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Negosentro | What Is RFI Process in Construction and How to Upgrade It? | Request for Information or RFI is an essential process for construction and other industries. It is necessary to upgrade it to have higher profit margins through the well-managed pre-construction phase. With great RFI, contractors can count on error-free costing and perfect bidding background with a big number of willing clients to cooperate with.
RFI takes place at the stage of bidding or even before it. The most win-win way to upgrade your construction Request for Information is using tendering and estimating software. Digital tools can improve your accuracy when it comes to data gathering and processing. RFI is based on in-depth insights and analytical information. So the special-purpose software can make a difference when it comes to RFI-based updates.
RFIs Management as the Main Shift of the Construction Companies
The main idea is to ensure clients and potential customers access to all the critically important information of present-day contractors. Your corporate data should be well-structured while working with several projects and consumers at once. That is why most construction RFIs are not lacking in mistakes and time-consuming tasks most building companies would like to avoid.
For example, some experts state that the possibility of errors is about 90% if you use spreadsheets. Manual operations increase this risk up to 98-99%. That is why it is reasonable to adapt your marketing and development strategies that will force positive RFI-driven changes and upgrade the Request for Information operations.
5 Helpful Tips for Contractors Who Want to Upgrade Their RFIs
Try to rule with the increasing resources for your RFIs. This way you will complete your construction tasks faster and risk-free. Create a Request for Information before the bidding stage takes place. This is the most optimal time to avoid timeline challenges and other unpleasant surprises related to the data processing and provision of access to your data entries.
Remember that Request for Information guarantees that all the insights will be presented correctly and any detail will be missed. Most RFIs cover costing and scheduling data entries that are critical for the pre-construction phase. Let’s take a closer look at the most helpful RFI-driven tips to simplify your preparation of Request for Information routines and upgrading construction RFIs.
1 – Early Analytics
Start with team meetings and discussion of all the pre-construction details to take into consideration. Ask your clients about their expectations. And then, start analytical research based on the early insights got from these dialogs (with your team members and customers).
2 – Clear RFI Naming
Use a special-purpose system to manage RFI naming. The client will get clear references to the communication channels and databases with access. You can add various questionnaires to specify more details about the project:
- How many parking lots should be on the zero level or in the underground of the premise;
- What type of HVAC system should be installed;
- What peculiarities of interior and exterior should take place, etc.
Well-named RFIs will be easy to access. You can count on immediate feedback and upgraded Request for Information experiences.
3 – Ask Precise Questions
You will get great answers if you ask good questions. For example, you can make all the requests short and very precise. The questionnaire can contain ready-to-use answers for the client’s convenience. Or you can ask about customers’ preferences in the free form for more details.
4 – Use Software for Better Results
Great RFIs start with specific software for digitization and automation of all the processes. It is worth noting that almost all data processing operations require special-purpose digital tools to skip the paperwork and manual procedures. The outdated approaches should be replaced with automated RFIs for zero errors and minimum risks of data loss.
5 – Be About Transparency
Your successful outcome depends on your transparency when it comes to responses and their review. Provide your stakeholders with precise information, materials, feedback, and more questions for details. Be transparent with your communication, reactions, conclusions, and calculations. No pitfalls and hidden data should take place.
This way your clients will be pleased with your strategies and approaches to the RFIs and other pre-construction operations. Your task is to create a Request for Information background only with unique estimations, costing data, and bidding profiles.