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RFIs, change orders and document control · Lesson 3 of 4

RFIs, change orders and document control: methods and worked application

What a complete RFI contains and how to number and log it, two worked examples (the hours an RFI consumes and a revised coping against the shop girth limit), notice inside the clock, and how a changed job becomes a new quote and a controlled revision.

You will be able to: Write a complete RFI, log and chase it, decide whether the answer changes cost, time or the shop limits, give notice inside the clock, and carry a revision through quote, drawing and shop without a stale copy.

14 min · 12 slides · 11 questions

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Slide 1 of 12

The anatomy of a good RFI

In the California courts contract, an RFI sets out the single issue, the Specification Section, article, drawing and detail involved, and why a response is required.

It also states the contractor's own interpretation and the reasons for it.

The same RFI written badly and written wellTwo forms side by side. The poor one has no number, no reference, several subjects in one RFI, and no proposed fix or date. The good one has a number, one subject, the specification section, sheet and detail cited, the contractor's own reading, a proposed fix and a needed-by date.Written badlyRFI1Question: Coping? Please adviseASAP.Sheets: see drawings.2Also, what about the door flashingand the wall panels?3Our reading: none given.Fix, needed-by date: none given.4Written wellRFI no. 7AOne subject: the coping joint.BSpec section, sheet and detailare cited.COur reading, with our reasons.Proposed fix, and the date theanswer is needed by.DNavigant best practices, not a standard

Two forms. The poor one has no number, no reference, several subjects in one RFI, and no proposed fix or date. The good one has a number, one subject, the specification section, sheet and detail cited, the contractor's own reading, a proposed fix and a needed-by date.

1
No number
2
No reference to a sheet, detail or specification section
3
Several subjects in one RFI
4
No reading, no proposed fix and no needed-by date
A
A number from one numbering system
B
A single subject
C
Specification section, sheet and detail cited
D
Own reading, a proposed resolution and a needed-by date
Navigant's best practices and the California courts contract list these elements, except the needed-by date, which is practice advice and not a requirement in either source. They are recommendations and one owner's rules, not a standard. Numbers on the form are examples.

Sources

Glossary

Proposed resolution
The contractor's own suggested answer written into an RFI, so the design team can accept or correct it rather than start from nothing.
RFI log
The running record of every RFI with its number, subject, dates sent and answered, and status, so none is lost and none stays open without being noticed.
Quote revision
At AFS, a new quote that supersedes the one before it; the earlier quote is not edited, so the history stays on record.
Mark-up Set
The single copy of the drawings kept current at the site with the changes made during construction.