Scheduling as Part of the Project Management Effort - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 284

The formal chain of command should be specified in the contract. It usually
restricts correspondence between parties who have a contractual agreement. For
example,
Structural steel fabricator
↓
Structural steel subcontractor
↓
General contractor
↓
Architect
↓
Structural engineer
The direction of these arrows is reversed when the drawings are sent back after the
review has occurred. This chain may be shortened, in order to speed up the process,
by sending the drawings from the fabricator or subcontractor directly to the structural
engineer. Such an arrangement requires the approval of the main contracting parties.
Most likely, it also requires copying all other involved, in both directions. Electronic
correspondence helps expedite this process.
The submittal procedure in the contract must be precise in terms of time limits.
Ambiguous expressions such as “the owner will review submittals within a reasonable
period of time so as not to delay work progress” and “as soon as possible” must be
avoided. Document/contract management software tracks shop drawings and other
submittals and documents. They show the party that is holding the process (ball in
court) and sends alerts before any deadlines.
Another important point, from a scheduling point of view, is the possibility of
rejection. 18 If the shop drawing cycle is on a critical or a near-critical path, the con-
tractor must be careful when handling the submittals. The contractor should try to
determine the results of the review as soon as possible in order to plan for the next
step. Allowing a contingency time in the schedule for the possibility of rejection is a
good idea.
THE MASTER SCHEDULE AND SUBSCHEDULES
In a typical construction project, many parties are involved: the general contractor,
the owner, the architect or engineer (which could be several entities), subcontractors,
18 If the objections of the reviewer are minor, the actions maybe “Accepted as noted, ” which indicates a need
for corrections and/or changes in the submittals but allows the work to continue while corrections and
changes are being made.