The plan review process is one of the most essential yet underappreciated steps in construction. It serves as the foundation for a successful project, ensuring that potential issues are identified and resolved before any work begins. A thorough plan review minimizes surprises during inspections and reduces the risk of costly delays, rework, or disputes. Yet, despite its importance, plan review often faces resistance from contractors and developers who perceive it as an obstacle rather than a safeguard.
In today’s building departments, where staffing levels are stretched thin, especially for inspectors, the pressure to balance thoroughness and efficiency is immense. Inspectors tasked with visiting multiple sites daily simply don’t have the time to perform calculations or make complex decisions that should have been addressed during plan review. When these issues are left unresolved, inspectors in the field are often left to scramble for solutions, creating frustration for everyone involved. For contractors, this can mean significant financial risks, including unplanned changes, project delays, or even having to tear apart completed work to address compliance issues.
Deferred submittals, while allowable in certain cases, can exacerbate these challenges. Contractors who move forward without finalized approvals do so at their own risk. While this approach might speed up initial progress, it often backfires when unresolved design or compliance issues resurface during inspections. Unfortunately, when these problems arise, the blame frequently shifts to the building department, regardless of whether the fault lies with the contractor’s decision to proceed prematurely or with an inadequate plan review.
This hits close to home for me because I’ve experienced the consequences of these dynamics firsthand. As an inspector, I’ve made decisions in the field only to realize later, after taking more time to research the code, that my initial judgment was incorrect. These situations are humbling and frustrating, but they underscore an important point: if the issue had been addressed during plan review, it could have been resolved before anyone stepped onto the site.
On the flip side, I’ve also encountered projects where I was rushed through a plan review. Upon closer examination, it became clear the plans were riddled with errors and omissions—an obvious attempt to slip them through in hopes we wouldn’t notice. Taking the time to properly review those plans not only protected the project from future delays but also highlighted why shortcuts in the review process almost always lead to bigger problems down the road.
The guys on my team who handle inspections simply don’t have the bandwidth to make decisions or review changes in the field that should have been handled through a formal revision and plan review. In the field, where contractors are standing in front of you, the pressure to make quick decisions can lead to rushed judgments. Human error is more likely under those circumstances, and that can result in costly mistakes. Sometimes, it means we end up making a contractor redo work unnecessarily, but just as often, it can mean something critical gets overlooked. Neither scenario is acceptable, but both are preventable with a solid plan review process.
Building departments face criticism no matter how they approach plan review. If the department requires more detailed submissions upfront, contractors argue that the process causes unnecessary delays. Conversely, if the department moves plans through too quickly to avoid pushback, inspectors are left to deal with incomplete or ambiguous details on-site, further straining already limited resources.
The solution lies in striking the right balance. A robust plan review process ensures that most of the critical decisions are made early, setting the stage for smoother inspections and a more predictable construction timeline. While this may involve more effort upfront, it ultimately saves time and money by preventing delays and costly rework. Educating contractors and developers on the value of detailed plan reviews is essential to fostering cooperation and reducing resistance.
Plan review is not a bottleneck—it’s a necessary checkpoint to ensure safety, compliance, and efficiency. As building departments grapple with limited staffing and increasing workloads, the importance of thorough plan reviews cannot be overstated. By addressing potential issues before construction begins, we not only alleviate pressure on inspectors but also safeguard the success of the project as a whole.
In today’s building departments, where staffing levels are stretched thin, especially for inspectors, the pressure to balance thoroughness and efficiency is immense. Inspectors tasked with visiting multiple sites daily simply don’t have the time to perform calculations or make complex decisions that should have been addressed during plan review. When these issues are left unresolved, inspectors in the field are often left to scramble for solutions, creating frustration for everyone involved. For contractors, this can mean significant financial risks, including unplanned changes, project delays, or even having to tear apart completed work to address compliance issues.
Deferred submittals, while allowable in certain cases, can exacerbate these challenges. Contractors who move forward without finalized approvals do so at their own risk. While this approach might speed up initial progress, it often backfires when unresolved design or compliance issues resurface during inspections. Unfortunately, when these problems arise, the blame frequently shifts to the building department, regardless of whether the fault lies with the contractor’s decision to proceed prematurely or with an inadequate plan review.
This hits close to home for me because I’ve experienced the consequences of these dynamics firsthand. As an inspector, I’ve made decisions in the field only to realize later, after taking more time to research the code, that my initial judgment was incorrect. These situations are humbling and frustrating, but they underscore an important point: if the issue had been addressed during plan review, it could have been resolved before anyone stepped onto the site.
On the flip side, I’ve also encountered projects where I was rushed through a plan review. Upon closer examination, it became clear the plans were riddled with errors and omissions—an obvious attempt to slip them through in hopes we wouldn’t notice. Taking the time to properly review those plans not only protected the project from future delays but also highlighted why shortcuts in the review process almost always lead to bigger problems down the road.
The guys on my team who handle inspections simply don’t have the bandwidth to make decisions or review changes in the field that should have been handled through a formal revision and plan review. In the field, where contractors are standing in front of you, the pressure to make quick decisions can lead to rushed judgments. Human error is more likely under those circumstances, and that can result in costly mistakes. Sometimes, it means we end up making a contractor redo work unnecessarily, but just as often, it can mean something critical gets overlooked. Neither scenario is acceptable, but both are preventable with a solid plan review process.
Building departments face criticism no matter how they approach plan review. If the department requires more detailed submissions upfront, contractors argue that the process causes unnecessary delays. Conversely, if the department moves plans through too quickly to avoid pushback, inspectors are left to deal with incomplete or ambiguous details on-site, further straining already limited resources.
The solution lies in striking the right balance. A robust plan review process ensures that most of the critical decisions are made early, setting the stage for smoother inspections and a more predictable construction timeline. While this may involve more effort upfront, it ultimately saves time and money by preventing delays and costly rework. Educating contractors and developers on the value of detailed plan reviews is essential to fostering cooperation and reducing resistance.
Plan review is not a bottleneck—it’s a necessary checkpoint to ensure safety, compliance, and efficiency. As building departments grapple with limited staffing and increasing workloads, the importance of thorough plan reviews cannot be overstated. By addressing potential issues before construction begins, we not only alleviate pressure on inspectors but also safeguard the success of the project as a whole.
