How Do You Run an RFI on a Construction Project?

The drawings conflict, the crew asks a question, and the answer lives in a text thread nobody can find later.

Open a formal RFI tied to the room, keep the question and answer in one threaded record, and close it on the architect's response, so the clarification is documented and not lost in chat.

What this workflow is

An RFI, or Request for Information, is the formal way a field team asks for clarification when the drawings are ambiguous or in conflict. Running one is the workflow of opening the question against the project, tracking the discussion, getting an answer from the architect or GC, and closing it with the resolution on the record.

Why it matters

An RFI exists so that a clarification becomes a documented decision instead of a verbal one that gets disputed later. When a crew guesses at an ambiguous detail rather than asking, the guess becomes rework. When the answer lives in a text thread, the decision cannot be proven when scope or payment is argued. The RFI turns a question into a record: who asked, what was answered, and when.

How to do it

1. Identify the ambiguity or conflict

   Field or office spots a detail in the drawings that is unclear or contradictory and needs an authoritative answer before work proceeds.
2. Open a formal RFI tied to the work

   The question is opened as an RFI against the room or project, so it is on the record from the start, not in a side conversation.
3. Discuss in a threaded record

   The question, clarifications, and supporting notes accumulate in a discussion thread, with internal staff notes kept separate from what the sub or client sees.
4. Get the authoritative response

   The architect or GC provides the answer. The response is what the field will build to, recorded on the RFI.
5. Close the RFI on the answer

   Once answered, the RFI is closed with the resolution captured, so the decision is documented and final.
6. Build to the documented answer

   The field proceeds on the recorded response, and the closed RFI stands as proof of what was asked and decided.

Common mistakes

How Scaftra runs it

Scaftra runs RFIs as records tied to the room or project, moving through draft, open, in progress, responded, and closed, with an append-only discussion thread whose internal-versus-public visibility is decided on the server, so a sub or client cannot mark their own post internal or read staff-only notes. The question and its authoritative answer live in one record that stands as proof of the decision. [OPERATOR: confirm] propagation of an open RFI blocking the room from scheduling or billing is designed but not yet wired, so this page markets the RFI record and thread, not automatic downstream blocking.

Key capabilities

• Room-tied RFI records: Each RFI is anchored to its room or project and moves through a clear lifecycle, so the question is on the record from the moment it is asked.
• Append-only discussion thread: The question and every clarification accumulate in a thread that cannot be quietly edited, so the history of the decision is intact.
• Server-derived visibility: Whether a comment is internal or public is decided on the server, so a sub or client cannot mark their own post internal or read staff-only notes.
• Documented resolution: Closing the RFI captures the authoritative answer, so the decision the field built to is provable later.

Benefits

• Clarifications become documented decisions instead of verbal ones that get disputed.
• Staff can discuss internally without exposing notes to the sub or client.
• The question and answer live in one record that proves what was decided and when.

Who runs this

• Field supers and PMs.The people who raise clarifications and need them answered on the record before the crew proceeds.
• GCs coordinating with architects.Contractors who need a clean, provable trail of design clarifications across the job.

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