Creating and managing RFIs

RFIs are how questions get answered without breaking the schedule. Buildra's RFI module is designed to make the loop short: question in, answer out, decision logged.

Anatomy of an RFI

A Buildra RFI has six required pieces and a few optional ones. Required:

• Title (one line that names the question).
• Body (the actual question — be specific).
• Recipient (usually the architect or engineer).
• Due date (date you need the answer by).
• Discipline (Architectural, Structural, MEP, etc.).
• Cost/schedule impact flag (Yes/No/Unknown).

Creating an RFI

1. Go to /projects/<id>/rfis.
2. Click New RFI.
3. Fill in the six required fields. Buildra auto-numbers the RFI as you save (e.g., RFI-014).
4. Attach a plan reference: click Add plan ref, pick the sheet, draw a box around the area of interest. Your reviewer sees that exact crop.
5. Click Submit. Buildra emails the recipient with a one-click link to respond.

Tip:Include the plan crop almost every time. RFIs without a visual reference take 2–3x longer to answer because the reviewer has to hunt for the relevant detail.

Reviewer flow

The reviewer (typically the architect) opens the email link, sees the question and the plan crop, and replies inline. They can also upload sketches or amended details. Their reply triggers a notification on your end.

Closing the loop

When you receive a response, you have three options:

1. Accept. The answer is clear and actionable. Click Accept and close. The RFI is locked.
2. Clarify. The answer is partial. Click Request clarification and the loop continues.
3. Escalate. The answer creates a cost or schedule impact. Click Convert to change order to seed a CO from the RFI.

Linking to other documents

From the RFI detail page, you can link to a related submittal, change order, daily log entry, or another RFI. Links are bidirectional — if you link RFI-014 to CO-007, the CO shows the RFI link in its history section.

The RFI log

The RFI log lists every RFI sorted by status. Filters across the top let you slice by discipline, status (Open, Answered, Closed), or recipient. Click the export icon to generate a PDF log for the weekly project meeting.

Common mistakes

• Compound questions.“What is the door schedule and the hardware spec?” gets a worse answer than two separate RFIs.
• No due date. RFIs without dates slip. Always set a due date and let the system nag the reviewer.
• Forgetting the cost/schedule impact flag. The flag drives downstream forecasting. Mark it Yes/No/Unknown explicitly.