Submittal Reviewer
Submittal Reviewer is the engine that compares a submittal against its governing spec section and lists the deviations. Each finding has a severity, a category and a side-by-side quote pair, and the engine recommends an overall review result: Approved, Approved as Noted, Revise and Resubmit, or Rejected.
What does the Submittal Reviewer do?
Submittal Reviewer runs a structured comparison between a submittal (manufacturer cut sheet, shop drawing data, product data) and the governing spec section. The output is a numbered list of deviations, each categorized by severity (critical / major / minor / info), category (dimension / material / performance / finish / equipment / installation / documentation / other), and accompanied by a side-by-side quote pair pulled directly from the source documents.
On top of the findings, the engine recommends an overall review result: Approved, Approved as Noted, Revise and Resubmit, or Rejected. When the review is linked to a tracked submittal revision, the recommendation, the findings and any notes to the subcontractor are saved on that revision.
The Reviewer reads text only: paste or extract the submittal text and the spec text. It does not mark findings on the drawing pages.
When should I use the Submittal Reviewer?
Use Submittal Reviewer to verify that a manufacturer cut sheet matches the spec section, to see what a substitution request changes, to sort a backlog of unreviewed submittals on a first pass, or to anchor a disagreement with a sub in a structured side-by-side.
- A subcontractor sent a manufacturer cut sheet and you need to verify it actually matches Section X.
- Substitution request — the engine lists what differs from the specified product.
- Backlog of unreviewed submittals after a busy push — batch through the engine for first-pass sorting.
- Disagreement with a sub over a returned submittal — engine produces the structured side-by-side that anchors the conversation.
Open the Submittal Tracker from the result to record your decision there. The Reviewer recommends a result; it does not change a submittal's status on its own.
What do I upload to the Submittal Reviewer?
Two text inputs: the spec section text and the submittal text. Both can be pasted directly, or upload the source PDFs and the engine extracts the text. Best results when the spec text is scoped to the relevant section (e.g., 09 21 16 paragraph 2.3) rather than the full Division.
Optional: link the review to a tracked submittal, so the result is saved on that submittal's revision.
How do I run the Submittal Reviewer?
To run Submittal Reviewer, open it, paste or upload the spec and the submittal, run the review, read the recommended review result, walk the findings, read the notes to the subcontractor, then open the Submittal Tracker to record your decision.
Open the engine
Sidebar → Engines → Submittal Reviewer.
Paste or upload the spec
The governing spec section, scoped tight. PDF or pasted text both work.
Paste or upload the submittal
The submittal document or its key data pages.
Run review
15–30 seconds.
Read the recommended review result
Top of result: Approved / Approved as Noted / Revise and Resubmit / Rejected with a one-sentence rationale.
Walk the findings
Numbered findings below the verdict. Each has a side-by-side quote pair, a category, and a severity. Critical findings drive the verdict.
Read the notes to the subcontractor
The engine drafts notes for the sub. Copy them into your own response; they cannot be edited on the result screen.
Record your decision
Click Open Submittals to go to the Submittal Tracker and set the submittal's status yourself.
How do I read the Submittal Reviewer results?
The result is a recommended review result with a findings list, severity badges, notes to the subcontractor, a compliance summary and a persisted review log.
Verdict and a short rationale. It is a recommendation: you decide the final status in the Submittal Tracker.
Numbered deviations with severity badge (critical / major / minor / info), category, and side-by-side spec ↔ submittal quote pair.
Critical (red) blocks approval. Major (amber) typically downgrades to Approved as Noted or Revise. Minor / Info are advisory only.
Drafted notes summarizing what the sub needs to fix or clarify.
Top-line tally: X critical, Y major, Z minor, W info findings. Quick scan of overall submittal quality.
When the review is linked to a tracked submittal, the verdict, findings and notes are saved on that submittal revision.
Every control, explained
Run reviewConsumes one run. 15–30 seconds.
Open SubmittalsGoes to the Submittal Tracker, where you set the submittal's status.
Re-runRuns the review again. Consumes another run.
Export PDFFormatted review memo with the findings, for sending back to the sub.
Sources
- ER 415-1-10: Contractor Submittal ProceduresU.S. Army Corps of EngineersThe Corps of Engineers procedure for registering, reviewing and tracking contractor submittals such as shop drawings and samples.
- Summary: A201-2017, General Conditions of the Contract for ConstructionAIA Contract DocumentsThe AIA overview of the general conditions that set out the rights and duties of owner, contractor and architect.