Steel construction comes with its own set of coordination challenges, and RFIs (Requests for Information) are among the most common issues encountered during a project.
They are routine, but they’re also one of the most expensive parts of a project; they are often used to flag gaps between design intent, shop drawings, and field reality.
Previously, we learned about the Tekla Steel Detailing Workflow and explored the role of design and detailing in steel structures. Today, we will discuss some common RFIs in steel projects and why they occur.
The good news is you can prevent these RFIs in steel projects, or at least reduce them, through discipline and coordination in your detailing.
Where Most Steel RFIs Actually Come From
Contractors typically submit RFIs when the information provided in the drawings or project documents is unclear, incomplete, inconsistent, or difficult to construct as shown.
In steel projects, these issues can arise from missing dimensions, conflicting details between drawings, unresolved connections, coordination clashes, or differences between the design and actual site conditions. While an RFI may seem like a small clarification, repeated questions can disrupt fabrication, erection, and the overall project schedule.
The categories that repeat:
- Missing Connection Details: Bolt grade, weld size, or plate thickness missing for a specific joint, forcing the fabricator to guess or ask
- Conflicts between Structural and Architectural Drawings: A beam occupying the space of a duct, stair, or facade bracket
- Member Size or Grade Differences: Schedule says one thing, plan view says something else
- Unclear Erection Sequence: No indication of which pieces need temporary bracing, or what order columns and beams should go up in.
- MEP Clashes: Sprinkler lines, cable trays, or ductwork that penetrates a beam that was never designed to be penetrated.
- Fireproofing or Coating Callouts: These do not correspond to the connection type shown
None of these are exotic problems. They are coordination failures, and detailing is supposed to catch them before drawings leave the office.
What are the Most Common RFIs in Steel Construction Projects?
The same patterns are repeated across projects. Common RFIs are:
- Missing or unsupported connection forces (shear, axial, moment) on connection tables.
- Conflict between top of steel elevations and slab/deck thickness or architectural levels on beams.
- Clearance between brace gusset and flanges of an adjacent beam or webs of an adjacent column.
- Anchor rod patterns that conflict with concrete reinforcing or foundation designs.
- Field fit conditions for new steel to existing construction.
- Long span beams without camber or with inconsistent camber values.
- Unspecified steel grades, grid size conflicts, or member size inconsistencies
- Unclear weld symbols, bolt grades, or finish specifications.
- Lots of equipment not shown on structural drawings.
- Steel is not consistent with concrete dimensions when setting out information.
How can Better Steel Detailing Reduce RFIs and Construction Delays?
This is where steel detailing proves its worth for the project timeline, and it is not just another box to tick.
So, how to reduce RFIs in construction? The answer is detailing.
Detailing goes beyond simply creating steel shop drawings at lightning speed. It is about identifying the problems that can lead to RFIs later.
With modern detailing workflows that rely on BIM and Tekla Structures, teams can model every connection, bolt, and weld in 3D before fabrication begins.
These modern engineering approaches transform the whole process of detailing:
- Automated Clash Detection: It helps catch issues like a beam colliding with a duct or a column bumping into a stair stringer while it’s still easy and affordable to fix.
- Connection-level Accuracy: This means every joint is modeled with its actual bolts, plates, and welds, rather than using a generic symbol that gets sorted out later.
- Coordinated Shop and Erection Drawings: They are generated straight from the model, ensuring that what the fabricator cuts is exactly what the erector installs.
- Fabrication-ready Output: It takes away the guesswork that used to require a phone call and cause delays.
This is also where we’re starting to see the shift toward generative design in structural engineering. Not just another trend, but a practical tool for evaluating connection options based on load and cost before making a final decision.
How Does the Regional Factor Affect RFIs & Detailing in Steel Construction?
Dubai is a city that never sleeps. Something is always being built or moved.
When a construction company in Dubai is in such a race of towers and industrial sheds, they can’t go slow.
Projects can leap from concept to steel orders in just a few months. What does it mean?
It means any steel structure company in Dubai that’s still clinging to outdated 2D coordination is practically inviting a surge in RFIs.
In contrast, companies using 3D modeling for their design and detailing in steel construction are seeing a drop in RFIs. They now have:
- Tighter fabrication tolerances
- Fewer surprises when it comes time to erect the structure.
It’s not that the steel is getting any smarter; it’s that the drawings are now more complete. Modern ones leave less room for on-site confusion that requires a quick phone call to sort out.
Managing Steel detailing RFIs has quietly become one of the most significant elements of a steel project. Nail it, and those RFIs can go from a weekly headache to a rare blip on the radar.
Conclusion
Reducing RFIs in steel projects starts long before fabrication or erection begins. Accurate steel design and detailing, coordinated drawings, connection-level modeling, and early clash detection can identify issues before they reach the construction site.
As construction trends in the UAE continue to emphasize faster delivery and improved digital coordination, modern tools for steel detailing have become increasingly valuable.
Al Yarmouk Steel recognizes the importance of precise detailing and coordinated steel solutions in supporting smoother fabrication and installation.
By combining technical expertise with modern detailing workflows, steel projects can minimize clarification requests, rework, and site disruptions. This also improves communication between engineers, fabricators, and erectors.
FAQs
Missing connection information, drawing conflicts, unclear dimensions, MEP clashes, and inconsistent member specifications are common causes. Better coordination can identify these issues before fabrication begins.
BIM allows project teams to coordinate structural elements in a detailed three-dimensional model. Clash detection can identify conflicts between steel, architecture, MEP, and other systems early.
Accurate detailing can reduce delays by providing clear fabrication and erection information before work reaches the site. It also minimizes field adjustments, clarification requests, and rework.