SpecificationsACT 426

Instructor:Doris A. Kemp

Student:Jeremy Wright

Date:May 4th, 2006

History of Specifications CSI Formats Contracts Payments Allowances/Alternates Warranties Substitutions Methods of Specifying Specifying Language

In Exodus chapters 25 -31, Moses specifies the structure and its furnishings (under God’s instructions) and supports the specs with a description of the building’s construction.

This supports the idea that mankind has utilized specifications to aid in building construction since ancient times.

Eventually, as time passed and the world became more and more complex, mankind came to realize a need for standardization of specifications writing and the Construction Specifications Institute was born.

Robin Kent, former Architect to the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, cites the description of the Tabernacle (or Mishkan) contained in the last chapters of the book of Exodus as the oldest building specification known to man.

History of Specifications

ConstructionSpecifications

Institute The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) exists to promote

integration of information systems and documentation for the lifecycle of a project, from beginning to end.

CSI provides a set of structured guidelines for specifying construction data using a standardized construction language.

Prior to World War II, specifications were generally little more than simply worded phrases indicating intent.

In WWII’s aftermath, technological advancement, the invention of new materials, and cutthroat competition strained specs writers who were already dealing with the differing practices and language between the agencies (architectural, construction, engineering) and consultants.

In Sept, 1947, architects, engineers, and other professionals in the construction industry formed the Construction Specifications Institute.

UniFormat classifies major component assemblies or systems as elements.

MasterFormat uses a list of divisions and organizes things by methods and products. MasterFormat is the most widely used standard throughout The United States of America and Canada for organizing specifications and construction information concerning building projects.

SectionFormat provides a uniform, standardized way to organize specification text within each section of the project manual. SectionFormat groups information into 3 categories:

General: a listing of administrative and procedural requirements specific to a particular section, such as summary, definitions and descriptions, QA, etc.

Products: a listing of the requirements for products and fabrication prior to installation.

Execution: a listing of requirements for on-site activity including preparation, installation, and schedules.

PageFormat is the standardized format for presenting text on each page of a specification section in an organized manner using levels, headings, and indentations.

Formats

UniFormatMasterFormatSectionFormat

PageFormat

• A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that is recognized and enforced by the law and represents a promise to be preformed for consideration (or remunerations).

• Courts in the USA generally rule that when there is a meeting of the minds between parties, consideration is paid or given, or parties act as though there were a formal contract, than a contract exists.

• Despite this, most jurisdictions require a contract.• It’s better to ere on the side of caution.

ConstructionContracts

• The agreement between the owner of a piece of property (or prospective property) and a contractor is the primary construction contract, with subcontracts being another form of contract very prevalent in the construction industry.

• The conditions of any construction contract define the basic rights, responsibilities, and relationships of the parties involved in the contract and fall under two categories:

• General Conditions are published in a standard document that includes principles common to most construction projects.

• Supplementary Conditions are modifications and expansions to the general conditions to accommodate the uniqueness of each project.

ConstructionContracts

Types ofContracts

There are five types of construction contracts:

1. Construction Management: With this form of contract, the construction manager is employed by the owner to oversee the project.

2. Project Management: Similar to construction management, but the manager also oversees and coordinates the design and planning stages, as well.

3. Design – Build: In a design-build contract, the owner signs an agreement with a single entity (an architectural/construction firm most likely) to design and build the project.

4. Owner – Build: Often used in the development of large-scale sub-divisions; the only contracts needed in this type of agreement are between the contractor and any subcontractors involved, because the contractor is essentially the owner.

5. Subcontracts: subcontracts are agreements between contractors and subcontractors and material suppliers.

There are three types of payments in construction contracts:

1. Lump Sum: The lump sum method basically says that the contractor will be paid a certain amount of money (the contractor’s consideration) for whatever requirements of the contract he or she must meet.

2. Unit Price: Payment is used when the extent of the work or the quantities of materials required for the work are unknown and cannot be determined when the bid is made; the owner pays for what has been done (providing it has been documented correctly) after it has been completed.

