Review an RFI

Depending on the creator and the workflow applied, an RFI can be routed to you for review before forwarding to the next step, typically getting the answer.

An RFI can be forwarded to you for review in the following scenarios:

• The RFI is created by your field staff, like foremen, from their mobile application or those created/forwarded by other stakeholders for initial review and setting up a workflow. See Setup a workflow for an RFI to learn more.
• You have been assigned as the reviewer in the workflow of the RFI.

This article explains how to review an RFI if your company is assigned as the reviewer for it in the workflow. All project team members with access to the RFI module can review the RFI and add thier response.   

Review an RFI

• Open the project.
• Click 'RFI' on the top, then choose 'Boards' from the left.

The ' All RFI' screen shows the project submittals under different stages. The items that are awaiting your action are indicated with the tag 'You' in blue.

• Alternatively, click on the notification to open the RFI assigned to you directly.

The example below shows an RFI assigned to the GC for review. You can check the current status of the RFI by clicking the 'Workflow' tab.

You can:

• Review the questions and responses in the previous steps
• Add your review responses and comments
• Edit the workflow to change the responders and the allowed days for the following steps (General Contractor Only)
• Dynamically assign the RFI to a stakeholder, overriding the primary workflow if you need more clarifications or review by adding more workflow steps.
• Add watchers
• Once you are done with the review, click to forward the RFI to the next party in the workflow for their action

Review the questions and responses 

The 'Question' tab shows the list of questions and answers provided by the responders (if already answered).

Each question and its responses are recorded on its dedicated page. The question number tabs on the top help you navigate the respective page. 

• Click the question number to open the respective question.

The question and its responses in the previous steps are shown in chronological order.

• Use the arrow at the left of the step number to expand/collapse the responses added in that step. 

Under each step, all the responses made by the members of the responsible company are shown as separate boxes. 

Attachments:

• Click on the thumbnail to open it
• Hover your mouse over an attachment for the following options:
  • Click to open it on a new browser tab.
  • Click to download it to your device.
  • Click to remove it from the question.

Linked Modules

• Hover your mouse over a thumbnail for the following options:
  • Click to open it on a new browser tab.
  • Click to download it to your device.
  • Click to remove it from the question.

Comments

The number beside the icon  at the right end of the title bar of a question/response shows the count of comments added by the participants of the RFI.  

• Click the icon to expand and view the comments   

Add your response

• Click 'Add Answer' to enter your queries, notes, or remarks as your response 

• Enter your response in the text box
• Use the tools on the top to format your text and add emojis.
• You can add:
  • Supporting attachments
  • Links to other items

Add Supporting Attachments

• Click on the top right to add attachments like plan drawing with markups, photos, images, and/or other document files to your response:

Attach plan drawings with/without markups

• Choose 'Select From Plans' 

The plan drawings added for the project are shown as thumbnails.

• Select the plan you want to use
• Create markups if required to illustrate your question. See Markups for guidance on creating different types of markups on the plan drawing.
• Click the 'Publish' button to affix the plan drawing markup to the question.
• Repeat the process to add more plan markups

Attach photos and other documents

• Drag and drop the file to the lower pane

Alternatively,

• • Click 'Browse'
  • Navigate to the required image file and open
  • Repeat the process to add more images or documents

Add Links to other project documents (Optional)

• Click on the top right to attach links to items like Submittals, RFIs, plan sheets, plan markups, scheduled tasks, punchlist items, etc., to the question
• Choose the type of the item from the drop-down at the top

• Select the item to link
• Click 'Add'
• Repeat the process to link more items as required
• Once you are done with the attachments and links, click the button to save your response.

• Click the button at the right end to edit the response.
• Click every time to save your changes.
• Click the button at the right end to remove the response.

Add your comments

• Click the  icon on the left of the header of a question/response box
• Click the 'Add comment' button that appears below the box.
• Enter your comment in the comment box. You can add supporting attachments and links to other items. See Add Comments in Project Documents to learn more.

Edit Workflow (Optional - General Contractor Only)

The general contractor can make changes to the current step and the following steps in the workflow as required.

• You cannot add or remove steps from the primary workflow. 
• You cannot change the company type assigned to each step in the primary workflow, but you can replace the currently assigned company with another of the same type. For example, if the company type specified in a step is 'Subcontractor,' you can change the company from Company A to Company B in the 'Company Name' column. 
• You can change the number of days allotted for the step as per the primary workflow.

To edit the workflow

• Open the 'Workflow' tab
• Click 'Edit Workflow'
• Click inside the 'Company Name' column of any of the pending steps and choose the company from the drop-down
• Double-click inside the 'Process Days' cell of the respective row and change the value
• Click 'Save' for your changes to take effect

See Edit workflow of an RFI to learn more.

Dynamically assign the RFI (Optional)

The ad-hoc workflow feature allows you to dynamically assign the RFI to stakeholders on the go, deviating from the primary workflow. This is useful if you need clarification or a review of your responses from them.  Once the parties in the ad-hoc workflow complete their activities, the RFI returns to you and proceeds further as per the primary workflow.

• Only the assignee of the current workflow step (the ball-in-court person) can add ad-hoc workflow steps
• If the user wants to add more steps but has clicked the 'Route' button in the current step, the item moves to the next step per the primary workflow. Hence, they cannot add more workflow steps
• You can add ad-hoc workflow steps before or after you add your response for the current step

To add ad-hoc workflow steps

• Click the 'Add Workflow Steps' button
• Specify the next action, the company name, and the allowed days for the step
• Click 'Add Row' and repeat the process to add more steps 
• Click 'Submit'

The RFI automatically moves to the first step in the ad-hoc workflow. The members from the respective company are notified about the assignment. The workflow of the RFI is also auto-updated with the new steps. You can view the new one under the 'Workflow' tab.

 See Assign RFI manually to learn more.

Add Watchers

You can add people from your company as watchers of the RFI and keep them updated on every progress state of the RFI. The watchers can see the activity log and workflow of the RFI.

• Start typing the name of the person in the text field under 'Watchers' and choose from the options.
• Click 'Add'
• Repeat the process to add more watchers
• Once you are done with the review, click to forward the RFI to the next party in the workflow for their action