by: shirley ho aedas ltd.: head of specification csi: professional member hkis: quantity surveyor...
TRANSCRIPT
By: Shirley HO Aedas Ltd.: Head of Specification
CSI: Professional Member
HKIS: Quantity Surveyor
Date: 27 August 2009
What a QS sees in Technical Specification?
Contents
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
Tell the contractor
what you want
Specifications – Function
Bible Genesis 6:14-16:
Spec for Noah’s Ark• The vessel was to be made
with planks of gopher wood sealed with chemar.
• The ark was to be 300 cubits long, 50 wide and 30 deep.
• The ark was to have one door, built into its side, and a window. The inside of the ark was to be divided into three floors.
• It would house the 8 people, and the animals.
Specifications – Function
Specifications – Function
Let’s build an ark to save the
selected ones !
Noah, please build an ark like this:
1. gopher wood sealed with chemar
2. 300 x 50 x 30 cubits deep
3. XXX (i.e., SPECIFICATIONS !!!)
OK, Boss.
Specifications – Function
My Client wants to build
a house !
Contractor, please build a house like this:
1. Wood enclosure sealed with waterproofing
2. 300 x 50 x 30 m high
3. XXX (i.e., SPECIFICATIONS !!!)
OK, Boss.
Present written information that drawings cannot effectively
convey
Specifications – Function
DRAWING:
(Graphical)
• Design
• Location
• Dimension
• Quantity
Work Requirements – How to Describe?
What is this tile made
of?
This drawing may
look perfect, but does
it tell th
e full story?
If I cannot manufacture this tile in the exact dimension
as it is shown, by how much I can deviate?
Which color is this tile
in?
Work Requirements – How to Describe?
Concrete tile, XXXXX XXXXX XXX
Perhaps I can add a
lot of notes in this
drawing to tell the full
story?
Tolerance: XXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX
Color: XXXX
SPECIFICATION:
(Written)
• Materials
• Equipment
• Systems
• Standards
• Workmanship
Work Requirements – How to Describe?
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
It depends on how much the architect wants the contractor to
design.
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
100 kN Grade XXX
25mm thick
Say what it is
Performance Performance SpecificationSpecification
or
Say what it does
Prescriptive Prescriptive SpecificationSpecification
• Prescriptive: E.g.,
• proprietary product which has aesthetic requirement
• building structure
Specification Types – Design Extent Variance
• Performance: E.g.,
• waterproofing
• other concealed elements
Specification Types – Design Extent Variance
Similar to:
• Prescriptive Specification
• Prescriptive Specification
• More appropriate to show with Drawings
• Performance Specification
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
Bible Genesis 6:14-16:
Spec for Noah’s Ark• The vessel was to be made
with planks of gopher wood sealed with chemar.
• The ark was to be 300 cubits long, 50 wide and 30 deep.
• The ark was to have one door, built into its side, and a window. The inside of the ark was to be divided into three floors.
• It would house the 8 people and the animals.
Consider typical design process: e.g., drywall assembly
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
Restrictions Space available;
Regulation compliance
Objectives Performance (fire resistant, moisture resistant, acoustic requirement, etc);
Aesthetic requirement
Design intent Indicative solutions (overall profile, proposed material, etc)
Design check
Suitability & availability of proposed material;
Compatibility check
Detailed design
Fixing details;
Interfacing treatment;
etc
Performance Performance SpecificationSpecification
Consider typical design process: e.g., drywall assembly
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
Restrictions Space available;
Regulation compliance
Objectives Performance (fire resistant, moisture resistant, acoustic requirement, etc);
Aesthetic requirement
Design intent Indicative solutions (overall profile, proposed material, etc)
Design check
Suitability & availability of proposed material;
Compatibility check
Detailed design
Fixing details;
Interfacing treatment;
etc
Prescriptive Prescriptive SpecificationSpecification
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
100 kN
25mm thick
Prescriptive Prescriptive Specification:Specification:
Say what it is
Performance Specification:Performance Specification:
Say what it doesD
escriptive S
pecificatio
n
Descrip
tive Sp
ecification Grade XXX
Consider typical design process: e.g., drywall assembly
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
Restrictions Space available;
Regulation compliance
Objectives Performance (fire resistant, moisture resistant, acoustic requirement, etc);
Aesthetic requirement
Design intent Indicative solutions (overall profile, proposed material, etc)
Design check
Suitability & availability of proposed material;
Compatibility check
Detailed design
Fixing details;
Interfacing treatment;
etc
Descriptive Descriptive SpecificationSpecification
• Descriptive: E.g., Cladding wall system
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
aesthetic requirement
performance: loading, thermal insulation, etc
restriction
design intent
• Descriptive: E.g.,
• Window
• Operable wall
Specifications – Prescriptive / Performance
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
Who should prepare specification?
