What a submittal is for
After a bid is awarded, the distributor does not simply start ordering. First they assemble a submittal: a package that documents the specific products, finishes and configurations proposed for every opening on the job. It goes to the architect and general contractor, who check it against the drawings and specification and approve it, approve it with corrections, or reject it.
The purpose is to catch mistakes and confirm intent while changes are still cheap. Approving a submittal says, in effect, this is what we agreed you would furnish. It protects both sides: the design team confirms they are getting what they specified, and the distributor gets written cover to order exactly what was approved.
What goes in the package
A door, frame and hardware submittal is a defined set of documents. The exact contents vary with the job, but a complete package usually includes the following.
- Door schedule: every opening, matched to the architect's numbering
- Frame and door elevations and types: drawn profiles showing each configuration
- Hardware schedule: every opening's hardware, organized into sets
- Manufacturer cut sheets: catalog data for each product being furnished
- Finishes: the specified finish for doors, frames and each hardware item
- Keying schedule: how cylinders are keyed and grouped
- Fire-rating information: labels and listings for rated openings
The hardware schedule is the heart of it
Of everything in the package, the hardware schedule carries the most detail and draws the most review. It lists each hardware set, the openings that use it, and every item in the set by manufacturer, product number, function and finish. A reviewer reads it to confirm the right lockset function, the correct closer for the opening, compliant exit devices on egress doors and proper fire-rated hardware where the opening is rated.
Because it is so detailed, the hardware schedule is also where accuracy pays off most. An error here propagates: the wrong function approved on the submittal becomes the wrong function ordered, delivered and installed. The door hardware schedule guide covers how these are structured in more depth.
The submit, review, approve, resubmit cycle
Submittals move through a loop. The distributor submits the package. The design team reviews it and returns it with a status, commonly approved, approved as noted, revise and resubmit, or rejected. If corrections are needed, the distributor revises and resubmits, and the cycle repeats until the package is clear to order against.
Each lap through this loop takes time, often a week or more per review. A package that goes back and forth two or three times can burn a month before a single door is ordered. That is why a clean first submittal, one that matches the spec and has no internal conflicts, is worth real effort.
Why accuracy and turnaround matter
Doors, frames and hardware sit on the critical path of a construction schedule. Frames often need to be on site before walls close up, and finish hardware is needed before the building can be secured and turned over. Submittal approval is the event that releases ordering, and ordering starts the lead-time clock on long-lead items.
So a slow or sloppy submittal does not just delay paperwork, it delays the job. Producing the package accurately from the detailed job data, rather than rekeying it by hand, is one way distributors shorten the cycle; eMullion generates submittals from the same job record used to detail and price the work, so the schedule, elevations and hardware all come from one consistent source.
