The first time I ever bid and landed a commercial plumbing contractor, it was for a huge retail store on the upper floor of a local shopping mall. Every bidder was required to provide submittals for virtually everything being installed. Six copies, if you please, and even if you don’t! I couldn’t understand why, if I am sticking to the products specified, do I need to waste time, paper and ink. After filing the required submittals with the architect, we waited for engineer-stamped approvals — or rejections if we deviated from specifications.
After core-drilling the concrete floor for our toilet, drainage, mop sink, and water line risers, we covered every opening with wood that had the appropriately sized plug — attached with screws – to prevent any objects from falling into the lower floor store’s retail space. We cleaned up all of our construction debris daily, but other subcontractors often left all debris behind. The general contractor sent in a cleaning crew one night after all tradespeople were gone for the day, to clean up the mess. Unfortunately, they assumed our wooden covers were part of the mess and threw them in the site dumpster. They then began pushing and sweeping up all the debris and discovered it was easier to push/sweep debris into our core-drilled toilet drain openings! Unfortunately, that concluded with a ceiling suspended ceiling tile collapsing down onto several customers and let’s just say the following day’s morning safety meeting was a bit loud!