2007/2008

Q-01 Importance of having Specification as a separate document in construction project or a service industry
Contract documents and especially specifications are management tools. Hence, contract documents are one of the most important pieces that will guarantee of a successful project. A set of contract documents is basically consisted with three major elements, such as; 1. Bidding requirements 2. Drawings 3. Specifications Show contractors obligation

The specification would be a contract document in its own right if the contractor tenders on the basis of drawings and specification only. Where bills of quantities are used for building work the specification is included with the bill of quantities as preambles. In this way the specification again becomes part of the contract documents. Therefore, specification information can be given in several places; in a project specification, on drawings, in BOQ or in various types of schedules. However, having specification as a separate document has benefits as shown bellow. Convenience of use: For most purposes, e.g. ordering of materials or quality control on site, having the complete specification for each type of work in one place will be far more convenient. First point of reference: It is important that project documents are reasonably consistent and predictable in their arrangement. When specifications given as a separate document there is a first point of reference for that document to clarify any matter regarding quality of work. Ensuring use of the project specifications: When given the specifications as parts of BOQs or in drawings, there is a risk of not reading full details of the project by the contractor. This danger will be reduced by giving specifications separately and giving short cross reference to the specifications. Variance and Divergences: If specification information is given in number of places, such as drawings or BOQs, there is a high danger of variances and divergences of information. Also same thing may be described in differently in different places. Avoidance of repetition:

When specifications are given in one place repetition of project information over and over is avoided and it will help to keep the quantities brief and avoid the drawings becoming crowded with information.

Q-02 (a) Reference Specifications

A reference specification is which; the item is referred to by a number corresponding to a number in a published specification. For an example; The fan shall conform to Federal Specification W-F-207 c These standard specifications are published by two parties; Non-profit trade associations of building product manufacturers Trade associations/ government and institutional organizations

However, the main disadvantage is that, those specifications are published for commonly used products only. As well as, when using that type of specifications it is required more quality control effort for the contractor in identifying and monitoring products supplied by the suppliers and the subcontractors. Reference specifications are mostly suitable for projects where, prohibited to identify proprietary products.

(b) Manufacturers Specifications

Manufacturers specification is that the information there is ready to be used whenever the writer needs it. A manufacturers specification is a silent salesman. A good manufacturers specification gives the basic information about a product. With specifications from various manufacturers, the specification writer can compare the advantages of each product.

While drawings facilitate the project in pictorial or graphical way, specifications supply information about the construction or the service in a verbal or textual manner. Thus, specification is a written description to fulfill essential gap between the designers design and the manufacturers production. Also, a specification is prepared by an architect or consulting engineer to provide written technical information mainly on the quality of materials and workmanship