Submittals are the checkpoint between 'the spec says X' and 'the product on-site is actually X.' Before a sub orders material or a fabricator starts cutting, the submittal goes to the design team for review — approved, approved-as-noted, or rejected and resubmitted.
The volume is the problem more than the process. A single spec book can generate hundreds of submittals on a mid-size commercial job, and someone junior is usually the one deciding what's a minor deviation versus what needs to go back to the architect — a judgment call made without much training.
Example
An intern project engineer spends a weekend building a submittal log from a 600-page spec book by hand, because the software the firm uses doesn't extract submittal requirements automatically — it just holds the documents once they exist.
Related terms
Next step
Where this shows up in Datumel:
Enterprise Operations ReviewFrom $35,000 one-time
A 30–50 page audit for GCs running $25M+ a year: estimating, change orders, sub coordination, job costing, and admin across offices and trades.