This month's Tech Tip, geared toward product reps, is a good start to ANYONE interested in proposing substitutions. Randy makes a few excellent points that would help contractors as well as product reps.
In a previous position part of my work was reviewing submittals and substitution requests, most of which came directly from the contractor for various reasons. Depending on the sophistication of the project and the contractor, the amount of information provided was massive to minimal. A very important point for all in this tech tip is that the more work or information the rep or contractor puts in to the submittal, the LESS work the reviewer has to do, and that is essential. When you are inundated by submittals, the most favorable treatment is usually afforded to the most "self reviewing" submittals. Provide all the technical information the reviewer may need to compare specified to proposed, and your chances of success are exponentially increased.
Another great point is to understand the specified material and the proposed material and make certain that it is an APPROPRIATE substitute. Many times contractors propose materials that they believe to be similar without the technical information to substantiate the belief.
How many times have you heard the phrase, "Do your homework" since high school? That is exactly the point, though. Anyone involved in submittals can benefit from this tech tip.