about a project’s materials, equipment, or systems. 

Because today’s construction industry is so technologically advanced, technical submittals are necessary to lay the groundwork for successful projects. 

In addition to confirming a project’s literal materials, equipment, and systems, they also determine how all three fit together to meet current quality and safety standards and regulations.

Technical submittals include: 

• Shop drawings
• Product data provided by the manufacturer
• Material samples
• Testing and inspection plans and procedures
• Certificates of compliance
• Calculations and reports to back up decisions

What is a Deferred Submittal in Construction?

A submittal is considered deferred when it’s delayed until a later stage in the project due to missing or unfinalized project details. Though deferred submittals can ultimately fall under any category, they initially stand on their own. 

Common problems that cause them include:

• Long lead times for materials or equipment
• Ongoing design development
• Glitches in coordination with other trades
• Unforeseen site conditions

While deferred submittals are part of the plan, they require careful management to prevent expensive project hiccups.

What is the Purpose of a Submittal in Construction?

The shop drawings, product data, material samples, and test results that make up all of these submittals are supposed to bridge the gap between design intent and what gets built.

In other words, submittals are designed to increase profitability.

Unfortunately, in reality, managing them can be a time consuming and expensive logistical nightmare. 

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Projects can’t succeed without construction submittals, but the process is slow, inefficient, and riddled with challenges that lead to delays, lost revenue, and frayed nerves.

Since the best approach to solving any problem is to understand its causes, let’s take a look at the six factors stirring up the majority of the mess.

1. The Endless Battle Against the Clock

If you’re drowning in spreadsheets and spending hours chasing down overdue documents, you’re not alone. 

The traditional submittal process is incredibly time-consuming, often requiring PMs to dedicate enormous amounts of administrative effort to stay on top of all the moving parts. 

Unfortunately, every hour spent on manual tracking is an hour taken away from more critical project management tasks and innovation opportunities, leaving you and your team feeling perpetually behind and overwhelmed.

2. Tracking Whack-a-Mole

If you’ve ever played whack-a-mole, you know there couldn’t be a better metaphor to describe the exhausting effort it takes to track submittals.

There’s no such thing as a construction submittal schedule. Smaller jobs can involve dozens of unpredictable submittals, and more complex projects can mean managing hundreds of them. 

As soon as one is just about handled, another one pops up. Keeping tabs on the status of each one can quickly become unmanageable. 

Traditional tracking methods—spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls—are far from foolproof. Missed deadlines, lost documents, and overlooked details are par for the course, and each misstep brings the project closer to delays and budget overruns.

3. King Consistency, Dethroned

The lack of a consistent standardized approach to submittals across projects and teams only adds to the chaos. 

When each team operates in its own silo, using different submittal templates and workflows, the result is a disjointed process with no true north. This kind of process leads to confusion, rework, and burned out crews—not to mention lost revenue.

4. Communication Breakdown, It’s Always the Same

Effective communication is the heartsblood of any successful project, but submittal management is often where good communication breaks down due to the siloed processes mentioned above. 

How many times have you seen a subcontractor’s misaligned shop drawing go unnoticed until it’s too late? Outdated product references, conflicting or missing info, product mismatches, obvious misinterpretations—unnoticed, these kinds of small errors turn into massive, costly problems.

But notice requires standardized communication, one of the greatest weaknesses in the traditional construction submittal process.

5. Rejection Roulette

Submittals are often rejected due to minor errors and omissions like those we discussed above, kicking off what can feel like a never-ending resubmission cycle. 

Each rejection means more delays and greater strain on the relationships between project stakeholders. As a project manager, this constant back-and-forth can make it seem like good planning is impossible and leave you feeling like you’re spinning your wheels with no chance to win..

6. Finding Needles in Your Haystack

Information and communication silos make finding urgently needed information like trying to find a needle in a haystack in the middle of a barn fire. When there’s no centralized access to a list of construction submittals, time and money are wasted and critical decisions are delayed. 

One thing is obvious: the construction submittal process is an industry-wide problem in urgent need of fixing. So, what can be done to organize the mess and fix the problem? You probably guessed it…

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There’s no denying it. Construction is going more digital every day, and jobs are moving faster and faster. The problem? While projects are getting done faster they’re also producing data—and more of it—faster.

Therefore, to clean up the modern submittal process mess, we’ve got to fight fire with fire. That is, we’ve got to digitize and automate the process.

Outbuild is the only standalone planning, scheduling, and communication software in the construction industry. With a toolset built on Lean construction principles, the platform does a lot, including enabling you to create an ultra fast and efficient submittal process for your projects.

Outbuild’s impact on construction projects is tangible. By automating manual submittal tracking and reducing errors, it can reduce your submittal-related workload as much as 40%. 

That’s a massive time savings. It improves your project efficiency by freeing up valuable resources, and it helps future proof your operations by freeing up mental bandwidth for innovation.

