Speaking the Same Language CONSTRUCT #H16

The Tower of Babel Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Experienced AEC professionals are not surprised that the by-word for confused communication is a construction project.  The Babylonian effort to build a tower to Heaven was stymied by the workers' inability to communicate.

In the left foreground of Bruegel's painting, we see the unhappy client discussing the issue with his design team who are frustrated by the huge volume of RFI's and changes required to move the project forward.  The architect is kneeling before the king, hoping not to lose his head. The specifier is stooping with his hat off.

Perhaps part of the problem is that the public works contract for the tower was different from the private construction contracts familiar to the designers and builders?

In our modern world, private organizations such as AIA, EJCDC and Consensus Docs (along with manyothers) publish model contract documents for private projects, using a lexicon of familiar contract terms.  

In the goverment sphere, the contract document is the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) which has developed a lexicon of it's own over many years.

Not surprisingly, many terms are similar, but with different meanings.  Others sound completely different and mean the same thing.  No wonder it is hard to move from one contract world to another without misunderstanding.

In hopes of forestalling one of the miscommunication issues of modern construction, CSI is undertaking, along with several U.S. Government agencies, an initiative to create a side-by-side glossary of Contract Terms used in Federal and private contracts.  This Glossary will be the starting effort of the Construction Documents Technologist "+G" (plus Government) certification which is the goal of the CSI CDT+G Task Team.

Please consider attending Session H16, Thursday September 26, at 4:00 PM to hear a panel discussion with Mr. Steven Freitas of US Army Corps of Engineers, Sheryl Dodd-Hansen FCSI, Michael Chambers, FAIA, FCSI and myself concerning this effort to promote clear communication and common understanding between Federal agencies and private sector contractors.

The Quality Loop, #CONSTRUCT #T03

The Worm Ouroboros from Atalanta Fugiens, Michael Maier, 1617

Quality Assurance and Quality Control are terms frequently used interchangeably, but which actually represent very different aspects of Quality requirements. 

A clear understanding of the relationship between Assurance and Control is essential to effective specification of the duties and responsibilities of the parties in construction. The overall level of quality required for the project determines the ultimate quality requirements in the specifications.

Understanding the concept of Quality Assurance and Control as a Quality Loop, where the work result of one section becomes the substrate for the next section allows determination of the correct location to specify quality requirements.

These clear descriptions of project quality assist in the identification and correction of non-conforming work, as well as the parties responsible for their correction. and the ability to enforce the requirements at the proper time in the construction sequence.

Learning Objectives:

Explain the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control.

Determine which Quality Requirements should be specified in Division 01, and which should be specified in the Technical sections.

Employ the concept of the "Quality Loop" where the interrelationships of Work Results mean that one Work Result becomes the substrate for another, clarifying coordination between related sections.

Analyze and deconstruct building assemblies to formulate the Quality Requirements of the assembly and specify them in the appropriate Work Results sections.

Join me on Tuesday, 24 September 2013, 0830AM.

2.

Programs for CONSTRUCT 2013

I am honored this year to present three original education sessions at the 2013 CONSTRUCT show / CSI convention in Nashville.  This post is to set forth the titles, topics and session codes for the sessions.  I will discuss the contents and educational goals of each in forthcoming posts, please stay tuned.

Assurance and Control:  Specifying the Quality Loop

Session T03, 0830 AM, Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Alchemical Serpent from the Codex Parisinus (Greek) 2327_Theodoros Pelekanos, 1478

Changing Horses Mid-Stream:  Managing Substitutions

 Session H05, 0800 AM, Thursday,26 September 2013

Detail from “The Wedding Feast at Cana”, by Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese,   1528 

The OTHER 3D Design:  Delay, Damage and Disruption

Session H11, 1000 AM, Thursday, 26 September 2013

 Judith and Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi , ca 1612 

Here is a link to the convention website so you can sign up >>  http://www.constructshow.com/Attendee/Schedule/Index

If these sessions don't look interesting to you, please take a look at the convention schedule, there is a large number of presentations by some first-rate speakers, it is an excellent educational opportunity.  I hope to see you in Nashville in September.

San Francisco CSI Profair

Dance to the Music of Time, Nicolas Poussin, 1640

San Francisco CSI is holding their annual Profair event at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco on May 8, 2013.

I will be presenting a brief talk on specifying Division 01, "The Hub of the Wheel".  One of those wheels can be seen in the painting Dance to the Music of Time above, held up by Apollo in the chariot.

Anne Whitacre FAIA, CCS, Associate AIA will be discussing “Specifying Beyond Platinum: Working with Red Lists, Pharos, and Living Building Challenge Projects”, pointing the directions beyond LEED, CAL-Green and garden-variety sustainability.

Michael Chambers FCSI, FAIA, CCS, SCIP will offer "“UniFormat™: Preliminary Project Descriptions, Cost Estimates, and Post-Occupancy Maintenance", to round out the technical sessions.

For more information, or to enroll for the presentations, see http://sanfrancisco.csinet.org.

Don't delay, the wheels are turning and the music is playing, make sure you have a chair when it stops.

The Beginning of Specifications... and More

 I am very honored to be invited back to California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) to present to the students on the relationship of architecture and construction specifications on Thursday, 25 April.

This year we will discuss a little of the beginning of specifications and how the written component of construction documents evolved out of the early contracts for construction.  The slide above is a brief preview of the central content.

Thanks to Jim Doerfler, Associate Department Head of CAED for the opportunity to address the students and share CSI principles and specification trivia with the next generation of architects.

The next day, Friday, 26 April, the CAED students are presenting the Cal Poly Construction Forum, with sponsorship by CSI, with a focus on sustainable materials and innovative techniques.

DTR Consulting Services is fortunate to be involved with the Human Needs Project, creators of an innovative approach to help people in need of basic utilities and facility services that the developed world takes for granted.    

This project by architect Ken Kao of Kao Design Group of Somerville, MA http://www.kaodesign.com, constructed by Redhorse Constructors of San Rafael, http://www.redhorseconstructors.com, embodies new thinking about human needs and exciting applications of ordinary materials to offer a promise of better circumstances to the people of Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya.

A brief presentation will outline the architectural response to the social and environmental factors in the community of Kibera and discuss the engineering and design effort involved to address the concerns of the residents.

Please consider visiting the Human Needs Project, http://www.humanneedsproject.org, to learn more about their plans for the future.  Donations are gladly accepted at their site.

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.