As a business owner, you must be willing to take calculated risks, but when it comes to the job site, contractors will find there’s much less room for taking chances. This is because, as a contractor, you will inevitably run into ambiguity while you and your crew are heads down and hard at work. At some point, you will arrive at a fork in the road where the contract or specifications fail to point you in the right direction.
These are moments where further investigation is necessary; the RFI stands as an official way to get answers to unknown questions.
Continue reading to learn when to use an RFI, how to write a professional RFI, a few best practices to ensure your RFI process is as efficient as possible, and finally, a free construction RFI template to help you get started.
What can RFIs do for contractors?
- Review: Opportunity to review plans and specs.
- Initiate: Open up conversations with stakeholders on project plans, materials, installation requirements, timelines, and more.
- Give: Provide contractors with an official platform to identify potential issues.
- Compel: Pressure project owners to clarify missing project details in a timely manner.
Halting work to write and submit a detailed RFI only to keep your crew in limbo while waiting for a response can feel like backtracking. The temptation to keep construction projects moving forward will pull contractors towards an “act decisively and ask for forgiveness later” mentality.
However, with each decision comes risk. As a subcontractor working in the field, your actions bring an increased level of consequence. Especially when presented with a situation that isn’t covered in the contract. For example, let’s say the spec doesn’t tell you the exact concrete mix to use. Should you go with your best guess to keep the project moving forward? Should you ask a foreman on site? Or should you take the time to write and send an RFI for clarification?
If you choose to mix the concrete yourself without confirming the details through an RFI, this will mean that materials will be ordered, progress will be made, and money will be spent with the likelihood that what you’re doing is entirely incorrect. What follows is a hurt reputation, misspent funds, project delays, and not to mention a potential breach of contract (more on this later).
By using an RFI, these negative consequences are easily avoided. They are pivotal for safety; allowing contractors to go ahead confidently when a difficult decision needs to be made.
What is an RFI in construction?
A request for information in construction, or RFI, is a contractor’s way of gaining clarity on their tasks and responsibilities on a project. Straightforward as it might be, it is a formal and contractually binding process for obtaining key project details that are missing from the original contract specifications. In other words, it’s the primary tool for contractors to get answers to their construction issues.
They serve two primary purposes:
- Clarification
- Documentation
Ultimately, the RFI is a communication tool. The goal is to eliminate all ambiguity and ensure all stakeholders are on the same page. They foster cohesion between the contracting entities by allowing the contractor to:
- Gain permission to substitute materials
- Verify contract terms
- Identify issues
- Confirm project specs or design
Think of the RFI process as akin to assembling a piece of furniture. Putting all the pieces together is the project, and the instructions that come with it serve as the drawings and specifications. As you start to assemble, you may realize that details are missing from the instructions, or the instructions may tell you to assemble different parts in conflicting ways. Or the instructions might be so unclear that you can’t even get started at all. Fortunately, during these moments of uncertainty, contractors can write and submit a request for information.
The goal for everyone is quality, and the RFI is a contractor’s tool to ensure they are doing their part to add as much value to the project as possible.
Types of RFIs in construction
While general RFIs exist to gain clarity on a project, many different types of RFIs can be used for specific purposes. Below are a few of the most common:
Design coordination RFIs
This specific RFI is issued to organize design plans further and instigate discussions to ensure all parties involved agree with the design process to be executed. This can also be in the form of a process change RFI in which a contractor will request a change in the overall construction process.
Constructability issues
This RFI is used to identify and formally document design details that have been deemed implausible by the contractor. This likely means that site conditions, designs, or materials are inconsistent with the design plans.
Design change RFI
Contractors can submit an RFI focused on revising or restructuring the design plans. This can include changing design specs due to a substitution of materials, unexpected issues, job site obstacles, or inconsistencies found by the contractor.
Timing or phasing RFI
Submitted by a contractor to inform stakeholders whenever there will be an inevitable change in building timelines, tasks, or activities due to labor, materials, or equipment-related factors. This can also be used as what is known as a “resource scheduling RFI”; this is when contractors identify a need to adjust timelines or material delivery schedules to better coincide with project execution.
Schedules are the glue that hold projects together. For this reason, any issues or subsequent changes relating to schedules must be clearly laid out and communicated. Add an extra layer of detail with this type of RFI for improved project management.
Deleted scope RFI
This type of RFI is used to scale back project initiatives from the original scope of work. This is needed anytime a portion of the original project has been deemed unnecessary or impossible to complete. Deleted scope RFIs will formally document the request and provide the means to gain legally binding approval to reduce the scope from the project owner.
