Architecture Firm Calls
A practical intake routine for architecture RFI calls
Capture requests for information by project, drawing, and deadline without letting a phone assistant issue design direction.
Identify the project and caller
Ask for the project name and number, caller company and role, callback details, and site location. Capture the RFI number when one exists. A new field question should not be attached to an old RFI merely because the subject sounds similar.
Pin the question to the documents
Record the drawing number, specification section, detail, revision, and exact question supplied by the caller. Note whether work is stopped and the deadline the caller states. Do not paraphrase the issue into a design instruction or choose which revision governs.
Keep professional judgment with the project team
The phone assistant must not approve substitutions, interpret drawings, authorize extra work, or promise cost or schedule relief. Route safety concerns and work-stoppage notices according to the project's escalation sheet. Send contract questions to the named project lead.
Confirm receipt and ownership
Read back the project, RFI reference, document location, question, and requested response time. Say who will review it and how formal responses are issued. A callback acknowledgment is not an answer to the RFI.