A request for information is the formal question a contractor raises when the design information is missing, ambiguous or contradictory: what is the finish here, which detail governs, where does this service route?
RFIs look administrative but are commercially loaded. Late answers delay work; answers that change the design are variations in disguise. The RFI log, with dates raised, dates answered and the answers themselves, is core delay and change evidence.
Disciplined projects track RFI turnaround and link each RFI to the affected work fronts, so the time and cost effects are recorded while they are still visible.