9 February 2026
RFI vs Site Change: What's the Difference?
Two different problems, two different tools
Both an RFI (Request for Information) and a Site Change exist to resolve something that isn't clear or hasn't been designed for — but they solve different stages of the same problem, and treating them as interchangeable weakens your project record.
What an RFI is
An RFI is a question. It's raised when the drawings, specifications, or contract documents don't give the contractor enough information to proceed — a detail that's missing, ambiguous, or contradicts another document. An RFI is answered, not designed; the answer might be "see revised drawing," a clarification, or a formal instruction to the design team to resolve it.
RFIs are, by nature, forward-looking: they stop work (on that item) until the answer arrives.
What a Site Change is
A Site Change is a record of something that was actually altered on site — usually because a decision had to be made faster than a formal drawing revision could be issued. A detail gets adjusted in a site meeting, a fixture gets substituted, a dimension gets confirmed differently than drawn. The change happens; the Site Change is the record of it happening, distributed to everyone who needs to know.
Site Changes are backward-looking in the sense that they document a decision that's already been made, while making sure it reaches everyone who's relying on the original drawing.
Why the distinction matters
Conflating the two creates two different failure modes:
- Treating a Site Change like an RFI means work stops waiting for a formal answer to something that was already decided on site — slowing the project down for no reason.
- Treating an RFI like a Site Change means work proceeds on an assumption before the design team has actually confirmed it — the exact scenario that produces expensive rework.
Keeping them as separate, clearly labelled records also matters for the project's audit trail. If a dispute arises later about who decided what and when, "it was in an email" is a weak answer. A dated, distributed Site Change with a reference number and a record of who was notified is a strong one.
Keeping both in one place
Whichever term your project uses, the underlying need is the same: a clear, timestamped, distributed record that reaches everyone relying on the drawing it affects — not just the people in the room when the decision was made.
Site Changes on LatestDrawing.com are issued directly against the project's drawing register, with a full record of who was notified. See how it works.