The chain, link by link
For a typical package: the manufacturer or distributor provides cut sheets and technical data; the subcontractor selects products, marks up the literature, adds project-specific documents, and submits to the GC. The GC's project engineer checks it against the spec and the register, applies the contractor's review stamp, and forwards to the architect. The architect routes discipline packages to the structural, mechanical, or electrical engineer of record, consolidates comments, and returns one stamped package down the same chain.
On design-build or EPC work the same functions exist with different hats — the design-builder's engineering team reviews internally — but someone always prepares, someone always checks, and someone always approves.
What the GC's stamp actually certifies
The contractor's review stamp is not a formality. Under AIA A201, by submitting, the GC represents it has reviewed the submittal, verified field measurements and construction criteria, and coordinated the contents with the work. Architects return unstamped packages unreviewed. Good GC project engineers catch the cheap errors before the architect does — wrong voltage, missing options, a package that ignores an addendum — because every error the architect catches instead costs a two-week cycle.
Where the load actually falls
In a subcontractor's office, submittal preparation usually lands on a project manager or project engineer during the busiest weeks of the job — buyout, mobilization, and the first look-ahead schedules all compete for the same hours. For a distributor-supported trade like lighting or plumbing fixtures, the distributor's quotes department often produces a first-draft package; the sub still owns marking it to the project's spec. This is exactly the work that runs to midnight: chasing PDFs across manufacturer sites, checking catalog strings, and merging 200 pages into a coherent package.
Special cases: delegated design and deferred items
Some submittals must be prepared by licensed professionals: fire sprinkler layouts by certified designers with hydraulic calcs, curtain wall and seismic-anchorage calculations sealed by the specialty contractor's engineer, precast and steel connections on some jobs. These delegated-design submittals carry stamped calculations, and the design team's review is limited to conformance with the specified criteria. Deferred submittals — items permitted for later review like sprinklers or storefront — follow the same preparation chain plus an AHJ leg.
Shrinking the preparation side
Submittal.App moves the preparation burden to software: the AI Builder reads a schedule or spec section, pulls matching manufacturer documents from an indexed library, and assembles the marked, formatted package with cover sheet and TOC in minutes. The PM reviews instead of assembling — and the same record flows through review, quotes, and purchase orders.