This is a crucial RFI to document correctly. Having the paper trail and signed approval from project owners will ensure the contractor is adequately protected should a stakeholder challenge the contractor on tasks or activities that were not completed.
Value engineering RFI
This RFI is valid for any contractor suggesting an alternative to the original specifications. They are typically used when a contractor wishes to provide a solution or alternative to the plans that will reduce costs or improve quality.
This could be in the form of using different:
- Materials
- Techniques
- Procedures
- Processes
- Equipment
This RFI can go a long way in bolstering and demonstrating the skill, value, and acumen that a contractor brings to a project. However, you must be confident that your suggestion or solution has the potential to bring actual value to the project. Do not abuse this type of RFI.
Material change
They are used to gain clarity, design revisions, or permission on the use of materials other than the materials specified in the original contract and plans.
General issues
This RFI can be used as a catch-all to request information for anything that requires clarity or further investigation. This can also cover questions regarding warranties, compliance, site conditions, or any supporting documents attached to the contract.
When should a contractor use an RFI?
When to use an RFI will come down to the risk a contractor is willing to take. It should be leaned on as such. However, contractors must ensure they are not asking questions that are already answered in the contract, designs, or specs. Doing so will result in a rejected RFI and the scorn of your general contractor. So be sure that the question at hand is valid, unanswered, and not cleared up in any project documents.
Use an RFI for:
- Ambiguous designs
- Inadequate or incorrect materials
- Missing information
- Unexpected issues/obstacles
- Inconsistencies (installation requirements don’t jive with materials, work site conditions, or timelines)
Clarification
Seeking clarity on drawings, plans, specs, or contract requirements is the purest reason to warrant an RFI. As we have discussed many times throughout this article, any hint of doubt should trigger the RFI process for a contractor.
If there are significant gaps in information, using an RFI is obvious; however, an RFI is just as valid if the contractor merely wants to ask specific questions regarding contract requirements. It’s better to take your time and aim down the sights than to shoot from the hip.
Missing information
If any information is blatantly missing from drawings, designs, or specs, a contractor should take it upon themselves to confidently send an RFI. It’s still important to be specific here. Identify the exact part of the missing designs and request that those missing details be developed and clarified.
It will be hard to provide a solution of your own here since this largely falls outside of the wheelhouse of a contractor’s typical duties but feel free to provide a solution if you think you have one.
Inconsistencies
Any given project will come with a mishmash of documents, from drawings to structural, electrical, and architectural sheets. All of these documents are, in theory, supposed to be in cohesion with one another. But there will inevitably be inconsistencies between all the various project documents.
On larger projects, it’s essential to understand that you will likely be one of many teams working on a job. The work and designs of one team will affect the other. Consequently, the work of one team can often ripple into another team’s work. For this reason, an RFI can be used to ensure that your end of the project is handled correctly.
Suppose dimensions or materials from one part of the project are inconsistent with what you see in the specs you were given. In that case, this is a prime example where using an RFI will help you and your team get on the same page.
Methods
As a contractor, sometimes you want to take on a job with your own means and methods. But to make sure these can be used, an RFI is needed to ask the proper questions.
This scenario requires an RFI for two main reasons:
- To ensure you’ll have the resources, time, and budget to do so.
- To gain the approval and sign-off from stakeholders.
It’s vital that procedural questions be answered from the start of the project. If want to avoid moving a third of the way through a project, thinking you are taking the right approach, only for the engineer to tell you that your approach isn’t compatible with their design. This causes a mountain of rework and unavoidable cost increases.
For example, the contract may state that one project phase can’t start until the preceding phase has finished. However, working on two phases simultaneously is not always unreasonable. Especially in fast-paced jobs.
If this is the case, contractors can submit an RFI to initiate a discussion on timelines and workflows. With this RFI, you can tell your GC that the project can be finished faster by altering the chronology of the project. In essence, you’re asking for freedom amongst some of the timelines and milestones stated in the contract. As always, it’s crucial to document these discussions, as they directly challenge the original specifications.
Site conditions
This situation can include physical challenges presented by the state or the condition of the job site, such as unforeseen obstacles, rough terrain, dangerous conditions, or permit issues.
RFIs concerning site conditions allude to any situation where the physical job site puts contractors in a tough spot. Surprises, rough terrain, bad weather, and permit issues– all of these impede progress and make it difficult to decide what to do next. RFIs are useful here as a means to come to a unanimous decision on how best to proceed.
