Material submittal is a document that contains information about the proposed materials for construction. It is submitted by the supplier to the contractor, who then forwards it to the engineer and owner for review and approval. For example, if a project requires water supply pipes made of Glass Reinforced Polymer (GRP), the contractor requires the supplier to provide documents covering manufacturing specifications, pipe and fitting details, drawings, factory test results, material quality, supplier and manufacturer information, previous supply experience, and details of where the materials have previously been used. The contractor reviews the documents, checks them against the project specifications for compliance, and forwards the submittal to the engineer for review.
Required documents for MAS preparation are follow:
- Relevant Specification
- Compliance Statement
- Drawings
- Bill of Quantities
- Test Reports
- Catalogue & Brochure
- Material Data Sheet
- Previous Approvals
- Trade License
- ISO Certificates
- Company Profile
- Draft Warranty
The review might undergo several revisions. The engineer could approve the material as “Approved” or “APP,” or “A,” which means that they accept the material based on the information provided in the material submittal. However, achieving an A status is very rare. Another form of approval is “Approved as Notes,” or “AAN” or “B” status. In this case, the engineer provides several comments that have to be complied with, generally covering generic quality and safety requirements that must be followed. Some comments may be related to installation methods or accessories that need to be delivered. These requirements must be complied with and, in some cases, achieved an “A” status before project handover.
The third status is “Revise and Resubmit,” or "RR", "C" which means that the current version has to be revised and changed according to the comments provided. The fourth is “Rejected,” or "R" or "D" which means that the material is not compatible with the project requirements, and therefore the proposed material, supplier, or both have to be changed.
In terms of the review duration, it is general practice for the contractor to submit the first submission within two weeks, after which the engineer reviews it within two weeks and returns it with the applicable status. The second and subsequent submissions and approvals should generally be expedited within one week. Based on the agreement between the engineer and the owner/client, some projects require the client to be involved in the material review, while in other projects, the client may only be involved in the approval of certain important materials, such as equipment.
In addition to document submission, samples of the material have to be provided for review of color, texture, and material quality. Sometimes, a material submittal may be acceptable; however, the produced material may not have the required aesthetic appearance, especially in the case of marble, sanitaryware, light fittings, switch and socket faceplates, and other items that directly relate to the aesthetics of the project. The submittal may include a comment stating that the delivered material shall match the approved sample. These samples therefore play a significant role, as they act as references when new deliveries are made and compared against the base sample.
All construction materials, from the foundation to the roof, need to be approved before they are used in construction. Therefore, material submittal is a very important engineering activity in construction. The details of the material submittal process are explained in the video. Please have a look.
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