Engineering Firms Need More Than Drawing Logs—They Need a Full Timeline of Decisions and Effort

In the world of engineering services, especially in complex infrastructure and building projects, small clarifications can lead to significant revisions. An RFI from the field might question a structural detail—say, the beam depth on a drawing. That inquiry prompts internal design coordination, revisions, approvals, and ultimately, the updated drawing that makes its way back to the contractor.

But here’s the problem: the full story of what happened—why the drawing changed, who made the decision, how much effort was involved, and when it occurred—is scattered across email threads, SharePoint folders, personal time logs, and disconnected file management systems.

What if all of that could be tied together?

Gridlex enables engineering firms to link every part of the decision chain—RFIs, time logs, revised drawings, approvals—into a single chronological project timeline. This is not just a version history. It’s a comprehensive, time-stamped record of what changed, why it changed, who was involved, and what it cost.

And in a world of increasing client scrutiny and tighter margins, that visibility is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

Why Firms Struggle to Tell the “Why” Behind Drawing Revisions

Let’s take a typical example. A contractor issues an RFI asking if a beam can be reduced in depth to avoid interfering with ductwork. The structural engineer investigates, revises the drawing, and submits a new detail.
 

That’s what gets delivered. But what gets lost?
 

• The original RFI sits in someone’s inbox.

• The design effort—two hours of structural review, one hour of modeling—is logged separately (or not at all).

• The drawing update is saved on a network drive, without context.

• The approval note is buried in a PDF markup or redline.
   

When it’s time to explain the reason for a cost increase, defend a delay, or answer a client audit, the team is left piecing together fragments—if they can even be found.
 

This lack of integration leaves firms exposed. It also hides the real value they’re delivering: responsive design coordination, detailed analysis, and rapid turnarounds.
 

Gridlex’s Project Timeline Links Everything in One Place
 

With Gridlex, every significant client interaction and design decision is captured on a unified timeline that reflects the life of the project. Here's how that works in the context of a drawing revision:
 

• The RFI Is Logged and Time-Stamped: When the contractor emails a question about the beam depth, Gridlex’s shared inbox and ticketing system automatically turns it into a tagged Construction RFI. The system captures when it was received, who submitted it, and what project phase it relates to.
   

• Engineer Time Is Tracked Against the RFI: As the structural engineer investigates and drafts a solution, the time spent is logged directly against the RFI ticket. Whether it’s one hour reviewing calcs or half an hour coordinating with MEP, every unit of time is recorded and linked.
   

• The Drawing Revision Is Uploaded With Context: When the revised structural sheet is ready, it’s not just added to a folder. Gridlex prompts the engineer to upload it as a revision tied to the original drawing, and links it directly to the RFI that caused the change.
   

• Approval Notes and Internal Reviews Are Captured: Whether it’s a QA/QC signoff or a project manager’s OK, the approval is logged with a date, reviewer name, and any attached commentary. This too is added to the timeline.
   

• The Entire Sequence Becomes Searchable: The project dashboard now includes a visual timeline showing: RFI received → hours logged → revised drawing submitted → approval logged. This is searchable by date, drawing number, user, or keyword.
   

The result is a full picture of how the project evolved—and who did what, when, and why.
 

Use Case in Action: Structural Drawing Revision on a Civic Building Project
 

Imagine a firm designing the structural system for a municipal recreation center. The general contractor sends an RFI during steel fabrication: “Can beam B19 be reduced from W21x44 to W18x35 without impacting deflection or shear limits?”
 

With Gridlex:
 

• The RFI is logged, tagged to the “Construction Admin” phase of Project 1482, and assigned to the lead structural engineer.
   

• The engineer logs 2.5 hours reviewing load paths, checking moment capacities, and coordinating with HVAC on clearance.
   

• A revised drawing (S-112) is uploaded and versioned, with a note: “B19 revised to W18x35—calcs attached.”
   

• The PM logs a final approval note: “Approved as field adjustment. Reviewed by Smith, PE.”
   

• All of this appears in the project timeline. Six months later, when the city requests a justification for the change order, the firm has every step documented.
   

Strategic Advantages of a Unified Timeline
 

This level of clarity gives firms a serious edge:
 

• Client Confidence: When owners see that you’ve documented every change, they trust your cost and schedule impacts.
   

• Risk Mitigation: Disputes over “who approved what” or “why a detail changed” are resolved with records, not recollections.
   

• Time Recovery: When engineers spend hours on post-issuance coordination, that time can be tracked and billed—or at least quantified for internal review.
   

• Lessons Learned: Patterns in the timeline help firms identify recurring RFIs or change causes, which informs future designs and process improvements.
   

Engineering with Full Transparency
 

Firms often think about version control—but version control alone isn’t enough. What you need is decision control. And decision control requires a timeline: one that tells the story of each change, with every actor and artifact in place.
 

Gridlex gives you that story. Not in a binder after the fact, but as the project unfolds.
 

From Drawings to Decisions, Gridlex Tracks It All
 

In complex engineering projects, design decisions don’t live in isolation. They live in context: a question, an analysis, a revision, and an approval. Only Gridlex gives firms the ability to track that entire arc—from inquiry to outcome—in one integrated view.
 

This isn’t just about staying organized. It’s about proving value, preventing disputes, and improving how engineering gets done.