Features/Construction Administration
Construction Administration
Who has it, and for how long.
CA is where projects drown: RFIs in one inbox, submittals in another, and a meeting to work out who is holding things up. In LODE an RFI names the sheet and revision it is asking about, the submittal log is built from your specs, and ball-in-court is always visible, with a clock on it.
Construction administration software for architects should keep the paper trail without making anyone keep it. LODE files every RFI, submittal, observation and revision in the project, against the sheets and spec sections they refer to.
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Construction Administration is a tab on every LODE project, not a separate product. It works from the same drawing set, so nothing has to be exported to it.
How does LODE handle construction administration?
Every CA record lives in the project next to the drawings it is about. RFIs cite their sheets and track who holds them. The submittal log is built from your spec sections before the first submittal arrives. Observations file with their photos. ASIs and bulletins are revisions, so the drawing change and its paper trail are one record.
RFIs that cite their sheets
Your number and the contractor’s, a question type (clarification, a reference with the sheet attached, a sketch) and routing hop by hop. Reopening keeps the same RFI, adds the exchange and restarts the clock.
Ball-in-court, with a clock
Routing tracks who holds each item and for how long, per hop. The question that used to cost a meeting is a column.
Submittals from your specs
The log is built from your CSI spec sections, so there is nothing to type and nothing to forget. Each submittal is tracked from submission to approval, and the response package is filed with it. With Loupe on, Loupe Review takes the first pass.
Observations
Field observations with photos and files attached: what was seen, when, by whom, filed where the project can find it again.
Revisions as CA records
ASIs and bulletins are CA records and go through the same revision engine that compiles the set, so the drawing change and its paper trail are the same thing.
The contractor portal
Your GC works from a link, with no seat and no account. Responses and submittals land in the project. Notifications stay in the app; LODE does not fill inboxes.
The submittal log builds itself.
How is the submittal log built from the specs?
A submittal log is usually a spreadsheet somebody builds by reading the specs line by line, and it goes stale the day the first addendum lands. LODE builds it from the spec sections it already compiled, keeps it pointed at the current revision of every section, and tracks each submittal through to approval.
- Built from the spec sections, so the log exists before the first submittal arrives
- Every submittal knows its spec section, and every section knows its current revision
- Response packages are filed with the submittal, not attached to an email
- Approved submittals go onto the closeout deliverables list automatically
Who is LODE's CA for?
Architects and the consultants who answer RFIs with them. The contractor needs no seat: the portal is a link, responses and submittals land in the project, and the ball-in-court clock runs either way.
Frequently asked questions
Can contractors respond to RFIs and upload submittals without a paid seat?
Yes. The contractor works from the portal link, with no seat and no account. Their responses and submittals land in the project, and the ball-in-court clock records how long each hop took.
How is the submittal log built?
From the CSI spec sections LODE already compiled. The log exists before the first submittal arrives, each submittal knows its section, and each section knows its current revision.
What happens when an RFI is reopened?
The same RFI is kept. The new exchange is added to it and the clock restarts, so the history stays in one place.
Are ASIs and bulletins tracked as drawings or as CA records?
Both, because they are the same thing in LODE. An ASI or bulletin is a CA record that goes through the revision engine, so the superseded sheets are replaced in the current set and the paper trail stays with them.
Do contractor uploads count toward my storage?
Yes. Files uploaded through the portal are stored on your project and count toward your storage the same way your own files do. You can add capacity without changing plan.
Go deeper
Learn
Addendum vs bulletin vs ASI
Three instruments, three moments: before the contract, a minor change at no cost, a change that needs a price. With the AIA forms and clauses for each.
Templates
RFI log template
Twelve columns, both numbering systems, the sheet and revision each question is about, and a days-in-court formula. Excel, free, no email.
Templates
Submittal log template
Organised by spec section, with the review actions as a list, resubmittals by revision, and a days-in-review formula. Excel, free, no email.
Learn
Conformed vs record drawings vs as-builts
The set construction started from, the contractor’s markups, and the architect’s redrawing of them: who prepares each, when, and what each one certifies.
Run CA in the same place as the drawings.
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