If you’re hearing more complaints about plan review timelines, the cause is often simple.
Too much rework.
Applicants resubmit. Staff clarify. The same items get reviewed again because comments and markups are spread across different places.
Electronic plan review consolidates feedback and reduces repeat cycles, while still applying your local codes and requirements.
Why the same plans keep coming back
When volume picks up, small problems start causing bigger delays. One of the most common is that correction feedback isn’t in one place.
Applicants may be trying to follow directions from:
- Markups on one sheet
- A separate correction list
- Follow-up explanations sent by email
When feedback is split up, it’s easy to miss something or fix the wrong item. That leads to another submittal that still isn’t complete.
Electronic plan review helps by keeping comments, markups, and approvals together, so applicants know exactly what to fix before resubmitting.
Accepting digital files is only the first step
Many municipalities already accept PDF submittals. But that doesn’t always change the day-to-day review work.
The real improvement happens when the whole review stays digital.
That means routing plans to reviewers, marking up sheets, sending correction notes, and reviewing submittals all happens in one workflow. Plans don’t need to be printed, carried around, or reviewed through disconnected notes.
When everyone is working from the same plan set and the same comments, it’s easier to move a project forward.
A cost most departments never see
In the first session of SAFEbuilt’s Electronic Plan Review webinar, Don Wilkins shared a moment that stuck.
An applicant accidentally left a printing receipt inside a plan set. The total was $500 for three copies on a first submittal that still needed corrections.
That cost doesn’t stay with the applicant. It gets passed along through the project. And when plans come back for changes, printing happens again.
Electronic plan review removes that burden by keeping the process digital through each correction cycle.
Clear review comments make the biggest difference
One of the most practical takeaways from the first session is how review comments are written.
Strong review comments clearly call out:
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The sheet
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The exact spot on the sheet (section or detail)
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What’s wrong
This turns corrections into a simple checklist. Applicants can fix issues faster, and reviewers can confirm changes faster. That’s how departments reduce repeat submittals without lowering standards.
Staying aligned with local codes
A common concern is whether electronic or outside review support will apply local amendments correctly.
In the webinar, Don explains that reviewers start by confirming which codes are adopted, then applying local amendments and ordinances based on the community’s requirements.
Because comments include code references tied to the exact plan location, expectations stay clear and documented throughout the review.
Watch Part 1: Electronic Plan Review – How To Keep Projects Moving
If your department is trying to reduce multiple submittals, improve communication, and keep review timelines more predictable, the on-demand webinar shows what electronic plan review looks like in practice and when extra review support can help.
