Ask someone on your crew why they didn't flag it sooner and you'll probably get some version of the same answer. Maybe a shrug or a casual "I figured someone already knew." But if you keep asking, and you're working in an environment where honesty doesn't come with consequences, you'll get closer to the real answer: they flagged things before and nothing changed. 

An RFI sat unanswered long enough that the superintendent made the call himself because the job had to keep moving. And over time, moments like that are where field-office communication quietly breaks down. 

Not because they're resistant to the process or don't care about documentation, but because every organization teaches its people which channels to trust. And which ones not to.

Broken systems are easy to recognize. They stop working in ways that are hard to ignore.

Weaknesses aren't so obvious. For years, they can sit inside systems that still look entirely functional. Nothing reads as a failure, so nobody goes looking.

That is, until conditions change and the system has to perform in a way it never has before.