However, site conditions can also include issues that are the result of negligence. Mistakes happen even on projects with the most airtight of plans. Sometimes a step or two is missed meaning the contractor will have to backtrack to address it. Fill out an RFI to start this process, making sure the rework meets the engineer’s or architect’s standards.
How to write Construction Request for Information (RFI)
What to include in a Construction RFI
Writing an effective RFI is all about being straight and to the point. However, contractors must ensure they are not leaving out any crucial pieces of information for the sake of brevity.
There are eight key sections that every RFI should include:
- RFI number: an associating number used to distinguish this RFI request from any other. Necessary for tracking this specific RFI.
- Title: Used to give reviewers a quick look at what the issue is and where in the project it concerns.
- Date issued: Date the RFI was submitted.
- Response time: Requested date for a response. Contractors should include urgency when needed but always provide a reasonable response time. Problems will take time to resolve, and you should never place undue pressure or time requirements on important issues.
- Priority: Places a designation for the importance or urgency of the request. Only label issues that are detrimental to the entire project’s success as high priority. If everything is urgent, then nothing is urgent. Choose your priority level carefully.
- References: Any documents you reference in the RFI: drawing sheets, contract details, specific submittals, etc.
- Attachments: Provide architectural details, drawings, or specs that help support the request. Be sure to point directly to any information that is necessary to help understand or resolve your request. This could point to where information is missing or information that helps support your solutions.
- Cost / Schedule changes: indicate if there will be an anticipated cost or schedule impact depending on the response of the RFI. Use wording like “potential cost impact” to document that cost changes are expected. This is likely to accompany material change RFIs in which different grades or quality of materials are swapped out for new ones, which could affect the overall cost of the project.
The goal is to create a comprehensive, stand-alone document that reviewers can use to understand the issue in full. The better you can communicate the issue (and solution), the faster you can get confirmation and continue work.
Construction RFI template
Use our basic RFI template, change order template, and RFI log template as starting point for creating your own professionally crafted RFIs.
Click here to download all three templates!
Construction RFI process lifecycle
A contractor will run into an issue and write an RFI that states the issue, where they need clarification, and why. From there, it passes along to the architect (engineer, project owner, GC).
Next, the project owner must promptly address the RFI and send it to any stakeholders or consultants for review (if the issue concerns them). Finally, the question will be addressed and sent back to the project owner, who will communicate the resolution back to the contractor.
This is the general process, but the exact flow and stakeholders will vary from job to job. Typically the exact process will be detailed in the contract, so be sure to review your contract to understand the needs of your specific project.
Construction RFI best practices
Be clear and concise
The best RFIs are to the point and easy to understand. Do not make them verbose, overly detailed, or vague in and of themselves. Use clear, concise language to describe the issue. Include a detailed description as to why you believe it’s an issue, and don’t forget to point to the exact section of the contract where the information should be but isn’t.
Be apart of the solution
Don’t just ask for an open-ended solution. Provide a proposed solution and throw in your two cents. This can significantly help foster the speed or urgency of the issue.
Get answers early in the project; some RFIs can last weeks or months to resolve. Don’t get stuck waiting for answers in the field when you should be building. Get them asked and answered fast!
Communicate
Simply put, an RFI should not be the first time that a project owner is becoming aware of an issue. Contractors must draw attention to issues as soon as they are encountered. Whether it’s an email, phone call, or in person, ensure you have an open and honest discussion about the problem you’re facing.
Communicate the issue directly to relevant stakeholders. After the owner is aware and agrees that an issue exists, an official RFI can be written and sent as a formality to confirm, document, and initiate the RFI process.
Use them as a documentation tool
If conversations happen on-site where changes, revisions, or requests are being discussed on the fly, use the RFI process to capture, confirm, and record these conversations. For instance, a fixture could have been moved to a new location, or the paint color of something switched out for a new one.
No matter how big or small, if changes to the original plan are made by you or your GC, protect and document with an RFI; capture, confirm, and record.
Streamline RFI process with Knowify
At Knowify, we know all too well the importance of communication for contractors to be successful in the construction industry. That’s why our software has an easy-to-use tool to help create, communicate, and facilitate professional RFIs. Use Knowify to send critical documents with custom attachments directly to your GC or project owner.
Whether it’s in the field or in the office, our centralized tool allows teams to stay up-to-date with access to information and analytics when it’s needed most. Save time, money, and headaches with our robust document management system.
To see how Knowify can be tailored to your specific needs, schedule a free 30-minute demo with a Knowify expert today!