RFI Drafter
RFI Drafter is the engine that finds conflicts between specs and drawings and drafts the RFI for you. From a spec section and the relevant drawing reference it writes the question for the architect or engineer, cites the conflicting evidence side by side, suggests who should answer it, and estimates cost and schedule exposure.
What does the RFI Drafter do?
RFI Drafter finds the conflicts you would otherwise miss until the field crew calls you. Feed it a spec section and the relevant drawing reference (or the conflicting spec excerpts), and the engine produces a draft RFI with the exact question phrased for the architect or engineer, the cited evidence side-by-side, a suggested ball-in-court role (for example Architect or Structural Engineer), and a quick cost + schedule exposure estimate.
Every extracted field is confidence-gated. If the engine cannot pin a number with at least 70% confidence, it blanks the field and leaves a ? prompt for the PM rather than guessing. The PM opens the draft in the RFI Tracker, edits it, and sends it.
When should I use the RFI Drafter?
Use RFI Drafter when you spot a spec and drawing conflict and need the RFI fast, when a submittal review surfaces a substitution or deviation that needs design clarification, when the field crew flags an ambiguity, or when Voice Synthesis or Daily Log Synthesizer surfaces an open question worth a formal RFI.
- You spotted a spec/drawing conflict and need to draft the RFI fast — typically before the trade walks off site.
- A submittal review surfaced a substitution or deviation that needs design clarification.
- Field crew flagged an ambiguity in the morning huddle and you owe them a question by lunch.
- Voice Synthesis or Daily Log Synthesizer surfaced an open question worth elevating to a formal RFI.
Each draft is saved to the RFI Tracker as a Draft, with the suggested ball-in-court role and due date filled in. Open it there to edit, then send it for review.
What do I upload to the RFI Drafter?
Either a single conflict pair (spec excerpt + drawing reference) or the broader project context. The engine works best with the actual conflicting passages quoted directly — paste both sides into the trigger bar or upload the source PDFs and let the engine extract the conflicting text.
Optional inputs: the project's open RFI log (to dedupe), prior architect responses (for tone matching), and the project contact list (for routing recipients).
How do I run the RFI Drafter?
To run RFI Drafter, open it, describe the conflict, attach the evidence, run the drafter, review the draft, approve and file it, then send it.
Open the engine
Sidebar → Engines → RFI Drafter.
Describe the conflict
Use the trigger bar at the top to paste a one-line description (e.g., "Section 09 21 16 says 5/8" Type X but A4.2 detail 7 shows 1/2"").
Attach the evidence
Drop in the spec section PDF and the drawing sheet. Or paste the conflicting passages directly into the text inputs.
Run the drafter
30–60 seconds. The engine quotes both sides, drafts the question, models impact, and suggests a ball-in-court role.
Review the draft
Read the question and check the cost and schedule numbers. To change any wording or the ball-in-court role, open the RFI in the tracker.
Open it in the tracker
The draft is already saved in the RFI Tracker with status Draft. Click Open in RFI tracker to edit it.
Send for review
Click Send for review, enter the recipient's e-mail address, and the RFI is e-mailed with a reply link. The recipient does not need to sign in.
How do I read the RFI Drafter results?
The result is a draft question with its cited evidence, a cost exposure estimate, a schedule exposure estimate, a routing recipient and confidence indicators.
The phrased RFI question. Written in the formal tone expected by an architect or engineer with the conflict stated cleanly. To edit it, open the RFI in the tracker.
Side-by-side quotes of the spec passage and the drawing note (or the two conflicting spec passages). Each quote carries its source reference (section number, sheet number).
Rough cost impact if the conflict resolves the more expensive way. Blanked with ? if confidence is below 70%.
Days of schedule impact if the response is late. Shown next to the cost figure when the draft is confident enough to give one.
The suggested ball-in-court role (a role, not a person) plus a CC list and due date when the draft is confident about them. Change the ball-in-court role in the tracker; you choose the e-mail recipient when you send.
Each field carries a small confidence badge. Below 70%, the field shows ? with a prompt for the PM to verify or fill in.
Every control, explained
Draft RFIConsumes one run. 30–60 seconds.
Open in RFI trackerOpens the saved draft in the RFI Tracker, where you can edit the question, the ball-in-court role and the dates.
Send for reviewAsks for the recipient's e-mail address, then sends the RFI with a reply link. The RFI becomes Open in the tracker.
Re-runDrafts again from the same inputs. Consumes another run.
Export PDFStandalone PDF of the drafted RFI, useful for an internal read before sending.
Sources
- Instructions: G716-2004, Request for Information (RFI)AIA Contract DocumentsThe AIA standard RFI form; it asks for a reply date and does not authorize a change in cost or time.
- FAR 52.236-21: Specifications and Drawings for ConstructionAcquisition.gov, Federal Acquisition RegulationThe federal clause on how differences between drawings and specifications are resolved and sent to the contracting officer.