Manufacturer/Supplier provides Literature with specification information within the text

• Takes time for each specifier to extract the information and reformat into specifications
• Any two people may create different specifications
• Risks important information being missed
• Risks incorrect interpretation

Manufacturers/Supplier provides Product Data Sheet with specification information within the schedule

• Factual data sets do not provide descriptions for workmanship for example

Manufacturer/Supplier provides Specification clauses:

• A major step in the right direction
• They will know their own products, intended purpose and appropriate applications
• They can write the specification from their perspective, to help the specifiers
• Avoids the risk of interpretation by many, by carrying it out once
• There is a risk that this may remain guidance and not instruction
• This may not be robust enough to help prevent substitution

GBE Robust Specification

• Readymade Specification templates are the ideal solution for specifiers;
• Can adopt elemental assembly approach to specification with assembly and component specifications;
• All the reasons for choosing the product, are included in the specification to help defend against substitution
• The format is suitable for editing straight into project specifications.

GBE are used to writing Project Specifications where maximum control over the end result may be required and we are convinced the only way to specify is to be comprehensive and provide all the information needed by all of the users at different stages of the project.

• To enable competent cost planning
• To communicate to and coordinate with the project team members and their outputs
• To minimise the number of questions during Bill of Quantity preparation
• To coordinate specifications with drawings and bills of quantity
• To coordinate trade interfaces and building fabric, structure and services interfaces
• To help manage Value Engineering, Cost Cutting and Specification Substitution
• To give tenderers confidence to price the project competitively, reducing safety margins
• To order materials and build from without generating many questions on site

There are three or four parts to GBE Robust Specification:

• GBE Robust Specification Clauses
• GBE Robust Specification Work Sections
• GBE Robust Specification Appendix
• GBE Robust Specification Reclamation Sections

GBE Robust Specification Clauses include Guidance Notes and:

• Project application: Reference Drawings, Location, Schedule references
• Manufacturer’s contact details: Telephone, Fax, Email, Website, Contact name, Telephone and email
• Description of the product and its application
• Performance clauses
• Assemblies clauses
• Component clauses
• The reasons why you would choose to specify it are included in the specification to help defend against substitution
• Manufacturing, Refurbishing or Remanufacturing Standards
• Performance Data
• 3rd Party Accreditations: BSI Kitemark, BBA Certificates, etc.
• Green Labels
• Environmental Credentials
• Health Credential
• Safety Issues

GBE Robust Specification Work Sections including Guidance Notes and:

• Reference Documents (standards and Codes, etc.)
• Performance clauses
• Compliance clauses (Ska, BREEAM, LEED etc.
• Product Specification (above)
• Elemental Assembly, System Assembly or Application build-up clauses
• Component clauses
• Approved installers/Applicators (or in separate appendix)
• Suppliers (or in separate appendix)
• Sample Requirements
• Test or approval requirements
• Commissioning requirements
• Workmanship
• Waste issues related to spares and SWMP checklists
• End of life issues (in Guidance)

GBE Robust Specification Reclamation Sections including Guidance Notes and:

• Soft strip of surrounding installations clauses
• Soft strip of reclamation components clauses
• Segregation of whole module, specials and modified module clauses
• Segregation of clean from not-clean components clauses
• Segregation of different orientation prone matrials clauses
• End of life option clauses
• Provenance paperwork for audit trails
• Packaging and protection clauses
• Handling clauses
• Reclamation destinations schedules
• Remanufacturing or refurbishment standards

GBE Collaborative Services Costs

• As a guide, but subject to product or system preview
• Robust Specification clauses include:
• analysis of and extraction from all published information
• discussions with manufacturer, supplier, installer to extract important information
• development of clauses, incorporating any review feedback
• ensure clauses work with NBS work sections

• Robust Specification WORK SECTION
• subject to product or system preview

• Robust Specification RECLAMATION SECTION
• subject to product or system preview

In response to visitors comments below:

• Smooth Osecos 1980 & Me fit best ma 1974
  
• Interesting responses I have responded to your comments by adding to the post with additional details.
• My experience is based on 39 years of specification consultancy writing specifications on £2420 million worth of projects, my task was to ensure the client gets what they are paying for.
• No compromises by me, Architects are at liberty to compromise on their own projects by editing project specifications, but at their own risk.
• Professional Indemnity Insurance might discourage compromise.

BrianSpecMan

Client Ambitions:

• Investing in a building  v building cheap?
• As designers we will spend time designing to a client brief
• There will be performance target set in the briefing process
• Specification, drawings and bill of quantities communicate the requirements to the tenderer and the contractor, each has a purpose
• No one document should undermine the other and the specification is king, so it must be competent.
• None should undermine the client ambition.
• No actions by any party should undermine the specification.

Too much information?

• GBPDC Green Building Product Data Collection
• includes 1260 data points
• any one product might only have data for say 600 of these
• the remainder not being relevant or applicable
• GBPDC can feed up to 35 different documents or website pages or posts
• Each document with different purpose at different stages of a project’s life cycle
• Including: Robust Specification, Method Statements, Reclaimed Product or Materials Passport. etc.
• GBRS Green Building Robust Specifications attempt to provide all the information needed by all of the actors at all stages of the project life cycle.
• The specification clause content needs to be organised in a rational way, in sub groups so that all information has its rightful place and and is in that place, so it can be found easily in a logical search or read through.
• Robust rationalisation of the specification wording writing to be succinct, no repetition, cross reference to single statements, efficient and effective.
• No ‘Guidance’ from literature, convert them into ‘Instructions’.
• Example: ‘The contractor shall…’ is redundant “Do this…” is all that is needed in a document that is an instruction to the contractor.
• Readers are at liberty to focus on the information they need in their role at any given moment; but not ignore or discount or avoid any information at their convenience (e.g. in substitution situations)
• In the world of BIM Building Information Modelling/ Management, LOI Levels of Information and LOD Levels of Detail could offer filters to turn some of the information off and others on at different stages of the project to avoid over burdening the software or the users with too much non-essential information at that time.
• The readers of a robust specification is a construction professional they need to be competent enough to do their job.
• Users of GBS Robust Specifications can edit their version of the specification to suite their project based on any number of factors: the value of the project, the competency of the readers.
• Don’t be fooled by your QS Quantity Surveyor into thinking a thinner specification or less drawings leads to a cheaper tender.
• Reset to narrow margins, print double sided, use smaller font (never below 10 point), reduce line spacing, etc. change nothing and reissue
• Let drawings be busy and full of information
• They do not weigh the specification and then add noughts to determine their tender price.
• The more confident and detailed your drawings and specification the more confidence they have that you know what you are doing and the more accurate they can be with their pricing and more confident they can be with winning the tender and contract.

Feedback response:

• If we GBE gets feedback, then we are more likely to increase data collected and included, to be more robust and avoid other problems we did not anticipate previously.
• Specification writing and design is a continuous process of learning and improving
• Any problem on any project is an opportunity to learn and improve and avoid similar issues on subsequent projects by controlling it in the specification
• We do not add 100s of extra pages just a few lines to numerous clauses

• GBE Robust Specification
• GBE Outline Specification
• Specification Sales to Architects G#1325 N#1313

GBE Information

• Barbour Report 2000 Influencing Product Decisions G#12473