The Code of Specifications

Do construction specifications require translation?

Often construction specifications seem as oblique and inaccessible as these hieroglyphic carvings in the hypostyle hall at the Great Temple in Karnak, Egypt. (Engraving by Josef Durm, 1914)

Is there a correct way to encode the information for a new product into the "CSI Format"?

(Fragment of the Papyrus of Ani, ca. 3500 BC)

Is there a "CSI Format", and how does it work?  Can it help you write better specifications, or even read and understand specifications more easily?  Is Cleopatra discussing specifications with Mark Antony? (The Banquet of Cleopatra, Giovanni Batista Tiepolo, 1746)

Join us on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m @ North Coast Builders Exchange
1030 Apollo Way, Santa Rosa.

Information here >> http://www.recsi.org/uploads/SectionFormatSeminar11132012.pdf


This presentation qualifies for AIA HS&W learning units.

(Illustrations believed by this author to be in the public domain, first publication before 1923)

Changing Horses Mid-Stream: Managing Substitutions

Consider attending the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CSI next meeting, 1 November 2012, at Biltmore Hotel & Suites, 2151 Laurelwood Road, Santa Clara.

The topic will address Managing Substitutions, Changing Horses Mid-Stream.

Few construction administration procedures inspire such strong emotions as Substitutions.  

Architects seem to despise them, while Contractors seem to dote on them.  

Owners are concerned that the project quality is maintained, but are beguiled by possible cost savings or schedule acceleration.  

Substitutions have the potential to disrupt a project, or confer great benefits.

Substitution Procedures are primarily a means of Quality Assurance, to prevent un-"equal" products from undermining the design intent.  But How Equal is Equal?  And who decides?

What actions can the A/E take in product selection and specifications to reduce substitution requests or to deal effectively with those that arise?  

What risks arise to the parties in construction from substitutions, authorized or not?  

What actions are appropriate to allow acceptable substitutions to be incorporated into the Work while maintaining the risk allocations of all the parties?

Can Construction Documents be crafted to resolve these issues fairly for all the parties?

Join us for the discussion.  Details are here >> http://www.csiscv.org/

Today's painting is "The Horse of Alfonso Ugarte" by Agostino Marazzani Visconti, 1905.  The rider is not exactly mid-stream, but seems to be considering a change of steeds.  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, believed by this author to be in the public domain since it was published before 1923.

High Concept, Low Tech

Today's post looks at a striking design effect that was very easy to implement.  Proof that simple things can still be uplifting, and 3D modeling of biscuit-shaped forms is not always needed.

The photo shows the ceiling of the escalator lobby in a new department store in the Bay Area.

The little sparkly bits are nothing more than acrylic film tied off with monofilament plastic line (fishing line), which is suspended from the ceiling in long strands.

The plastic film is sidelighted by the clerestory windows and the whole thing sways gently in the HVAC breeze.


The effect is mesmerizing and really easy to pull off, although it was probably tedious to assemble thousands of pieces of film on hundreds of strands.  I am not sure if this was part of the architecture, or an art installation that came later, but it is very effective.  An excellent design effect with extreme economy of means.  This would be fun to specify.

High Concept, Low Tech.

Best Regards.

JG

Wheels Within Wheels

Today's post is a little preview of my CONSTRUCT 2012 presentation on Division 01.

Construction project participants are always a diverse group of people; some of whom have worked together in the past, others who are meeting for the first time.  All the parties have somewhat different interests, duties and responsibilities, and all are riding together in a single Project vehicle on their way to the destination, the completed facility.

Expanding this allegory, the Project wagon rides on wheels of Construction Documents, as eloquently described in CSI's explanatory graphic.

Division 01 General Requirements occupies that critical space in the center of the Wheel, mediating between the General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions, Drawings and Specifications; describing the Administrative, Procedural and Temporary requirements of the Construction Documents.

We will discuss the various parts of the Construction Documents and Division 01, sharing tips and tricks to customize your General Requirements to suit your Project vehicle and destination.

Today's painting, "Flora's Malle-wagen", painted by the Dutch artist Hendrik Gerritsz. Pot in 1640 is a sardonic depiction of the Dutch tulip mania, where investors of all types speculated on the value of tulip bulbs, which attained astronomical values and eventually crashed, resulting in a financial depression.  The wagon-load of revelers, with flowers in their hair, is headed straight into the ocean because no one is steering.

If your Division 01 has ever made you feel like this is happening to you, join us in session F03 on Friday morning for a tune-up.  I will have more illustrations and stories as well.  We'll have fun and learn a bit.

Best regards.

JG

Friday Funnies

The photograph above is the door to the guest room bath in an expensive hotel room in a major Bay Area city.

I apologize for the zoomed-in view of the fixture, but it is important to see that little gap between the door and the fixture.  Why are we interested in this gap?  Of course there is a gap, how would the door close otherwise?

Look carefully at the edge, you can see how the solid core flush door has been carefully coped to clear the water closet fixture.  Without this elegant modification, the door would not close at all.

What has happened here?  The guest room bath was recently remodeled with new costly finishes and fixtures, perhaps even some drawings may have been made.  But not every condition was documented, apparently.  At least in this room, the new water closet was just large enough to prevent the door from closing.