Specifications
Specifications – Who
Architect should prepare it because:• It is technical, it requires someone with
technical knowledge to write.
• It closely links with various parts of drawings which are prepared by architect. It also has to change in the same pace with changing drawings.
• It tests the practical feasibility of design done by architect.
• It provides an opportunity for architect to put in requirements which cannot be effectively illustrated by drawings.
Maybe you have confused these 2 kinds of specifications?
• Preliminaries Specification– It covers general
requirement. E.g.,• size and facilities of
site office• scaffolding• water & electricity
supply• as-built drawings
Specifications – Who
• Technical Specification– It covers technical
requirement. E.g.,• material and
product• workmanship• compliance with
international standards
• Sample & mockup
≠
Specifications – Knowledge & Skills Required
QS can prepare it because:• Technical knowledge can be acquired through working
experience.
• Coordination with drawings is similar to the preparation of BQ / SR.
• Practical feasibility test is similar to the process of understanding drawings in preparing BQ / SR.
• Writing skill, esp. precision, is a skill possessed by QS who prepares contract conditions, preliminaries specification, etc.
• Patience is a skill possessed by QS who prepares BQ / SR.
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
Systematically categorize information
Specifications – How
• NBS
• MasterFormat and MasterSpec
Specifications – Systematic categorization
Which type of specification?
Specifications
Sometimes it is better to share commonly used information …
Specifications – Which
Specification Types – Office-Wide or Not
Office-wide Specification
• Company-wide standard specification
• Each project specification is developed from this base
• Specific for each architectural firm
Specification Types – Office-Wide or Not
Office-wide Specification
Advantages:
• Maintain a minimum quality for all project specifications
• Shorter time and less effort required for drafting project-specific specification
• Easier for inexperienced specification writer
• Allow updating of current code/standard reference
• If all project specification writers feed back to the office-wide keeper, previous error can be discovered & improved for whole company.
Specification Types – Office-Wide or Not
Office-wide Specification
Disadvantages:
• Additional resource for maintaining a company standard
• On long term, specification writer becomes reliant on company standard, and loses ability to create specification on his own
• Office-wide specification contains more Material Codes than as called out by drawings of specific project
Spec Coverage – Office-Wide or Not
11:EQ7111:EQ71
05:AL2
09:CR92
08:CW11
09:P2409:P24
05:DM93
10:GR12
08:DH40
04:ST2504:ST2506:PL41
07:FG2207:FG22
10:OP13
04:MS1
07:JT5807:JT58
06:ML15
For Specific For Specific ProjectProject
Project-wide
part of project
Specification Types – Office-Wide or Not
Tailor-made Specification for Each Project
Advantages:
• Meet project specific needs
• Flexible in format
• Save effort in maintaining a company standard
• Learn from mistakes of previous projects
Specification Types – Office-Wide or Not
Tailor-made Specification for Each Project
Disadvantages:
• Take more time & effort to prepare for each project
• To save time & effort, one may attempt to copy & modify from previous projects’ specification, but this may inappropriately copy the project-specific requirement in previous projects’ specification
Sometimes it is better to share commonly used information …
Specifications – Which
Specifications – Standalone or Particular
Standalone Specification• Suffices on its own• Tailor-made for an
individual project • Simple interpretation: To
interpret the technical requirement of a project, one simply has to refer to one standalone document
Particular Specification• Supplement to a General
Specification• Modify, amplify and
update the contents of the General Specification as necessary to address the project-specific needs
• Complicated interpretation: To interpret the technical requirement of a project, one has to refer to multiple documents – Particular and General Specification
• General Specification
• For a particular jurisdiction, e.g., in Hong Kong: – Architectural Services Department
• For a particular owner , e.g., in Hong Kong – Hong Kong Airport Authority– Mass Transit Railway Corporation– Hong Kong Housing Authority
Specification Types – Standalone or Particular
Particular Spec
General General SpecificationSpecification
Specification Types – Standalone or Particular
Particular Specification
Advantages:
• Expected user is familiar with the General Specification, it saves time & effort to learn the full specification for each project
• Difference between 2 projects referring to the same General Specification can be easily spotted
• Maintain a minimum quality
• Serve as a safety net of supplementing necessary requirement missed in project specification
Critically analyze relevance of product information
Specifications – How
Specifications – Example
quality without specific standard reference
standard reference for
unknown quality
Brand A
• But we still need the following information about this Sports Floor:– What are the various components does it comprise?
