Requests for Information, or RFIs, are imperative parts of the construction process. RFIs are used to clarify and address the inevitable gaps, conflicts, and ambiguities in information related to construction documents. In RedTeam Flex, RFIs can be formally submitted to architects, engineers, owners and any other parties responsible for providing such clarifications.
The instructions below detail the process of creating, committing, submitting, answering, tracking and marking up RFIs in RedTeam Flex.
1. Create a Request for Information (RFI)
A Request for Information (RFI) is one type of Dialog document that can be found in the Dialog tab of a Project.
RFI templates can be created and customized in the Configuration menu of RedTeam Flex. You are not limited to the number of RFI forms and templates you can create. For assistance creating new RFI forms, please contact the RedTeam Flex Support Team using the chat bubble on the bottom left corner.
RFIs and other documents in the Dialog tab can be linked to Issues. Issues are typically concerns that have arisen on a Project, but they may also be general topics that you can list on Meeting Minutes and can be used to link Dialog documents together. You can run an Issue Report by navigating to the Manage Issues section of the Dialog tab (located under the home icon on the top left).
After RFIs are created, you can review and commit the document, then send it via email. Recipients can answer RFI documents you send them without ever having to log in to the application.
Steps:
From the Project's home menu, click Request for Information.
OR
Click on the Dialog tab within the Project. To add an RFI Click the +New icon.
Select the RFI template you would like to create from your configured list
(Optional) select or create an Issue to link this RFI to (Click here to learn more about Issues)
Fill in the required fields, such as Date, Required Date, Author, Recipient, Subject, and Question
Click Next step
Click Link to link to an existing file from this Project, i.e. a drawing from your Plans & Specs, or +Add Files to upload from your computer
Once you select the file click Start upload
If you are uploading a PDF file you have the option to do markups and annotations directly on the file to attach the document to your RFI.Click here to learn how to markup and annotate your PDF files.
After you added your files and done the corresponding markups (optional) click Next step.
From the Confirmation, click View Document to open and review the RFI or close the form.
2. Edit a Request for Information
Every RFI is created in Draft status. While in Draft status you can review the RFI before sending it out. If you need to make any changes to the content of the RFI, you can Edit the document by following the steps below.
Steps:
From the Project's home menu, click Request for Information
Locate the DRAFT RFI in the list of Dialog Documents
OR
From the Project's Dialog tab, locate the Draft RFI you wish to edit.
Click the Pencil icon to edit the record.
Make the changes to the RFI content and Attachments on the next step as needed, then click Next step. You can add attachments or edit the current ones, you can also markup any PDF file you have already added or any new one you want to include. Click here to learn how to markup and annotate your PDF files.
From the Confirmation, click View Document to open and review the RFI or close the form
3. Commit a Request for Information
Every RFI is created in Draft status. While in Draft status you can review the RFI before sending it out. Once you are happy with the RFI document and are ready to send, you will Commit the RFI to remove the Draft watermark and make it ready for email or printing.
Steps:
From the Project's home menu, click Request for Information
Locate the DRAFT RFI in the list of Dialog Documents
OR
From the Project's Dialog tab, locate the Draft RFI you wish to Commit.
Click the tools icon and select Commit
The RFI will turn from green to blue and the status will change to Committed
You can also Commit from the RFI View in the top right corner
4. Issue a Request for Information
Once an RFI has been created, reviewed, and committed, you can issue the document via email in RedTeam Flex. When you click email, the recipient and CC's you selected when filling out the RFI form will automatically populate in the To: and CC. sections of the email form. If no contact shows up, verify that a recipient was selected (Edit the RFI to check the form) and that the recipient selected has a valid email address on file.
If you prefer, you can Print or Print to PDF the RFI document from the View.
Steps:
From the Project's home menu, click Request for Information
Locate the RFI in the list of Dialog Documents
OR
From the Project's Dialog tab, locate the Draft RFI you wish to issue.
Click the View icon to open the document and review the content.
If the RFI is in Draft status, review the document and click Commit from the tools in the top right corner
Once Committed, click the Email button to send the RFI via email
Review the recipients in the To: and CC: sections, and add an email message if necessary.
When ready, click Send
5. Answer a Request for Information (RFI)
Recipients who receive RFIs that you issue from RedTeam Flex via email have the ability to answer the RFI without ever having to log in or enter any kind of credentials. From the email you sent, they can open the RFI and submit comments as well as upload any relevant files related to the RFI.
In some cases, your recipients may not respond to the RFI through the email you send. In those cases where they submit their response through some other medium, you have the option to enter their response and upload any relevant files on their behalf. You will do this from inside your Project in the Dialog tab.
