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The short version. One question per RFI. Put the question in Question, the evidence in References, and say where on the job it is.

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Write it

1

Ask one question

One question per RFI. Three questions in one RFI comes back with one answer and you’ve lost two weeks.Ask it so a yes/no or a dimension answers it. “Which detail governs at the column line — A-501/3 or S-201/5?” beats “Please clarify the column detail.”
2

Put the evidence in References

Question is what you’re asking. References is what you’re pointing at — the sheet, the spec section, the photo, the marked-up detail.A marked-up sheet in References is the single biggest thing you can do to get a fast answer. → Marking up a sheet
3

Set the Location

Where on the job. It’s how somebody finds it six months later, and it’s what makes the RFI log readable when there are 200 of them.
4

Set the priority honestly

Hot flags the RFI as urgent.
5

Set the review routing

Who needs to see it, in what order. → Review Routing
6

Submit it

A draft RFI is not asked. Nobody is notified until you submit.
Don’t mark everything Hot. Once everything is hot, nothing is, and the one that actually stops work gets the same attention as the rest.

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What a good RFI looks like

Gets answered fast

One question · names the conflicting documents · marked-up sheet attached · location set · realistic priority

Sits for three weeks

“Please advise” · no references · three questions in one · no location · marked Hot like the last nine
You can talk an RFI in instead of typing it, and the assistant will ask you follow-up questions until it’s specific enough to send. → Talking an RFI into existence

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Next

Statuses and Ball in Court

Where is it, and whose desk is it on?

Answering an RFI

And how to pull the record later.