Mechanics of Preparing Construction Specifications: Practices for Clarity and Risk Management
Presenter: Kevin O’Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CDT HDR Engineering, National Manager of Engineering Specifications
Some people may consider construction specifications to be unappealing, overly voluminous, and even boring. Certain folks have even suggested, “nobody ever reads the specs”. Despite construction specifications often getting this type of short-shrift, they are an exceedingly important and, we would argue, essential, element of any set of construction documents. Specifications without clear, concise language, with improper grammar, terminology, and phrasing, where requirements are difficult to locate, and that are not properly coordinated with each other and other elements of the construction documents, have strong potential to result in bidders’ and contractor’s requests for interpretation or clarification, addenda, and construction phase changes, claims, and disputes. Thus, proper attention and effort devoted to developing clear, concise, correct, and complete specifications during the project’s final design will reap substantial benefits during the bidding and construction phases. Such construction documents contribute to harmonious relationships among project participants, enhanced reputation for the design professional, easier and less-stressful bidding and construction activities, efficiency, and profitability.
However, because construction specifications are often developed late in the design process, and coordination among the various construction documents, including the specifications and drawings, takes time and expertise, all too often, specifications are issue for bidding and construction that can be exploited by others at a later time. This presentation will communicate the types of information and requirements that should be indicated in the specifications versus what should be shown on the drawings; essential tips for properly organizing construction documents, including the specifications; the need for proper coordination among the construction documents; specifications writing style; specifications wording, including words to avoid; use of numerals, symbols, and abbreviations in construction documents; and other useful advice.
After attending this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe what types of information should be on the Drawings versus the specifications, and appropriate organizational formats for specifications.
- Explain the importance of properly coordinating the various elements of the construction documents, and how to do it.
- Indicate appropriate writing style in construction documents.
- Describe words to avoid and words that should be used with care in construction documents.
- Explain recommended practices concerning numbers, abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols in construction documents.
Indicate appropriate practices concerning citing third-party reference standards, regulatory permits, and laws and regulations in construction specifications.
Kevin O’Beirne, PE
PRESENTER INFO:
Kevin O’Beirne is a professional engineer licensed in New York and Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with a BS in Civil Engineering. He has over 37 years of consulting engineering experience in design, construction contract administration, and project management on water and wastewater treatment and infrastructure projects.
Mr. O’Beirne is the National Manager of Engineering Specifications for HDR, an engineering and architecture design firm with over 14,000 employees in the U.S. and eight other nations. He is based in Buffalo, NY. He is experienced with construction documents, construction claims resolution, alternative project delivery methods, and related matters.
Mr. O’Beirne is an ACEC delegate on, and past chair of, the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC), participating on EJCDC’s Construction, Procurement, Design-Build, and Construction Management Subcommittees. He is a Fellow of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), has served on various CSI national committees, writes a blog on CSI’s national website, and received CSI’s “Communicator of the Year” award in both 2019 and 2020. He is a principal author of CSI’s book, Construction Contract Administration Practice Guide, Second Edition (2020). He frequently presents for HDR and externally on construction documents, bidding/procurement, construction contract administration, professional licensure, and related matters and has published over 100 feature-length articles on these topics.