What could possibly go wrong?
Complications of Sustainability Requirements
by David Stutzman | Dec 18, 2018 | Bad Specs, Division 01, LEED, Professional Practice, Quality Assurance, Specifications, submittals, Sustainable Design
The Magic of Certification—Solving the Qualifications Dilemma
by David Stutzman | Sep 24, 2018 | AIA, contract documents, Quality Assurance, Specifications
First published and presented at GlassCon Global 2018, Chicago, IL October 6, 2018
Specs = Non-Graphic Project Data
by David Stutzman | Aug 30, 2018 | Decision record, Design Considerations, OPR, Professional Practice, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Specifications
In the construction industry, projects are defined by drawings (graphic data) and specifications (non-graphic data). Traditional construction specifications is the set of documents arranged by MasterFormat®, a consensus document that provides a list of..
The Right and Wrong Time to Review Installers' Qualifications
by Elias Saltz | May 29, 2018 | bidding, Construction, Construction Administration, contract documents, Professional Practice, Quality Assurance, Specifications
One of the significant reasons for the existence of specifications is to describe the level of quality to the products and work that go into a building project. Specifications establish the performance of the products and assemblies and their..
Construction Document Quality Crisis
by David Stutzman | Apr 20, 2018 | contract documents, Drawings, QA review, Quality Assurance, Specifications
This paper was first presented by Louis Medcalf, FCSI, CCS, SCIP and David Stutzman, AIA, CSI, CCS, SCIP at the National Institute of Building Sciences BEST 5 triennial national conference in Philadelphia, PA April 16, 2018.
Properly Written Specs Can Help You Avoid Awkward Conversations
by Elias Saltz | Jan 29, 2018 | contract documents, Coordination, Drawings, Professional Practice, Quality Assurance, Specifications
Imagine you're a project architect and you're nearing completion of CD's. For half a year, you've been neck-deep in the project meetings, made myriad decisions large and small, and are intimately knowledgeable of the design intention and you know all of..
Linking BIM and Specs with Keynotes
by David Stutzman | Sep 13, 2015 | BIM, Construction Administration, contract documents, Coordination, Design Considerations, Drawings, keynote, Quality Assurance, Specifications
Coordination, coordination, coordination! The better construction documents are coordinated, the better the outcome for the owner - not to mention the design and construction teams. Imagine the perfect set of construction documents: no bidder's..
Single Source Responsibility
by David Stutzman | Aug 17, 2015 | Construction Administration, Design Considerations, Division 07, Division 08, Division 11, Envelope, MasterFormat, Quality Assurance, Specifications
Construction specifications define work results. The results are divided among Divisions and Sections according to CSI's MasterFormat, the industry's organizational standard. Complying with MasterFormat allows specification readers to find information..
Front Line Quality Assurance
by David Stutzman | Jul 6, 2015 | contract documents, Design Considerations, Drawings, Professional Practice, QA review, Quality Assurance, Specifications
When does quality assurance begin during the design process for a construction project? Often formal document review may be planned for those last few weeks before the construction documents are completed. Sometimes reviews are planned before each design..
Aren't Specs Contract Documents?
by David Stutzman | Jun 8, 2015 | Budget, contract documents, Drawings, Professional Practice, Quality Assurance, Architect, Specifications
What statements below do you believe to be true?