The Submittal module helps the project team actively manage the full submittal process, confirming that the contractor's planned work on the job site will meet the designer's intentions as detailed in the project specifications. This module has streamlined the process to make it easy for subcontractors, general contractors (GC), submittal coordinators and design reviewers to collaborate within a single system.
Trimble Unity Construct's submittal coordinator position can be assigned to various roles, often an architect/ engineer or the owner's project manager. The flexibility of the submittal coordinator position enables them to grant responsibility to the correct team members based on each project's contractual requirements.
Both Trimble Unity Construct licensed and non-licensed participants can be engaged in the submittal process and still work directly in the system. The full team has access to the module appropriate to their needs in order to obtain status updates, view audit trails and identify bottlenecks at any phase of the project.
Ball-in-Court Mechanism
Like most Trimble Unity Construct modules, Submittals utilizes the 'ball-in-court' mechanism to keep participants abreast of items awaiting their response. Automated email notifications alert participants when action is needed on their part.
To support cross-functional visibility, a clearly defined 'Held By' column is displayed for each Submittal Item visible on the Home page, and this data is available for inclusion in reports. The 'Held By' field lists all participants whose court the item is currently in.
Process Management
When general contractors and subcontractors add items to the submittal register, they can describe and manage the project's submittals with standard and custom fields, target due dates, item statuses, actual dates and more.
These details provide many benefits for the management team.
- The GC is able to streamline the process early on and put controls in place (due dates) to reduce lag and encourage accountability.
- Contractors and submittal coordinators can track response times from the design team to ensure prompt responses and address unnecessary delays.
- They can also identify which packages are late and who's holding the process up to proactively address potential bottlenecks.
Throughout every phase of the submittal process, the submittal module facilitates the exchange of information, tracks transactions, and provides real-time visibility into the status of each submittal item. Submittal reports based on the logs provide real-time visibility and an opportunity to identify problem areas early on to mitigate potential risks.
The Submittal Workflow
The diagrams below are a high-level view of the submittal workflow and its key players. These workflows illustrate the permission structure that allows both the general contractor and submittal coordinator to engage external participants while maintaining control and visibility of the entire process.
Image 1 - Forward flow of submittals
Image 2 - Return flow of submittals