Document Review Policy

Facilities guiding principles for the review of project documents are as follows:

  1. All project managers and supervisors that have developed contract documents for implementation of construction projects have the obligation to ensure that those documents (and subsequent shop drawings, etc.) are reviewed by all relevant parties in Facilities. In addition to internal review within the unit, any projects developed in Facilities Operations must be sent to Facilities Design & Construction for review and any projects developed in Facilities Design & Construction must be sent to Facilities Operations for review.
  2. All comments and responses must be made in writing and documented as part of the official project record.
  3. Everyone in the review process must respond as part of the document review procedure. If you have no comment, then respond "No Comment." This is to ensure that everyone has actually seen the documents and that all parties have responded.
  4. Every comment/suggestion that is made must be responded to. There can be no ignoring of comments/ "pocket vetoes" by any staff person in charge of a project because they do not agree with the comment or think that it is frivolous. If one of our staff has responded with a comment, it must be taken seriously and responded to.
  5. Comments/suggestions that are agreed to will be noted in the record and the agreed upon solution will be communicated back to the commenter.
  6. Not all comments/suggestions must be accepted and agreed to by the person managing the project. There may be comments made that result in a conflict with the program for the project or that have a major financial impact or that are clearly outside the scope of the project, etc. Responses to the commenter must include the rationale for not accepting and implementing the comment. If the person managing the project needs to explain the rationale in person in more detail, that should be noted in the response and followed up by a phone call or meeting.
  7. If the person making the comment agrees with the rationale presented for not accepting the comment, then they must respond to the person managing the project that they agree and that the response is acceptable.
  8. If the person making the comment disagrees with the rationale presented, they must respond to the person managing the project that they disagree and that they need to discuss the comment/suggestion. If, after meeting, the reviewer and the person managing the project come to agreement, then it must be noted in the record and the agreed upon solution will be implemented. If the reviewer and the project manager still disagree after meeting and discussing the comment and response, then the comment and response shall be forwarded to the Director of Operations and the Director of Design and Construction for resolution. If the directors resolve the issue, it must be noted in the record and all parties informed of the decision and the agreed upon solution implemented.
  9. If after meeting, the directors cannot agree upon a solution, they shall refer the issue to the Associate Vice President of Facilities for a decision. After consulting with the directors, the Associate Vice President shall make a decision and communicate the decision to all parties, have the record updated and then have the decision implemented.