3. Cost-Plus Fee: In a cost-plus-fee agreement, the contractor gets paid for the actual cost of labor (a break-even price) plus a fee that covers overhead and profit. Often the owner will stipulate a maximum price to ensure that the final cost does not exceed a reasonable amount for the work done.

Payments

Allowances / Alternates • An allowance is a monetary amount, or quantity of a product that

is not otherwise defined by specifications and drawings, but which the contractor must include in the project.

1. Cash Allowances: Cash allowances typically cover the cost of materials delivered to the site (including and taxes). These materials and items, perhaps, cannot be designed or selected until the project is in progress, or, with items such as testing, their magnitude can only be determined during construction.

2. Quantity Allowances: Quantity allowances require the contractor to include a certain quantity of a product in the scope of the work, even though location of the product is not specified. When the exact layout of a product cannot be determined, a bidder may be asked to provide a quantity allowance of a certain product that will eventually need to be used.

• Alternates offer the owner options that can affect the final scope of a project; sometimes, during a project’s lifecycle, a portion of the work can be deleted, added, or substituted for.

Warranties• Warranties are promises that a proposition of fact is true.

• The difference between a guaranty and a warranty is that a “guaranty” is a separate contract by a third party, who assumes responsibility in case the principal fails to perform; a “warranty” is assurance by the principal that it will assume stipulated responsibilities for completed portions of the project.

• The two main types of warranties used throughout the construction industry are the construction warranty (which covers both products and workmanship) and the purchasing warranty sold by sellers that only covers products.

• Throughout a project’s lifecycle proposals to substitute one product for another may be called for by contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, or suppliers.

• The A/E must approve of the use of the substitute before it can be used on the project.

• Once the A/E signs off on the substitute’s use, he/she becomes legally responsible for the product performing the specified action and having the necessary attributes.

Substitutions

Methods of Specifying

There are four methods of specifying:

1. Descriptive: defines exact properties of materials and methods of installation without using proprietary names; products and processes are specified, not results.

2. Performance: specifies the required results; allows contractor to choose materials and methods as long as performance criteria are met.

3. Reference Standards: references a standard, incorporated into the specification by some numeric, or other designation.

4. Proprietary: specifies actual brand names, model numbers, and other proprietary information; there are two types of proprietary specs:

1. Closed Proprietary Spec: only one product is named, and therefore no substitutions are permitted.

2. Open Proprietary Spec: products are allowed as substitutions after approval by A/E.

SpecificationsLanguage

• When writing specifications, simple sentences and words that are clear and easy to understand should be used throughout.

• Abbreviations shouldn’t be used in the specifications.

• There are four c’s in writing specifications:

Clear: specs should be easy to understandComplete: specs should not be missing important informationConcise: specs shouldn’t have superfluous terms, or unnecessary languageCorrect: most importantly, specs should be correct

QUESTIONS

Thank you for your time and

attention.

Works Cited Construction Specifications Institute (2005). Retrieved Feb 12, 2006 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_Specifications_InstituteThe Construction Specifications Institute (2006). Retrieved Feb 15, 2006

from http://csinet.org/s_csi/index.asp

The Project Resource Manual - CSI Manual of Practice (2005). McGraw Hill, New York, NY Two Penn Plaza, 10121-2298

Damuck, Walter (2003). History of the Construction Specifications Institute. Retrieved Feb 06, 2006 from http://www.neregioncsi.org/%5Chistory.cfm

Kemp, Doris A (2006) Doris A. Kemp’s Personal Website for the School ofConstruction. Retrieved Feb 03, 2006 to Apr 27, 2006 from http://www.icee.usm.edu/dkemp/

Kent, Robin (2005). Retrieved Mar 28, 2006 from http://www.robinkent.com/temple/articles_tabernacle.html

Masterformat (2006). Retrieved Feb 10, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterFormat

NPS (National Park Service) Training and Development Division (NA). Retrieved Apr 4, 2006 from http://Specs/NPS Essential

Competencies Specification Writer-Editor.mhtNaude, F (none). Architectural Technologist / Architect. Retrieved Mar

26, 2006 from http://www.petech.ac.za/sc/architecturaltech.htmSpecifictation (2006). Retrieved Feb 03, 2006 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specification