How do RFI logs support delay claims?
The RFI log is primary evidence in an extension-of-time claim. Date raised, needed-by date, date answered and ball-in-court history establish who held the question and for how long — corroborated against daily reports, photos and schedule updates. Late responses to critical-path RFIs are among the most common bases for compensable delay. A log that cannot prove when a question was asked, or how long the answer took, cannot substantiate the claim.
What the log has to capture
A defensible RFI record is not a list of questions. It is a timeline: the date raised, the needed-by date, every routing hop, the date answered, and the ball-in-court history showing who was holding the item at each point. Without those four timestamps the claim rests on recollection.
Late responses to critical-path RFIs are among the most common bases for compensable delay — but only if the log can show the criticality, the request and the elapsed time.
Why the contract usually does not save you
AIA A201 requires only “reasonable promptness”, recognising delay just 15 days after a written request for interpretation if no period is agreed. If your contract specifies a fixed period — 7 to 14 days is the common convention — the log is the only instrument that enforces it.
An RFI is not a notice
A common and expensive trap: raising an RFI about a problem does not satisfy a contractual claim-notice requirement. Notice obligations are separate and usually stricter. Serve the notice the contract requires; the RFI log evidences the delay, it does not preserve the entitlement.
Terms
References
- module: /modules/rfi/ — Navigant Construction Forum (1,362 projects, 1M+ RFIs); AIA A201 General Conditions
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