RFI (Request for Information)
A formal question from the contractor to the design team to resolve something the drawings or specs don't clearly answer.
Read →Glossary
The language of
the jobsite.
Plain-English definitions of the construction project management terms that run a job — RFIs, submittals, buyout, retainage, change orders, and more. Learn to speak the language before your first day.
34terms
defined
defined
Design & Documents5
Submittal
Product data, shop drawings, or samples a subcontractor submits for the design team to review before fabricating or ordering.
Read →Shop Drawings
Detailed fabrication and installation drawings prepared by a subcontractor or supplier, submitted for review before work is built.
Read →As-Built Drawings
Marked-up drawings showing how the project was actually built, including every field change from the original design.
Read →CSI MasterFormat
The standardized numbering system that organizes construction specifications into numbered divisions and sections.
Read →Contracts & Buyout8
Buyout
The process of soliciting, leveling, and awarding subcontracts and purchase orders to turn a budget into signed contracts.
Read →Commitment
A subcontract or purchase order — a signed agreement committing money to a subcontractor or supplier for a defined scope.
Read →Prime Contract
The agreement between the project owner and the general contractor that defines the total scope, price, and terms.
Read →Change Order
A formal, signed modification to a contract that adjusts its scope, price, or schedule after it's been executed.
Read →Change Event
A potential change to the work, logged and priced early — before it becomes a formal change order.
Read →GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price)
A contract price ceiling — the contractor guarantees the project won't exceed a set maximum, and shared savings go back to the owner.
Read →Prequalification
Vetting a subcontractor's financial health, safety record, capacity, and experience before letting them bid or awarding work.
Read →Bid Leveling
Normalizing competing subcontractor bids so you're comparing identical scope, not just headline numbers.
Read →Financials & Cost7
Schedule of Values
A line-item breakdown of a contract's total price, used as the basis for progress billing.
Read →Pay Application
A periodic invoice billing for the work completed to date, submitted against the Schedule of Values.
Read →Retainage
A percentage of each payment withheld until the work is substantially or fully complete, as security for performance.
Read →Lien Waiver
A signed document in which a contractor or supplier waives their right to file a mechanic's lien in exchange for payment.
Read →ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude)
A quick, early-stage cost estimate meant to give a ballpark budget, not a firm price.
Read →Back Charge
A cost billed back to a subcontractor for work or damage that was their responsibility.
Read →Value Engineering
Finding lower-cost ways to deliver the same function — substituting systems or details to cut cost without losing value.
Read →Field & Schedule10
Punch List
The list of incomplete or deficient items a contractor must fix before the work is accepted as complete.
Read →Daily Log
A dated record of what happened on site each day — crews, weather, work performed, deliveries, and issues.
Read →Critical Path
The sequence of dependent activities that determines the shortest possible project duration — any slip delays the finish.
Read →Long-Lead Item
Material or equipment with a long manufacturing and delivery time that must be ordered early to avoid delaying the job.
Read →Mobilization
The startup phase of getting people, equipment, and temporary facilities onto the site to begin construction.
Read →Notice to Proceed
The owner's formal authorization for the contractor to begin work and start the contract clock.
Read →Substantial Completion
The milestone when the work is complete enough for the owner to occupy or use it for its intended purpose.
Read →Certificate of Occupancy
The document from the local building authority certifying a building is safe and legal to occupy.
Read →Closeout
The final phase of a project: finishing punch work and assembling the documents and approvals that hand the building over.
Read →Scope Gap
Work that no subcontractor's contract covers — a hole between trades that surfaces as a surprise cost.
Read →Roles4
General Contractor
The company the owner hires to build the project and manage the subcontractors who perform the trade work.
Read →Subcontractor
A specialty trade contractor hired by the general contractor to perform a defined portion of the work.
Read →Superintendent
The general contractor's on-site leader, responsible for running the field, the crews, and the day-to-day build.
Read →Owner's Representative
A person or firm that represents the owner's interests in managing the project, separate from the general contractor.
Read →Vocabulary is step one
Now go run the job.
Knowing the words is the start. Fluency comes from using them — run a real, sandboxed project and put every one of these into practice.