Maurhena J.

Saipuddin
BS-Architecture 4A
BUIDING TECHNOLOGY 4
Research Paper
1. What is Specification?
- Exact statement of the particular needs to be satisfied, or essential characteristics
that a customer requires (in a good, material, method, process, service, system, or
work) and which a vendor must deliver. Specifications are written usually in a manner
that enables both parties (and/or an independent certifier) to measure the degree of
conformance. They are, however, not the same as control limits (which allow
fluctuations within a range), and conformance to them does not necessarily mean
quality (which is a predictable degree of dependability and uniformity).
Specification for construction:
Specifications describe the materials and workmanship required for a development.
They do not include cost, quantity or drawn information, and so need to be read
alongside other information such as quantities, schedules and drawings.
Specifications vary considerably depending on the stage to which the design has
been developed, ranging from performance specifications (open specifications) that
require further design work to be carried out, to prescriptive specifications (closed
specifications) where the design is already complete.
2. Purpose and Importance of specification
-

Purpose of giving Specifications:

The cost of an unit quantity of work is governed by its specifications.
Specification of a work is required to describe the quality and quantity of different
materials required for a construction work and is one of the essential contract

documents.
This also specifies the workmanship and the method of doing the work. Thus
specification of a work serves as a guide to a supervising staff of a contractor as well
as to the owner to execute the work to their satisfaction.

A work is carried out according to its specification and the contractor is paid for the

same. Any change in specification changes the tendered rate.

As the rate of work is based on the specification, a contractor can calculate the rates
of various items of works in tender with his procurement rates of materials and
labour. Thus tender rate without specification of works is baseless, incomplete and

invalid.
Specification is necessary to specify the equipment tools and plants to be engaged

for a work and thus enables to procure them beforehand.

The necessity of specification is to verify and check the strength of materials for a

work involved in a project.

Importance of Specification:
A specification is essential to get a building properly built, whether it is a separate
document or written on the drawings. And a well written specification can be easier
for the Contractor and better for the designer and client.

3. Qualification of Specification Writer

- Writes descriptions of processes and processing operations. Works with engineers,
operations personnel, manuals, and other materials to develop specifications. May
require a bachelor's degree in a related area and 2-4 years of experience in the field
or in a related area. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures
within a particular field. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish
goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. Works under general supervision. A
certain degree of creativity and latitude is required. Typically reports to a supervisor
or manager.

4. Type of specification
-

General Specifications

In general specifications, nature and class of works and names of materials that should
be used are described. Only a brief description of each and every item is given. It is
useful for estimating the project. The general specifications do not form a part of contract
document.
- Detailed Specifications
The detailed specifications form a part of a contract document. They specify the
qualities, quantities and proportions of materials and the method of preparation and
execution for a particular item of works in a project. The detailed specifications of the
different items of the work are prepared separately and they describe what the work
should be and how they shall be executed. While writing the detailed specifications, the
same order sequence as the work is to be carried out is to be maintained.

5. Enumerate the division of specification.

- Before November 2004, MasterFormat was composed of 16 primary divisions:
Division 01 General Requirements
Division 02 Site Construction
Division 03 Concrete
Division 04 Masonry
Division 05 Metals
Division 06 Wood and Plastics
Division 07 Thermal and Moisture Protection
Division 08 Doors and Windows
Division 09 Finishes
Division 10 Specialties
Division 11 Equipment
Division 12 Furnishings
Division 13 Special Construction
Division 14 Conveying Systems
Division 15 Mechanical
Division 16 Electrical

6. 3 part section format.

PART 1 GENERAL (Covers specific administrative and procedural requirements

unique to the Section.)

SUMMARY
Section includes Products furnished but not installed includes this section
Products installed but not furnished includes in this section
Related Sections
Allowances
Unit Prices
Alternates/Alternatives
REFERENCES
DEFINITIONS
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Design Requirements
Performance Requirements
SUBMITTALS
Product Data
Shop Drawings
Samples
Quality Control Submittals
Design Data
Test Reports
Certificates
Manufacturers Instructions
Manufacturers Field Reports
Contract Closeout Submittals
Project Record Documents
Operation and Maintenance
Data Warranty
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Qualifications
Regulatory Requirements
Certifications
Field Samples
Mock-ups
Pre-installation conference
DELIVERY, STORAGE AND HANDLING
Packing and Shipping
Acceptance at Site
Storage and Protection
PROJECT/SITE CONDITIONS
Environmental Requirements
Existing Conditions
Field Measurements
SEQUENCING AND SCHEDULING WARRANTY

 Special Warranty
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance Service
Extra Materials
-

PART 2 PRODUCTS (Describes the quality of items required for the Job.)

MANUFACTURERS
MATERIALS
MANUFACTURED UNITS
EQUIPMENT
COMPONENTS
ACCESSORIES
MIXES
FABRICATION
Shop Assembly
Shop/Factory Finishing
Tolerances
SOURCE QUALITY CONTROL
Tests
Inspection
Verification of performance

PART 3 EXECUTION (Details preparatory actions and explains how the products
outlined in Part 2 are to be used in the Job.)

EXAMINATION
Verification of Conditions
PREPARATION
Protection
Surface Preparation
ERECTION/INSTALLTION/
APPLICATION
Special Techniques
Interface with other products
Tolerances
FIELD QUALITY CONTROL
Tests
Inspection
Manufacturers Field Service
ADJUSTING
CLEANING
DEMONSTRATION

PROTECTION
SCHEDULES

7. Elements of Specialization
-

Specialization elements:

Several DITA elements exist either for architectural reasons or for support of specialized
markup yet to be designed. Although there is little need to use these elements unless
you are directed to, some of them, such as <state>, can be used if your content makes
use of these semantic distinctions. A discussion of signals on a gate of an integrated
logic circuit, for example, might use the state element to represent either on or off
conditions of that gate.
itemgroup
The <itemgroup> element is reserved for use in specializations of DITA. As a container
element, it can be used to sub-divide or organize elements that occur inside a list item,
definition, or parameter definition.
no-topic-nesting
The <no-topic-nesting> element is a placeholder in the DITA architecture. It is not
actually used by the default DITA document types; it is for use only when creating a
validly customized document type where the information designer wants to eliminate the
ability to nest topics. Not intended for use by authors, and has no associated output
processing.
required-cleanup
A <required-cleanup> element is used as a placeholder for migrated elements that
cannot be appropriately tagged without manual intervention. As the element name
implies, the intent for authors is to clean up the contained material and eventually get rid
of the <required-cleanup> element. Authors should not insert this element into
documents.

state
The <state> element specifies a name/value pair whenever it is necessary to represent a
named state that has a variable value. The element is primarily intended for use in
specializations to represent specific states (like logic circuit states, chemical reaction
states, airplane instrumentation states, and so forth).
term
The <term> element identifies words that may have or require extended definitions or
explanations. In future development of DITA, for example, terms might provide
associative linking to matching glossary entries.
boolean
The <boolean> element is used to express one of two opposite values, such as yes or
no, on or off, true or false, high or low, and so forth. The element itself is empty; the
value of the element is stored in its state attribute, and the semantic associated with the
value is typically in a specialized name derived from this element.