– What material is it made of?
• If it is flammable, does it have any fire resistance quality? Has such quality been tested to any acceptable standards?
– Which kind of finish does it have?
– Regarding the mentioned shock absorption, deformation, friction, balls bounce, rolling load; exactly which DIN standard has been used to achieve the test result shown?
– About the mentioned BS 7044, what is the test result?
– Is there any special installation requirement?
– Does it come with a warranty? For how many years?
Specifications – Example
Specifications – Example
quality without
standard reference
selection factor
advertisementproduct’s restriction
Brand B
• But we still need the following information about this Mortar:
– What material is it made of? What is the proportion of various material in it?
– Regarding its rapid drying, low tension, high strength; has it been tested to any acceptable standards? What are the test results?
– Is there any special application requirement?
– Does it come with a warranty? For how many years?
Specifications – Example
Specifications – Example
aluminium
foil barri
er
Brand C
XXX
XXX
XXX
XXX
XXX
XXX
XXX
Common Terminology
Specifications
You have specified the size of tile,
so this tile is required to be 200.00mm by 200.00mm.
But in real world, it is impossible to fabricate 5000 pieces of this type of tile and each of them measuring exactly 200.00 x 200.00mm.
Specifications – Tolerance
200mm
200mm
If you insist on the specified size,
your specification becomes so unrealistic that nobody can possibly meet it.
Specifications – Tolerance
200mm
200mm
Hence, you have to relax the size requirement.Yet you cannot allow the contractor to give you whatever size he likes.That’s why you permit some degree of deviation to control the actual size within an acceptable range:
Specifications – Tolerance
Specified: 200mm
Permitted deviation: +/- 0.03mm
200mm + 0.03mm = 200.03mm
200mm - 0.03mm = 199.97mm
Obviously, site erection is inevitably imperfect, e.g., masonry wall:
Typically, its faces will not be perfectly flat & vertical, its position on plan will not be exactly as set out on drawings, its opening will not form a perfect rectangle, …
Specifications – Tolerance
To address such imperfection, you may specify the tolerance from various angles:
Specifications – Tolerance
Measurement Standard Tolerance (example)
Position on plan ± 10 mm
Length ± 15 mm
Height ± 10 mm
Level of bed joints (in any 5m) ± 10 mm
Straightness (in any 5m) ± 5 mm
Verticality (in any 3m) ± 10 mm
Verticality (in any 7m) ± 14 mm
Overall thickness ± 10 mm
Sample
•Verify visual appearance•Reference for controlling consistent standard
•Natural work range sample•Painting, etc applied on a simulated substrate•Indicate required size & quantity on specification
Specifications – Mockup, etc
Dimensional Mockup
•Full-scale three-dimensional model •Not actual materials•On-site or off-site •Confirm dimensional co-ordination•Indicate requirement on drawings
Specifications – Mockup, etc
softwood post & frame
plywood wall
plywood box
chalk mark
plywood box
Mockup / Prototype
•Full-scale three-dimensional model•Utilise specified materials •On-site or off-site •Destructive test, not re-used as final work•Approval commence similar works at final location•Indicate requirement on drawings
Specifications – Mockup, etc
Benchmark
•Complete part of similar works on site •Standard for checking quality of remainder of the similar works •Approval commence remainder•Protection•Indicate requirement on drawings
Specifications – Mockup, etc
Standards & Test Values
Specifications
Specifications – Standards & Test Values
Common international standards
• British Standards or European Standards – BS (e.g., BS 952 or BS 476: Part 23)– BS EN (e.g., BS EN 179)– BS EN ISO (e.g., BS EN ISO 105)
• ASTM – ASTM A36– ASTM C509
Specifications – Standards & Test Values
Principle of reference standards
• Not stand alone as specification • Testing methods with established:
– test procedures– measurement standard– acceptable test values specified
Specifications – Standards & Test Values
Principles of reference standards
• E.g., BS 1230-1 - gypsum plasterboard
Specifications – Standards & Test Values
Principles of reference standards
• “Breaking load (transverse direction): Minimum 300N when tested according to BS 1230-1.”
