3.7.4 Appropriate Contractor Action

The specific shop drawing review procedures for both subcontractor and in-house submittals are detailed in Section 4, “Project Engineering.” The action described here is to control any abuses attempted by design professionals to avoid approval liability.
Discussion of related actions regarding equals and substitutions is incorporated in Section 3.8.
When confronted with any action on your submittals that is other than “approved,” be aware that:

1. The owner/architect agreement is almost certain to contain language requiring that the architect approve submittals. There won’t be anything requiring the architect to “not reject.”
2. The owner/contractor agreement will instruct the contractor that “the architect will review and approve” your shop drawings. You have an absolute right to rely on such statements.
Take the following steps to correct, or at least clarify, the meaning of language and reliance of the construction force on it to allow construction to proceed:

1. Advise the Owner and design professionals of their responsibility to approve, per the owner/contractor agreement.
2. The designers will likely refuse. They may even admit openly that it is their professional liability insurance company that is preventing them from using the word “approved.”
3. Point out the facts of the owner/architect agreement and the owner/contractor agreement as described above. Unfortunately, this will still in all likelihood not induce the design professionals to change.
4. Point out the apparent effort to avoid approval responsibility as described in the contract, and the practical problem of not being able to release anything for construction until the Owner clarifies just what “words” will so allow the work to proceed.
5. If the Owner and design professionals agree to change the language, don’t wait for it. Send the Sample Letter #1 to the Owner Clarifying Shop Drawing “Approval” of Section 3.7.5, thereby:

• Confirming the decision
• Making the action retroactive, in order to avoid having to resubmit everything that has been acted on to that point