Tracks GFC (Good for Construction) drawing submissions + approvals — by discipline, by area, by date. Critical to identify GFC bottlenecks that delay construction.
12-May-2026. Total Planned: 245 drawings. GFC Issued: 168 (69 %). Pending: 77. By Discipline: Civil 95 % done, Struct 80 %, MEP 55 % (delayed by HVAC sub-consultant). Critical path: Foundation drawings 100 % done; MEP for L3 onwards critical. Escalation: HVAC consultant — target 30-May.
GFC (Good for Construction) is the final design-cycle milestone — the designer formally releases the drawing for actual site execution. Only GFC-stamped drawings can be built from; non-GFC drawings are advisory only.
The GFC Submission Tracker is the project-level master log of which drawings have achieved GFC status, which are still in review, and which are pending revision. For projects with 500-5,000 drawings, this tracker is essential — without it, the project manager doesn't know what's ready for construction vs what's blocked.
Cost of getting GFC wrong: building from non-GFC drawings = demolition + rework when GFC version is finally issued; costs typically 5-15× the original construction cost for the affected element.
Per-drawing entry: - Drawing reference number - Discipline (architectural / structural / MEP / plumbing) - Current revision - Status: In Design / In Review / GFC Issued / Superseded - GFC date - Construction status - Notes
Updated weekly during design phase; daily during peak transition from design to construction.
Color-coded dashboard view: - 🔴 Red: not yet GFC — site cannot proceed - 🟡 Yellow: in final review - 🟢 Green: GFC issued + construction can begin - ⚫ Grey: GFC issued + construction complete
Project manager + PMC + main contractor review weekly. Discrepancies between expected GFC date vs actual cause schedule slippage; tracker visibility forces designer accountability.
1. GFC stamp without all approvals — designer issues GFC before all consultants (structural / MEP / architect) have signed off. Construction begins; later coordination issue forces drawing recall.
2. Missed dependencies — Drawing A waits on input from Drawing B; B not GFC'd; A delayed. Tracker should map dependencies.
3. GFC date slippage — designers consistently miss GFC dates → construction schedule slips. Tracker provides early warning.
4. Wrong revision marked GFC — older revision stamped GFC while newer revision exists. Strict revision-control discipline at the GFC step.
5. GFC release without GFC stamp — drawing emailed without proper stamp marking; contractor builds anyway; dispute over which revision was the basis.
6. No GFC withdrawal protocol — when design defect discovered post-GFC, formal withdrawal + reissue protocol is needed. Sometimes ignored.
Companion PMC formats: - Drawing Transmittal (PMC-DES-FRM-001) — formal document transmission - Design Review Register (PMC-DES-REG-001) — review iterations leading up to GFC - Clash Detection Report (PMC-DES-RPT-001) — coordination output (must close before GFC) - BIM Coordination Log (PMC-DES-LOG-001) — BIM-based coordination decisions
Standards: ISO 19650 Parts 1-5 (BIM information management); PAS 1192-2 (design + delivery phase); ISO 9001:2015 Clause 8.3 (design and development control).