The submittal review checklist.
A submittal review runs the same questions on every item: is the package reviewable at all, is this the specified product or a named equal, do the values on the sheet match the drawings, are the options marked, is the revision current, and what action does the answer earn. Here is the whole list, in the order a reviewer actually runs it.
Before you open a single item
Division 01 of the specification, usually Section 01 33 00, sets what a package must look like before review starts. Hold the line on it. A package that fails these checks is returnable on arrival, unreviewed, and returning it is faster and fairer than reading around the mess:
- 01Grouped by spec section. One package per section, or clearly separated inside it. A mixed-discipline dump is not a package.
- 02Every item listed and numbered. The transmittal names each item with its spec section and a submittal number that survives resubmittal.
- 03The submitted model marked on every sheet. If the sheet shows a product family, the exact model and options are highlighted. Unmarked catalog pages are the single most common reviewer complaint.
- 04Indexed and bookmarked. A reviewer can reach any item without scrolling a thousand pages.
The per-item checklist
- 1Identity. Is this the specified product, a named acceptable manufacturer, or the basis of design on the drawings? A maker that appears on none of those lists is a substitution request, not a submittal, and it follows the substitution procedure in the spec.
- 2The values the drawings fix. Read the schedule row against the sheet: capacity, airflow or flow rate, size, and the electrical load. On our sample project, the M601 schedule calls for a 1/6 HP fan motor at 1.5 FLA; the submitted sheet's smallest listed motor is 1/2 HP at 4.1 FLA. Same product family, same inlet size, different machine. That one line is the review.
- 3Voltage and phase against the electrical set. The costliest misses in the field are electrical: equipment bought at one voltage with another one run. Check the sheet against the panel schedule, not just the mechanical schedule.
- 4Options and accessories. Every selected option circled or listed. A sheet with six coil options and none chosen is not reviewable; the choice is the submittal.
- 5Dimensions and clearances. Where the drawings fix a dimension, the sheet's dimension fits it, with service clearance.
- 6Revision and addendum. The sheet is the manufacturer's current revision, and the submittal reflects every addendum that touched the section.
- 7Warranty. The term on the sheet meets the term in the spec section.
- 8The action, with the reason. Approved, Approved as noted, Revise and resubmit, or Rejected, plus a note that says what differed in plain words. A difference that passes without a note becomes a change-order argument later.
What you can hand off, and what you can't
Steps 1 through 7 are searching: finding the schedule row, the spec article and the line on the sheet, and putting them side by side. Step 8 is judgment, and it stays with the design professional whose stamp is on the job. That split is the entire idea behind Beem: we do the searching on every item and flag what differs, a trade expert checks the result, and your reviewer makes every call on a complete package, back within 48 hours.
Questions reviewers ask
Can I return a submittal without reviewing it?
Yes, when it fails the package requirements in Division 01: not grouped by spec section, items unlisted, models unmarked, or no index. Returning it unreviewed, with the reason, is the remedy the spec itself provides.
What is the difference between Approved as noted and Revise and resubmit?
Approved as noted means the item can proceed once the noted corrections are made, without another review cycle. Revise and resubmit means the item cannot proceed: the correction must come back and be reviewed again, which adds a full cycle to the schedule.
Should the submittal reviewer check voltage and phase?
Someone must, and the review is the last look before purchase. Equipment submitted at a voltage or phase the building doesn't serve is among the most expensive misses in construction, so the checklist reads the sheet against the electrical set, not only the trade's own schedule.
What does Beem check before my pass?
Every item is matched to its drawing callout, schedule row and spec article, with the submitted sheet beside them and every difference flagged. A Beem trade expert checks the result. Your reviewer makes every call; Beem never approves or rejects anything.