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.