How many of you use your knowledge and assist in selecting products?
How many of you are just throw cut sheets and told to spec this product?
I go both ways; what you might call “ac/dc” (and, just to make myself very clear, that’s in reference to my spec writing only.)
For some products (primarily waterproofing, sealants, coatings, ) I make all the product selections and inform the team how to coordinate and delineate those products on the drawings.
For roofing, I consult with the team and contractor and we jointly make a decision; for metal panels and glazing, I provide some input based on what my understanding of the project is; for all tile setting, resinous flooring, and other technical (lab) products, I provide most of the input and product selection, with the exception of color.
For products that are mostly there to just look pretty and have few performance criteria, I generally specify what is given to me; however I do review those products and if I know of performance issues, I will raise them with the team.
some teams use me far more integrally than other teams do, but I am often consulted on nearly everything in the project.
I do not view my position in the office as passive but rather an integral part of the quality control effort. I also know that in most cases, I know more about product performance than anyone on the project team or on the contractor’s team. Over the past 8 years, my office has learned to rely on that knowledge base.
And, during CA, I review most of the substitution request and RFIs on the project for conformance with our original intent.
I find that, more often than not, I end up doing A (assist in selecting products) After B (getting cut sheets dumped on my desk). Thats because the individuals copying the cut sheets:,
Pick manufacturers Ive never heard of or those that I dont like (but their web site was the coolest).
Dont indicated desired options on the cut sheets (you mean it makes a difference if its steel or plastic laminate?).
Copy a page from a four year old spec (but I want it to match that old job).
etc.
Then I have to educate them (AGAIN) on the proper procedures to follow when making product selection, And how to include the kind of specific information I need to actually create a spec section.
Kids, I dont know whats wrong with these kids today.
A little more seriously, Im a lot like Anne in that I am involved in product selection on nearly all significant building envelope elements (especially roofing and waterproofing), and substitution requests.
It depends on the architect’s experience and attitude.
I often have to select products when other architects get lazy. But no one has ever explained to me the proper procedures for selecting products. I’ve just sort of had to find my own way. For that reason, I dont feel confident enough to tell other people how to do it properly.
What is the proper procedure to follow when making product selection? It would be worthwhile to send out an e-mail to everyone in the office explaining those procedures.
Also, Id like to see something that explains to people, in a generalized way, what kind of specific information is needed to create a spec section. However, perhaps that will always depend on the specific section.
Anon:
CSI’s Project resource Manual (Manual of Practice), Article 4.4 on pages 4.15 - 4.31, has some great information on the product selection process.
Sounds exactly like what you may be looking for.
The Project Resource Manual (PRM) is a good place to start. Last year I help facilitate one of our local chapter programs, a panel discussion on product selection, and used the PRM as a guide. [David’s post above has the citation]
For how to write specs, the PRM talks about it, and you should also check out John Regener’s update of “Construction Specifications Writing: Principles and Procedures”.
The role of the specification consultant should vary depending on who is the subject matter expert(SME). The SME should take the lead in selecting the products and making the technical decisions what to specify and how.
When the specification consultant is not the SME then his role should focus on coordinating the various sections and ensuring a consistent set of documents. For this approach to be effective the SME needs to understand the basics of specification writing.
When the SME is either not comfortable with writing specifications or takes a passive role, the specification consultant will often try to fill the void by offering up a spec section used on a previous project and asking the SME to edit it. These historical specification sections often have problems, but these problems are typically overlooked because everybody is happy just to have a section. This happens all too often with regards to structural specifications.