gE i E f i i & a I Ir. 16 DIVISION FORMAT a1. NASTERFORMAT. W. 3-PART SRCTION FORMAT v. ‘METHODS OF SPECIFYING vi. SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE vir. DEVELOPMENT OF A MASTER SPECIFICATION vor.T. DyrRODUCTION Recently, Chen completed a project for the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), for which an existing set of grouting specifications was adapted into three separate sets of specifications using the CSI Format. As a part of this contract, a seminar on the use of the CST Format was held for OSM and the State of Kansas AML Program. This seminar was held at the Denver office and was conducted by a menber of the CSI who is a consultant in the preparation of specifications. our specifications were critiqued by this consultant, put into final form and submitted to the OSM for their use in AML, construction projects. TT. BACKGROUND The Construction Specification Institute was founded in 1961 for the purpose of “Improving Specification Practices in Construction and Allied Industries". The CSI published its first "Manual of Practice" in 1967. Since that time, the CSI has worked closely with its Canadian counterpart, the CSC, to develop an internationally recognized standard format for writing specifications. The CSI Format has been adopted and endorsed by such professional. organizations as the NSPE, ASCE, ACEC and the AIA. The format is now being used by the Departments of Defense and Interior and there is increased use by industry. Construction reference books are now being prepared in CST Format for easy retrieval of information. The philosophy of CST is to establish a standard location for specific information and to state that information once in the correct location and only in that location, The "Manual of Practice" for CSI provides an outline of recommended techniques as a philosophy for preparing and organizing written construction decuments. It does not contain the technical, product or | to design information needed to develop and prepare project specifications and is not intended to be a complete textbook on project manual preparation. II, 16 DIVISION FoRWr One of the fundamental questions in specification writing is how to organize the specifications. The CSI has developed a 16 Division Format for this purpose, The 16 Division Format establishes broad categories of construction information so that specification sections of a similar nature can be grouped together. ‘The 16 divisions have gained acceptance as an industry standard in the United States and Canada. The 16 divisions are fixed in both mumber and title. The 16 Division Fammat: does not’ necessarily follow the sequence of construction. However, it does follow 2 procedure that is logical and the groupings lend themselves to convenient subdivision. The 16 Division Format has the following advantages: + Provides a standard, fixed framework for organizing specifications. + Serves as a sequencing quide for arranging specification sections. + Provides easy retrieval of information. MASTERFORMAT Another part of the CSI Format is the Section Format or Masterformat. ‘The three main uses of the Masterformat are to organize specifications, file construction data and to arrange cost estimates.‘The Masterformat expands the 16 Division Format by providing names and numbers for various specification sections. It provides names for almost all conceivable specification sections in a recommended sequence for each division, Each section is given a five digit number. The first two digits refer to one of the 16 divisions. ‘There are three levels of complexity for section scopes. ‘These are: + Broadscope + Mediumscope + Narrowscope A broadgcope title is a very general and encompassing category. Example: 02200 ~ EARTHWORK. A mediumscope specification section covers a unit of work of a more Limited scope. Example: 02210 - GRADING. Finally, there are the extremely limited narrowscope titles, each covering very specific types of information. Example: 02212 - FINISH GRADING, A section does not necessarily relate to the work performed by a single Subcontractor; therefore, the text of sections and the specifications are always addressed to the Contractor and not the Subcontractors. Responsibility for the total project remains with the Contractor no matter how the work is divided among Subcontractors. Five digit mmbers are provided in Masterformat for all broadscope ‘and mediumscope sections. Narrowscope sections are unnumbered in Masterformat so users may select only those narrowscope titles needed for a particular project.When writing specifications, not all sections need to be broadscope, nor do all sections need to be mediumscope or narrowscope, there can be a mix, Simple projects will contain many broadscopes and, as the complexity of the project increases, specifications may require the use of more mediumscope and narrowscope sections. As a general rule, the use of many narrowscopes should be limited to very large and complex projects. V. 3-PART SECTION FORMAT Masterformat. standardizes the arrangement and naming of specification sections within a project manual. ‘There is also a need to standardize the way in which information is presented within the individual sections. The 3+Part Section Format groups information into three distinct categories or parts. ‘These three parts are: Part 1 ~ General + Part 2 - Products + Part 3 ~ Execution ‘These three parts are fixed in nawe and order. ‘This is another way of standardizing specification writing. Part 1, General - Defines the specific administrative and procedural requixerents unique to this section, Part 2, Products - Describes, in detail, the quality of items that are required for incorporation into the project under this section. Part 3, Execution - Describes, in detail, preparatory actions and how the products are incorporated into the project.Each part of a