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"Outbuild is easy to use, very user friendly. I like the fact that its easy to integrate the submittals with the timeline on Outbuild, this has saved us some time and money. The customer support is just amazing, they will stick with you no matter what the problem may be." – Jeff Fuhrman, Project Coordinator at Fowler Construction and Development

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How Outbuild Cleans Up Submittal Chaos

Out in the field, we’re always running into project engineers and PMs struggling to keep their procurement logs updated in Procore.

It’s a common scenario. Every day is a relentless race against time, with teams spending too many hours manually checking submittal statuses and cross-referencing them with the construction schedule. 

PMs are frustrated, crews are overwhelmed, and the entire submittal process is in the throes of chaos. It’s tedious and prone to errors, and everyone knows the process is leaving money on the table.

Then we add Outbuild to the mix, and magic happens.

With a direct link between the company’s construction activities and Procore’s procurement log, real-time, bilateral procurement log reports can be created with just a few clicks.

There are no more manual updates, no more wasted hours—just amazingly efficient, automated processes saving the team countless hours and allowing them to focus on driving the project forward. 

Integrating Outbuild improves daily operations, reduces the stress and pressure on the team, and makes projects more profitable.

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All about Details

Markley Group—Case in Point

Just ask Markley Group. Since Q1 of 2024 when they brought in Outbuild they’ve experienced profound improvements across projects. 

Now that teams are able to quickly identify and address potential delays, they’re seeing an average of 15 days saved per project. Along with that is an 80% reduction in unforeseen roadblocks and a significantly higher on-time project completion rate.

That’s what a centralized process looks like in action. Now for the Outbuild functions and features that make this success possible. 

Centralized Submittals and Data

Centralization is the golden ticket to efficient submittal management. Outbuild serves as your central hub by bringing together all your project data and making it easy to access and search in real-time. 

With Outbuild’s official Procore integration, submittal statuses are synced automatically, eliminating the need for manual cross-referencing. 

With this real-time visibility into submittal progress…

• Everyone involved in your project gets access to information from one central place 
• You get a chance to address issues before they become expensive problems
• You stay ahead of delays

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Public/Private Lookahead Views

Outbuild’s customizable lookahead views keep everyone focused and on track with uncluttered access to the data they need. With the ability to customize views, you make sure each team’s view includes all the info they need and none of the info they don’t.

For example, you can set public and private views so that each subcontractor only sees the tasks and data relevant to their trade, reducing confusion and information overload. 

This targeted visibility breeds better communication and collaboration, and keeps bottlenecks from escalating out of control.

Template Cloning

Template cloning allows you to standardize your processes, saving you tons of time and resources. 

Because you can reuse and adapt existing submittal templates and capture workflows, there’s no need to start from scratch for every new project. You simply customize and deploy the best practices you’ve already established. 

This level of standardization also significantly reduces confusion, errors, and the risk of rework and delays. 

Submittal Log Automation

Traditionally, submittal logs have meant endless spreadsheet entries, lots of frantic email searches, and tons of wasted time. Outbuild’s digital submittal log automates all of these steps, from pulling the Procore submission to processing its final approval. 

With real-time construction submittal tracking and notifications, you always know the status of each submittal, and you can rest easy knowing that nothing is slipping through the cracks.

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Optimized Review and Approval Cycles

Outbuild’s automated workflows and real-time notifications optimize the review and approval process to keep everything moving nicely (and profitably) through the pipeline. 

With clear visibility into submittal statuses and action items, everyone involved stays accountable, and bottlenecks are avoided. Even if your team is spread out across different locations, collaboration through Outbuild keeps approvals on time and your project on track.

Centralized Submittal Markups

One of the most frustrating aspects of submittal management is dealing with markups and revisions. Deciphering scribbled notes and hunting down the latest version can be incredibly time-consuming.

Outbuild centralizes submittal markups and revisions within the platform, creating a clear and transparent record of the review process. This level of unification eliminates confusion and keeps everyone working with the most up-to-date information.

It all translates into fewer errors and helps lower the risk of rework because everyone’s on the same page.

Custom Reporting

With Outbuild’s custom reporting capabilities you can easily generate submittal reports with actionable insights on submittal progress and project performance filtered by factors like status, trade, and due date.

There’s no scrambling to compile data at the last minute. The reports deliver all the info you need, right when you need it, making everything  from managing submittals to processing RFIs, much easier.

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Outbuild gives you the tools you need to break free from the chaos of submittals by…

• Automating manual tasks
• Harmonizing workflows
• Centralizing critical data
• Supporting better communication

It helps you reclaim time and achieve better outcomes. And it puts an end to process-related revenue loss. If you’re ready to take control of your projects, request a demo today.

Don’t let the chaos of submittals hold you back any longer—start building better, faster, and more profitably with Outbuild.

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