Submittals

What is it?

Submittals manage the technical documentation approval process between the contractor and the project team — shop drawings, data sheets, samples, and calculations. Before a contractor manufactures or installs an element, they submit the relevant documentation so the design team can review and approve it. Modunex keeps every submittal, its revisions, and the full approval history in one place, and lets you group related submittals into packages.

When to use it

Use submittals whenever a contractor must get technical documentation approved before fabricating or installing something — structural steel, façades, MEP systems, or any element the project team needs to review first.

Creating a submittal

When you create a submittal you describe what is being reviewed and who is responsible for it. The essential information is the submittal number and a title that explains the element under review, the trade it belongs to, and the submittal manager who will steer the process. Everything else is optional and helps give context: the reference specification, the submittal type (shop drawing, product data, sample…), the specialty within the trade, the responsible contractor, who you received it from, and a final due date for approval. You can also attach the supporting documents — plans, data sheets, or calculations.

The approval lifecycle

A submittal moves through a clear sequence of states as it is reviewed:

• It starts as a Draft, visible only to the person preparing it.
• Once it is sent for review it becomes Submitted, which starts the approval process.
• It may go through an Internal Review before reaching the design team, and then sits Under Review while the project team studies it.
• The review ends in one of four outcomes: Approved (no comments — manufacturing or installation can proceed), Approved as Noted (minor comments to incorporate), Revise & Resubmit (it needs corrections and a new submission), or Rejected (a complete revision is required).
• When everything is resolved, the submittal is marked Closed.

What you can do

Beyond creating individual submittals, you can group several related ones into a package, move a submittal through its workflow (submit, resubmit, mark under review, approve, approve as noted, or reject), and add a new revision at any point while keeping the full history. Deleted submittals go to a recycle bin so they can be restored, and you can export the whole register to Excel.

How to use it

1. Go to Project Hub → Submittals.
2. Click "New Submittal". Fill in Submittal Number, Title, Trade, and Manager.
3. Attach technical documents (plans, data sheets, calculations).
4. Change status to "Submitted" to start the review process.
5. Assigned reviewers receive notification and can approve, note, or reject.