Rushing a Submittal Out The Door Isn't Productivity... It's Cost Shifting
- Ryan Cullen
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Hot take:
Rushing a submittal out the door isn’t productivity.
It’s cost shifting.
In building automation, we sometimes celebrate speed like it’s the ultimate KPI.
“Just get it submitted.”
“We’ll clean it up later.”
“We’ll figure it out in the field.”
But “later” always shows up.
And it usually shows up wearing a hard hat.
As the Lead Project Engineer at XL Automation Solutions, I’ve seen the difference one early decision makes:
Spend an extra 5% of effort fully developing the shop drawings…
Or
Spend 50% more time answering RFIs, taking field calls, re-coordinating installs, and untangling confusion once boots hit the ground.
The field team pays for design shortcuts.
The PM pays for design shortcuts.
The project schedule pays for design shortcuts.
We just don’t see the invoice immediately.
Front-loading the work isn’t about perfectionism.
It’s about respect.
Respect for:
• The installers mounting panels at 6am.
• The technician tracing wire runs.
• The team pushing toward substantial completion
Our teammates are our customers, too.
A detailed, coordinated, intentional design package is a force multiplier.
It reduces friction.
It builds trust.
It creates momentum instead of drag.
Speed feels good in the short term.
But clarity scales.
If giving an extra 5% on the front end saves dozens of labor hours later, that’s not overengineering.
That’s leadership.
Ryan Cullen
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