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Coordination

RFIs that get answered: one clear question with a proposed answer

By Review.LivePublished 3 min readHow we write

RFI 27 went to the architect on a Tuesday: "Please clarify the detail at the stair." Nineteen days later the reply asked which stair, which detail and what was unclear. By then the framers had worked around the stair opening twice.

A pencil points at a dimensioned detail on a structural drawing beside a scale rule.
Photo: Sven Mieke on Unsplash

A request for information (RFI) is the formal written question a contractor sends when the contract documents are unclear, incomplete or in conflict. Washington State's transportation department calls it the procedure for officially requesting an explanation or interpretation of the contract, and expects ambiguities to be raised as soon as they are found. RFIs stall when the reader has to work out the question: vague wording, several questions in one, no reference and no date.

  1. Check before you ask. Search the drawings, specifications, addenda and earlier RFI answers; the answer is often already there.
  2. Ask one question, worded so it can be answered with yes, no, a dimension or a choice.
  3. Give the exact reference: sheet and detail, gridlines, specification section. Attach a marked-up drawing or a photo.
  4. Propose an answer: "We propose 200 mm, as shown on S-301. Please confirm." A clear proposal can be confirmed, corrected or rejected quickly.
  5. State the date you need the answer and what it holds up: "Needed by June 12 to release stair formwork on June 15."
  6. Send trades' questions through the general contractor, number every RFI in sequence and log the dates sent, due and answered.
  7. Review open RFIs every week, and chase the ones close to their needed-by date.

Common mistakes

  • Bundling several questions, so the answer covers only one of them.
  • "Please advise" with no proposal and no reference.
  • Using an RFI to announce a delay or a claim.
  • Asking a question the specifications already answer.

Checklist

Before you send an RFI

  • The answer is not already in the documents, addenda or earlier RFIs
  • One question
  • Sheet, detail, gridline or section named
  • Marked-up drawing or photo attached
  • Your proposed answer
  • The date needed and what it holds up
  • Numbered and logged

Check your understanding

Why include a proposed answer when the design is the consultant's responsibility?

Show the answer
A proposal shows exactly what you mean and what you are ready to build, so the consultant can confirm, correct or reject it instead of starting from a blank page. It does not shift the design decision: the answer still comes from the consultant in writing, and any change still goes through the contract.

Sources

  1. Construction Manual M 41-01, Chapter 1: Administration (section 1-05.1(2), Requests for Information)Washington State Department of Transportation · Washington State, United States (a public owner's contract administration manual; shown as an example of practice) · accessed
  2. Project Delivery Manual, Procedure 16.2: Request for InformationCity of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering · Los Angeles, United States (a public owner's procedure for its own projects; shown as an example of practice) · accessed

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