💡Remember:
Once an RFI response has been saved, it cannot be edited or removed. To correct any mistakes, you can void the RFI and recreate it from a draft that will contain the same information as the original one.
Follow the instructions below to answer an RFI in RedTeam Flex.
Steps:
From the Project's home menu, click Request for Information
Locate the COMMITTED RFI in the list of Dialog Documents
OR
From the Project's Dialog tab, locate the Committed RFI you wish to answer.
Click the tools icon and select Answer.
In Step 1, scroll down to the Response section
Select the RFI responder, returned date, answer, and an attachment (if applicable)
You can also markup the file you attach to the response. Click here to learn how to markup and annotate your PDF files.Click Next Step or click directly on Step 3. Confirmation to save the response
From the Confirmation, click View Document to open and review the RFI Response or close the form
6. Close a Request for Information (RFI)
Once a Request for Information (RFI) has been answered, you can review the answer in RedTeam Flex. If the answer satisfies the question(s) asked in the RFI, you can Close the RFI. Closing an RFI indicates that the answer has been reviewed, is sufficient, and meets your approval. This locks in and finalizes the answer. If you need to Re-Open a Closed RFI, you may do so as long as you have the permissions. If you do not have permission to Close and/or Re-Open an RFI, please contact your System Admin.
If your Project's Preferences are set to include RFIs in the Online Planroom, Closed RFIs will appear there automatically.
Steps:
From the Project's Home menu, select Requests for Information.
Locate the RFI that you want to Close
OR
From the Project's Dialog tab, locate the RFI that you wish to Close.
Click the tools icon, hover the mouse over Change Status and select Close
7. RFI Reminder
A Request For Information can include custom reminders for the author to follow up and see it through to completion. The reminders can be set as email reminders, RedTeam Flex action items, or just popups within RedTeam Flex. Those reminders will occur at the set period before the response date that is set for the RFI, so if the reply date is 5 days out and the reminder is set for 1 day, the reminder will occur at 4 days out. If the email reminder is used, RedTeam Flex will immediately email a calendar reminder for that date which can be added to an Outlook calendar, Google Calendar, etc.
Removing an existing reminder will set the Reminder to display a 0-minute popup reminder.
To add, edit, or remove reminders, you'll use the project preferences. Project preferences are found in the gear icon at the top of the project, to the right of the progress bar.
Steps:
Go to the project where you need to set up your reminders and click the gear-shaped Project Setup icon at the top.
Navigate to Step 2 Project Preferences and use the search box to search for Request for Information.
Scroll down to the Requests for Information section and add, edit, or remove reminders as needed.
You can set up different reminders for each type of RFI template.Learn more about Document Templates.
If the project does not have any reminders set up for the RFI type you'll only see the option to +Add Reminder.
8. Markup PDF files for RFIs
Marking up your attached PDF files on your RFIs will give your RFI recipients a better way to see and understand what's been asked. You can support your questions with as many files as needed and you can markup and annotate all of them if needed.
See the steps below to learn how.
Go to Step 2. Attachments on the RFI form, remember you can do this when you are creating or editing a Draft RFI, also you have this Option when submitting an Answer for the RFI.
Once you select your files and upload they will be listed on the bottom section of the form. Click on the file name to open the View Attachment screen,
From the View Attachment screen, click the button Stamp / Markup.
You have other options on this screen to zoom in/out, navigate through pages, view the Outline, Annotations list and Bookmarks.
You have an array of tools to choose from to add annotations, lines, polygons, text and even Stamps that you can configure and customize to meet your Company's needs.
After you add your markups and annotations you can review them using the Annotations Menu on the left, where you'll find an option to Delete them if you happen to make a mistake.
After you are done you can click the Back button on the top right, the annotations auto-save so you are good to go.
You can also use the Markup tools from the View RFI option, by clicking the Attachment link listed on the document.
NOTE: You can only markup PDF files when you are creating a new RFI, or when you are editing or viewing a Draft record, the option to Markup will NOT be available when the RFI is Committed, Canceled, Voided or Closed.
When the record is not in Draft you'd be able to see the files with the markups previously added as a read-only option.
9. Cancel an RFI and Recover a canceled RFI
You may need to cancel an RFI created in error. You can navigate to the RFI > Tools Icon > Change Status > Cancel to do so. This will cancel the RFI and filter it out of the standard Dialog view. You're able to find Canceled RFIs by filtering the items in the Dialog tab to include canceled items.
If you canceled the RFI by mistake and you wish to recover the RFI, you can do so by navigating to the RFI > Tools Icon > Change Status > Recover.
Note that if your project is integrated with Fieldlens, RFIs canceled in RedTeam Flex will be voided in Fieldlens. If you recover a canceled RFI in RedTeam Flex, the RFI will also be recovered in Fieldlens and available to project team members.