section is further divided into articles and paragraphs. All article titles are optional and should be carefully selected, ‘VI. METHODS OF SPECIFYING ‘There are four methods of specifying: + Descriptive + Performance . Reference Standard + Proprietary Descriptive - Defines properties of materials and methods of installation without propriety information, Performance ~ Specifies required results and criteria used to verify “ performance. The Contractor is free to find material conplying with the performance criteria. Reference Standard - Requires product or process to meet established standards. Proprietary - Specifies brand names, model numbers and other proprietary information. Nearly all project specifications employ more than one specifying method and, in some cases, all methods are used. There is no clear rule for using one method or a combination of methods. However, the specifier should avoid conbining methods in the specification of a single product. The majority of specifications for AML Project 12 are performance specifications with some descriptive and reference standard methods included for areas such as revegetation and radon covers.vir. SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE An important part of the CSI Format is specification language. CSI uses the statement, "It is essential that a specification be clear, correct, complete and concise." By this they mean: Be Clear: Use correct grammar and avoid ambiguity. Use correct words ‘to convey exact meanings, Be Correct: Present specifications accurately and precisely. Be Complete: Do not leave out important information. Be Concise: Eliminate unnecessary words, but not at the expense of clarity, correctness or completeness. Sentence structure is an important part of specification writing. Traditional specification languace is in the indicative mood or passive voice. This requires the use of "shall” in nearly every statement. This sentence structure can cause wordiness and monotony. ‘he CST reconmended sentence structure is in the imperative mood. In this structure, the verb which clearly defines the action becomes the first word in the sentence, ‘The imperative sentence is concise and readily understandable. Good writing style promotes accuracy, brevity and clarity. Same simple rules for good style are: Use short sentences. Maintain simple declarative statements.+ Avoid complicated sentences where in advertent omission or insertion of punctuation can change the intent or create ambiguity. + Choose words and tems that are clearly understood. Use the dictionary whenever necessary. In addition to previously discussed organizational formats, the CST provides a standard page format for organizing specifications. VIII. DEVELOPMENT OF A MASTER SPECIFICATION Recently, we have been converting the AML Project 12 specifications into the CSI Format for the purpose of developing a Master Specification. The Master Specification will reduce the need for producing completely new specifications for each new project. The Master Specification will allow us to pull the needed specification sections fron cur file, make the appropriate changes and/or additions, and will reduce the cost of preparing specifications. A well organized and thorough Master Specification will allow us to be more cost competitive and demcnstrate a professional capability to clients. Tts use will allow for a more efficient use of project budgets by making more monies available for the desion phase or other areas of the project as needed. The Construction Specifications Institute provides generic specifications called Spectext. Spectext provides general sections for use in preparing specifications for a particular item(s) of work. Spectext differs from our Master Specification in that it is general and designed for use in various projects. ‘he Master Specification is for a more specific, complete project. | |SLOSLIHONV 30 BLNLILSNI NVOIYSWY 3HL ALNLILSNI SNOILVOISIDAdS NOILONYLSNOD SUHFINIONT TWAID 30 ALZIOOS NVOINAWNY MONNOD SUF3INIONT ONILINSNOOD NVOINAWNY SUFINIONZ TWNOISS34OUNd JO ALZIOOS TWNOILVN BHL 40 NOISIAIG 30ILOVUd ¥ BOLOVYd JLVAINd NI SUS3NIONT IWNOISS340Ud A@ ATLNIOP G3HSINENd ONY GanssI any AALLINWOO SLNAWNOOG LOVYHLNOO LNIOF ,SHASNIDNA A@ G3uVdaud SLN3NN00G NOILONYLSNOD NI NOILVNYOANE YALLVW LOAraNS 40 NOILV9O1 WHOSINAqwoluLoamas ttt ts tot SMOGNIM ¥SYOodt Tt ttt te WOINVHOSWT ST tt st NOILOZLOMd SUNLSION F TWWYSHL *2 SW3LSAS ONIAZANOD "8 thd SOlLSV1d PGOOM ttt ttt 8 tg NOILONYLSNOD WWidads* * * 8 t *et SAL AW itatiectisinase ec eunasieieg SONIHSINUNG CO te eat AUNOSYN DS ete ey INaWdInDg So Se ny aLBNONOD TTT eg gguqvioagg “ott tt tor MMOM BLIGT Tho ee eee ag $F [aE 1 Ih [P Heeeveetubastonteretendhasteteteiutelatstecveeetd-) SLNSW3YNINOAY TwHaNao * °° 8 8 TI XAGNI NOILONYLSNOD WHOSINA GNV LVWYO4d ISO NOISIAIG 94 SAHL OL XSQNINOILVWYOSNI 4O WWASINLAY ASVS SACIAOUd e SNOILOAS NOILVOISIOAdS ONIONVEYV YO4 30IND ONIONANODAS V SV SHAYAS ¢ SNOILVOISIOAdS ONIZINVOYO HOS MYOMAWYVHS GSXid ‘GHYVGNVLS ¥ SHCIAOWd e LVWHO4 NOISIAIG 9t 40 SADVLINVAGVXHGNI GHOM Aa SNOILVNV1dX3 NOILOAS AdOOSAVOUE SHAEWNN ONY SA1LIL NOILO3S 4O.LSI1 HALSVW SAT1LIL NOILOAS SdOOSGVOUE LVNYOsAHALSVANONIGVYO HSINIS - 21220 YOM AO AdAL O1sIOSdS AYAA V S1IVLAG - AAOOSMOYYNVN ONIGVES - 01220 YOM AO AdOOS GANIS30 ANY GSLINIT SHOW V SHSAOO - AdOOSWNIGAN HYOMHLYVZ - 00220 YOM AO 3dO0S DNISSVdWOONS ONV IWYSNSD AYSA - AdOOSGVOUS SAd090S NOILOSS 4O STAAS1NOILNOAXA - © LYVd SLONGOUYd - @ Luvd WWHANASD - | LYVd LVWYOd NOILOAS LYVd-S33SYHLeG SECTION FORMAT OUTLINE PART |-GENERAL SUMMARY section mewuoes PRODUCTS FURNISHED OUT NOT INSTALLED UNDER THIS SECTION PRODUCTS INSTALLED AUT NOT FURKISHED UNDER THIS SECTION RELATED SECTIONS ALLOWANCES ALTERNATES /ALTERNATIVES REFERENCES DEFINITIONS SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Sesion REQUIREMENTS. 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