One great way to make sure project specifications and master guide specifications are technically correct is to review them with manufacturers' (or independent) representatives for the specified products.  As knowledgeable as most specifiers are about..

Over the years there has been a lot of talk and writing, including by me, about fixing the things wrong with the construction industry.  Budget and schedule busts, bad workmanship, and designs that don’t respond to owner requirements are some common..

The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) is an industry association made up of the largest commercial owners and big construction companies. Owner members include BASF, ExxonMobile, General Motors, Google, Honda, Procter & Gamble, and the US General..

Specifiers often struggle to come up with ways to make specifying simpler, to eliminate unwanted language, and to make specifications more correct.  At this year's CONSTRUCT AEC Education and Expo, Beth Stroshane posited that the way we write..

In my recent post, When Specifiers Engage in Magical Thinking, I described what happens when aspecifier believes that putting more instructions into a specification willmake for a better outcome.  Never mindwhether or not those instructions were..

One of the hallmarks of magical thinking is the notion that if you think a thing, you can make it happen, simply by thinking it.  This is often reinforced by our tendency to see connections between events and our propensity to interpret those..

The primary requirement written into architectural practice acts for most U.S. states is that architects are licensed only for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare (HSW).  In Illinois where I am a licensed architect, these..

In his blog post last week, David Stutzman presented several examples illustrating ways in which architects fail in their fiduciary duty to owners, typically through covert advocacy and through not obtaining the owner's informed consent for material..

Successful construction projects rely on complete, accurate, timely, and understandable communication; maximizing all of these reduces the likelihood for disputes to arise.  Unfortunately, many project teams fall short of proper communication, and that's..

Specifications must be written following the "Four C's" of effective communication: Clear, Concise, Correct and Complete.  Getting each "C" done right presents its own challenges.  To be correct, a spec must avoid errors and properly describe the scope..