There probably isn't really a specification lesson to teach here.   In fact, it's difficult to determine where the fault occurred in the chain of decisions leading to this sad state.   It might be a drawing problem, or a failure to properly select or submit products, or check the submittals.

But we do know that someone was responsible for accepting and allowing this condition to be left intact for hotel guests to photograph and comment about on the Internet.

Fortunately, the cut-away portion of the door created only a tiny gap at the frame stop with the door in closed position; the loss of privacy is nominal, and there are no fire rating issues to consider.  On the whole, this could be considered an inexpensive solution to an embarrassing problem, but definitely not one to recommend to clients.

I hope this photo gives you a smile on your Friday.

CONSTRUCT 2012

If you are planning to attend this year's CSI Convention CONSTRUCT 2012 in Phoenix AZ, come to hear my presentation on "Division 01 General Requirements:  The Hub of the Wheel".

CSI has a training diagram for years, referred to in vernacular as the "Wheel", describing Division 01 relationships to the other Construction Documents.

I will show the relationships between the different types of content in the Construction Documents and how Division 01 can edited to promote and clarify those relationships.  We will also discuss customization of Division 01 for specific project needs.

Join us Friday morning to talk about specifications and interesting pictures of wheels.

The example above is a detail from a painting by Edward Poynter, selected for it's classic rendition of a wagon wheel.  I'll have many more.

First Post...Sort of.

I am moving my blog to Google Blogger from it's original location on Posterous.  I have had more experience with the Blogger interface, and I find it easier to use.

If it's easier to use, I will post more often, so it's time to move.

Please be patient with the plain look, I will dress up the place a bit over time.

I will also migrate all of the content from the original location to this blog, just to maintain continuity.

More to come in the near future.

Best Regards.

JG

Reasons to Join CSI

The Architecture/Engineering/Construction industry is becoming more complicated every day.  Sometimes the road signs are not clear at all.

If only there was an organization composed of construction professionals like myself that I could join that would help me sort order out of chaos and figure out which way to go?

Well, for me, and thousands of my colleagues, that organization is the Construction Specifications Institute.  It isn't just a club for spec writers; Architects, Engineeers, Product Representatives, Contractors, Construction Managers and others in construction related professions are members as well.

CSI is the one place where all these professions meet and share viewpoints on the complex industry.  Often the street signs still point in different directions, but you have the advantage of friends to help sort out which way is right for you.

CSI is always working to create new tools for bringing order into our complex industry and creating educational tools to help you master them and then demonstrate your skills to others with valuable certifications and training.

This is a good time to consider reasons to join CSI and I am going to add another one, which should get your attention.

CSI is running a special membership promotion for the next seven days only:

Join CSI online between Wednesday, June 13, and Wednesday, June 20, and pay only $192 -- a 20% savings -- for your membership. Use promo code “12spring20” when you join at www.csinet.org/joincsi.This promotion is only available to new members joining at the professional level. Chapter dues are not included in this promotion. To join:

Visit www.csinet.org/join

Select "Join Now", and then click "Sign Up as a New Member"

Enter Promotion Code 12spring20 when prompted

Click the "Add Discount" button

Since this deal doesn't include chapter dues, you will have to pick out which chapter you want to join, but when you do, you will find a ready-made group of like-minded professionals to welcome you.

I can honestly say that joining CSI was the best career move I made since college.  I've learned a lot, taught a lot, and had a lot of fun, and after 17 years, I'm still just starting.

Join us and join the fun.  It's no secret.

JG

Project Quality

Each Project has it's own unique required Project Quality, defined as the "Ability to satisfy stated and implied requirements established in the Contract Documents."

This Project Quality is affected by a number of factors.

Prime determinants are the requirements of the Owner:

• Facility Use or Purpose, The Program;
• Schedule
• Budget
• Aesthetic
• Sustainable

Additional factors come into play:

Climate, scenic and environmental requirements or attributes unique to the facility location;
Planning codes and standards of the Authorities Having Jurisdiction;
Community response to the facility, whether environmental, political, etc.
Each of these factors can affect the facility's level of quality.  Determination, prioritization, and embodiment of these constraints into the final design are the work of the Architect and his consultants as directed by the Owner.

The required Project Quality is thus established by the Contract Documents prepared by the Architect, and achievement of this quality becomes a requirement of the Contractor undertaking the work described by those Documents.

In today's painting by Hieronymus Bosch, titled "Vanitas" we see a woman admiring her reflection in the mirror, complimented by the demon of Vanity. The Owner's needs and even whims, are paramount here.

This image is simply intended to illustrate that the Owner's requirements have first claim on the program of any facility, after the various codes and standards are met, and should be given priority by the Project Team, whether Architect or Contractor.  Attributes which may not make sense in the initial concepts can be very important to the end user.

Describing and guarding Project Quality through the design and construction processes requires constant attention by the Parties to ensure that the Owner's needs (and perhaps whims, as well) are met in the final work.

Vanitas (Detail from The Seven Deadly Sins) Hieronymus Bosch, 1480

Next post:  Quality Assurance and Control.