Material vs Drawing Discrepancies: When to Flag vs When Submittal Will Fix It

When superintendents and PMs run through AI plan check results, they often see a lot of material and finish discrepancies—the material or effect called out is different from what's on the drawing. The feedback we hear: “When we go through the submittal process, that'll get fleshed out. It's good to know, we can flag it if we need to, but we're not going to act on it right now.”

When to Flag vs When to Let Submittal Handle It

Not every material/drawing mismatch needs an immediate fix. Submittals are where many of these get resolved: the team confirms products, finishes, and details with the design team. So the value of AI here is visibility—you know where the gaps are. You can flag them for submittal review or track them in your issue list without treating every one as a must-fix before construction.

For jobs where materials and finishes are critical (e.g. owner-facing areas, specific performance requirements), you might choose to act on those issues earlier. For others, having them listed and tagged is enough so the superintendent or PM can pull them up when submittals roll in.

Focus the Check with Custom Prompts

When you upload drawings, you can add custom AI instructions in the prompt box—e.g. “Pay special attention to mechanical vs plumbing,” or “Don't spend time on material/finish mismatches that submittal will cover.” That helps the checker emphasize what matters for your workflow and reduces noise where you know submittal will handle it.

Over time we're moving toward more ongoing interaction (e.g. asking questions about your drawings and issues after the run), so you can refine what you care about without re-uploading.