1 Confirm that the package is ready for review
Before technical review, confirm the submittal number, revision, specification section, required contractor review, required attachments, and correct discipline routing. If calculations, certifications, samples, delegated-design documents, or required product data are missing, return or hold the package before a deeper review. Good submittal management software makes this completeness check part of the intake workflow.
2 Identify the exact scope
Determine what is being submitted, where it is used, which trade owns it, and which equipment tag, room, gridline, wall type, detail, elevation, or schedule applies. A reviewer cannot compare a shop drawing correctly without knowing the intended project location and scope.
3 Build the requirements baseline
Gather the relevant requirements from:
- Division 01 and the applicable technical specification section
- Contract drawings, schedules, notes, sections, and details
- Addenda, ASIs, bulletins, and issued revisions
- Approved changes and relevant prior decisions
Treat the applicable documents as one requirements baseline. If the drawings and specifications conflict, flag a contract-document coordination issue instead of incorrectly blaming the shop drawing. AI-powered review tools can help retrieve and organize these scattered requirements automatically.
4 Check stated deviations and substitutions
Look for alternate manufacturers, product models, exclusions, exceptions, qualifications, revision clouds, "by others" notes, and missing scope. A difference may require a formal substitution or design-team decision rather than a routine approval comment.
5 Compare high-risk requirements first
Review in this order:
- Life safety, code, structural, fire-rating, and critical design criteria
- System type, geometry, size, location, and design intent
- Performance requirements such as capacity, rating, pressure, thermal, acoustic, or electrical values
- Materials, finishes, manufacturer/model, and standards
- Coordination, interfaces, clearances, supports, and access
- Execution, testing, warranty, and closeout requirements
6 Cite every material finding
For each potential issue, record the submitted evidence, the contract requirement, the current document revision, the reason for reviewer attention, and the required next action. Do not write "incorrect" without showing the source. This is where most manual processes break down — and where shop drawing review software adds the most value.
7 Keep the human decision explicit
A qualified reviewer should determine the final disposition: approved, approved as noted, revise and resubmit, rejected, or another project-specific status. The review record should preserve comments, evidence, responses, and revision history.
DECK helps teams follow this process with cited findings, assigned actions, and a decision trail. See how in Shop Drawing Review Software and AI Construction Submittal Review Software.
Tools that support this workflow
Most teams piece together this review process across Bluebeam (for PDF markup), Procore or another project-management platform (for submittal logs and routing), and email or Excel (for tracking comments and responses). The gap is connecting submitted drawings to the governing requirement and keeping the decision trail intact.
DECK fills that gap: it finds discrepancies between drawings and specs, surfaces potential issues with cited evidence, and tracks each finding through to resolution. General contractors running this workflow across multiple trades and hundreds of submittals see the largest efficiency gains.