Refer BS & say no further
minimum breaking load (260N) for 15mm thick board
• Function of technical specification • Difference between prescriptive
specification and performance specification • Knowledge and skills required to prepare
technical specification • How to prepare technical specification • Common problems & potential disputes
• Inconsistency between technical specification and :– Another part of technical specification
• Between general & particular specification
– Drawings
– BQ / SR
• Unsaid requirement • Impossible requirement• Bad writing style
Specifications – Common Problems
Bad Writing Style
Specifications
Specifications – Writing Style
Unclear
• ambiguity
– “in a workmanlike manner” unenforceable term; it must always be necessary!
– “to the satisfaction of the architect” subjective, subject to abuse
– “shall function as intended” contractor has to hire a psychic to read the mind of the architect!
– “etc.”
• difficult for normal reader
• do not define all abbreviations
• inconsistent format font style & size, alignment, spacing, heading style, numbering system, etc.
Specifications – Writing Style
Incorrect
• inaccurate• technically and grammatically incorrect• improper terminology• meaningless capitalization
Specifications – Writing Style
Incomplete
• leave out anything that is important • achieve brevity at the expense of completeness• missing objects
– “as allowed” by whom?– “as appropriate” according to what?– “as approved” by whom?– “as directed” by whom?– “as indicated” where?– “as required” according to what or whom?– “as necessary” according to what or whom? - maybe
appropriate if a definition is specified that establishes the criteria for determining the necessity
Specifications – Writing Style
Inconcise
• contain unnecessary words• not specific enough
– Example 1 - “… metal plate …”– Example 2 - “… steel plate …”– Example 3 - “… galvanized mild steel plate …”– Example 4 - “… Grade 316 galvanized mild steel plate
…”• conflicting terminology
– “supply and install” • Redundant -> always true unless otherwise
stipulated!
Specifications – Writing Style
Concise
• No verbiage – well-crafted specification = the fewest words that
can be used to complete the description and make sense
Could we name proprietary products in specification?
Specifications
Specification – Naming of Proprietary Products
WTO’s restriction
• WTO: World Trade Organization • Agreement on Government Procurement (1994)
(GPA) • Principle: non-discrimination amongst products,
services and suppliers of a greater or lesser degree of foreign affiliation or ownership
• GPA “parties” are required to accord to the products, services and suppliers of any other “party” to WTO GPA treatment “no less favorable” than they give to their domestic products, services and suppliers
Specification – Naming of Proprietary Products
WTO’s restriction
• GPA “parties”: Canada, European Communities, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Netherlands (Aruba), Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and United States – Hong Kong has committed to adhere to the WTO GPA since 20 May
1997
• procuring entities: relating to central government entities, sub-central government entities and other entities such as utilities
• construction services
• estimated value not less than 5,000,000 SDR (Special Drawing Rights) – Hong Kong @ 2006 and 2007: HKD57.636 million
Specification – Naming of Proprietary Products
Specification – Naming of Proprietary Products
Specification – Naming of Proprietary Products
• Some project clients may have their own established restrictions :– Some may promote non-discrimination in similar way as
WTO GPA– Some may promote protection for domestic products,
services and suppliers
• Always check with your own project client !!!
Besides WTO GPA, are there any other restrictions ?
Any Questions?
Specification for QS
Future Questions
Shirley Ho Aedas Ltd.: Head of SpecificationCSI: Professional MemberHKIS: Quantity Surveyor
(852) [email protected]