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.
New to the industry? Start with our guide to breaking into construction project management, then come back for the vocabulary.
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.