Review substitutions as a coordinated change

Trace the consequences of a changed board

A substitution can change more than species or color. Check actual section, coverage, profile, fastening interface, lengths, surface treatment and supporting evidence. Compare the exact proposed alternative with the accepted basis, field by field.

Keep the proposer’s reasons separate from the technical response. A shorter lead time or lower quote may be useful commercially, but it does not answer whether the changed connection or surface evidence is acceptable.

Reopen only the affected decisions, but find all of them

In a fictional boardwalk, the alternative has a similar visible face but a different side interface. The review must address the fastening package, not just approve a color sample. Keep the original and proposed details side by side.

Record acceptance, conditions or rejection through the project’s responsible review process. If the alternative is accepted, revise the procurement and receiving records. A favorable email about appearance should not be reused as approval of the whole assembly.

Build a comparison the reviewer can actually answer

Begin with the accepted product or detail revision. Beside each requirement, identify the proposed product and the specific document page that addresses it. “Equivalent hardwood” is not enough to compare a board section, fastening interface or surface report. Where the proposer has supplied no answer, write “not supplied” instead of copying the accepted value into the proposed column.

A report for a different finish, surface or product is not automatically evidence for the proposed item. Record the mismatch as a review question. Use the surface evidence guide to keep the report’s scope visible. The procurement worksheet can hold the required evidence and open questions; entering a note there does not record project approval.

Worked review: the boards arrive in shorter lengths

In a fictional project, a supplier proposes the same named board product in a different length assortment. The proposal says the total linear quantity is unchanged. That answers one purchasing question, but it leaves the joint layout unresolved: more short pieces can change where ends occur, how many cuts are needed and which transitions need a revised detail.

The reviewer requests the proposed length schedule and a marked layout showing the affected joints. The responsible design team reviews support and connection implications; the owner reviews replacement-stock and staging implications. The quantity planner can then be rerun with the accepted inputs. It cannot decide whether an unsupported joint or a changed connection is acceptable.

Keep the outcome specific. “Length assortment accepted subject to layout revision B” is a conditional record, not permission to disregard the condition. If revision B has not been supplied or reviewed, show that item as open. Do not turn the example into a standard joint spacing, fastening schedule or allowance.

Separate the review decision from release to purchase

Use the project’s own approval process and responsible reviewers. A useful record distinguishes the proposal received, technical response, unresolved conditions and the version released for procurement. Approval of a color sample, confirmation of stock or acceptance of a price should retain its limited scope.

• Record who made each decision, its date and the exact proposal revision.
• List conditions individually, with the evidence needed to close each one.
• Identify drawings, quantities, fasteners, mockups and owner records affected by the change.
• Before release, confirm that the purchasing description matches the accepted revision.
• Give receiving staff the accepted product identity and the differences they must check.
• Retain the original basis, proposal, decision and superseded documents in the closeout record.

If an unresolved alternative arrives on site, delivery alone does not close the review. Keep its identity and status distinct from accepted stock and follow the project’s receiving process. The receiving checks and closeout records connect the review decision to the material actually supplied.