SPECIFICATIONS CONTENTS (Design Practice)

Post 380 –by Gautam Shah

.

A design office deals with, and also generates a variety of Documents that contain some or the other forms of Specifications. Such Specification related documents are of following main categories:

1. Drawings: graphical representations and specifications written with them.

2. Literary explanations: Memos, site notes, interim reports.

3. Linkages: cross references to graphical representations, literary explanations and external specifications, standards, etc.

4. Time schedules:

Categories of Specifications that concern a Design organization are

1. Documents related,
2. Design office practices and routines that a vendor must know,
3. Formats of communication with the design office and its job consultants,
4. Site and job specific cares and precautions,
5. Re-use, recycling and ‘safe’ disposal related requirements.
6. Bill checking, certification procedures.

   

These requirements can also be stated as

• methods for interpretation of documents
• records keeping of corrections, alterations, revisions, etc.
• archiving methods for information, data and documents.
• definitions of laying out a job, location facilities, resources (free, chargeable etc.), hazards, conditions of access and usage.
• methods and means to achieve the quality standards for inputs and outputs.
• definitions of risks, hazards, (due to natural causes, ignorance, carelessness, fraud, malicious acts) and ways to predict, manage, eliminate and compensate them. Definition of mandatory obligations and responsibilities.
• work evaluation modes and methods.
• responsibilities and extent of liabilities for desired level of functionality, of parts and whole, means to fulfill them.

In-house specifications that are flourishing within a design organization can be categorized like:

General

• How to read (drawing sequencing) & co-ordinate other documents
• Graphical signs and symbols, Abbreviations
• References -upward, downward, sideways links
• Dimensions, Units, Quantities, numbers, fitments and tolerances
• Dates and schedules
• Assumptions / presumptions of Estimating
• How to request, revise and record changes in drawings and documents

Materials

• Quality and Quantity of raw materials,
• Delivery of goods,
• Handling (unloading, weights), unpacking, and storage of raw materials
• Raw material accounting -ordering, approvals, receipts & issue
• Management of residual raw materials, waste goods, rejected goods, packing materials, debris due to breakage of existing structures, garbage, fumes, smokes, pollutants, etc.

Site and Staff Management

• Chargeable services and free services on a site
• Maintenance of site or work areas during multi vendor access.
• Welfare, safety and security of people and goods on a site
• Ownership of site, goods, plants, partly completed and fully completed items
• Making good damages to surrounding environment and buildings

  Works Management

• Process of manufacture – assembly – installation
• During execution check ups/ precautions
• Post execution checkups / follow ups
• Operational parameters for the executed entity
• Guarantees and warranties and transfer to the owners

Billing

• Modules of measurement
• Mode of measurement
• Incidence of Taxes

  
  .