Today, companies and individuals must necessarily have their specifications. It is a document which contains the ideas entering within the framework of the evolution of your projects and the tasks to be carried out to achieve it. In this article, Drafter’s Corner revisits with you the importance of specifications.
To carry out your company’s projects and for the proper functioning of internal activities, you must have specifications. This also applies to individuals.
A specification is an essential written document in the supplier / customer relationship for the provision of services and the sale of products. It clearly defines the customer’s needs and requirements and acts as a service contract between the two parties. Also essential in the case of a call for tenders.
It makes it possible to state with precision the goal, objectives and characteristics of a mission and also to explain its purpose to the entire implementation team.
Finally, it defines the duties and responsibilities of each of them.
Importance of specifications
specifications
Are you wondering why you would need specifications and what would be the benefits? Are you tempted to do without specifications? We have prepared a knowledge article on how to write a specification.
Developing a good specification should save you a lot of time and effort when it comes to delivering a construction project. By clarifying your requirements, there is no room for confusion or doubt, which can only make the process more effective and efficient.
How to write a specification
1. Create a clear definition
As a supporting document, the specifications are your opportunity to specify your requirements on a project. Good specifications should give a clear indication of the quality levels you expect. This includes what types of materials you want to use on the job site and how they should be installed, finished, or tested.
The specification also serves as an opportunity to reference specific local standards that are applicable to the job – leaving no doubt as to the type of compliance required.
2. Detail of supporting drawings
Drawings alone cannot convey all your requirements. Support drawings (whether hand drawn or developed as 3D CAD) with full and detailed specifications will save you time and effort in the long run. Even on BIM projects, where a fully rendered building can contain a lot of additional information in the individual objects that make up the model, there are many other details that still need to be captured, including the quality of the materials you plan to use. This includes manufacturing and all relevant standards that must be met.
While it may have been possible in the past to write a specification on the designs themselves, today it is simply not possible. With so much information required, a specification is really the only way to capture that information.
Specifications developed using NBS services are based on a classification system that can be used to accurately reference the sections, systems, and clauses of the specification on drawings or models.
3. Information to ensure price accuracy
While the specification itself does not include cost information if it is well composed and detailed enough, it should make it easy for a contractor to price labor quickly and accurately. Making sure you provide detailed information on project requirements, perhaps even on specific products, will result in more accurate pricing down the line. Have specifications for 2022.
4. Minimize the risks
By codifying the requirements into a specification, it is ultimately more difficult to challenge things. A specification that relies on relevant and up-to-date standards and accurately references drawings should therefore help you minimize the risk of litigation and lawsuits on a project. If you ever find yourself in an unfortunate situation where there has been a dispute over your project, if you have your specifications handy, you are in a much safer position (assuming they are correct). Have specifications for 2022.
5. Focus on compliance
Fast and efficient legal compliance helps you avoid legal implications and penalties on a project and reduces the risk of lawsuits. By setting requirements on a project when it comes to meeting specific standards, sustainability benchmarks, and compliance with health and safety requirements, a project manager can easily determine and verify that these documented requirements have been met. Have specifications for 2022.
6. Give clear instructions
A good specification should serve as an “on-site instruction manual”. By clearly stating the standards you expect from the job, you are effectively providing instructions for those working in the field to follow.
It’s important to remember that your specification should not be overly prescriptive when it comes to delivery – the focus should clearly be on results rather than the process by which results are achieved.
As the document at the heart of the project, the specification should be available on site as a reference guide for contractors detailing the types and quality of materials, products and workmanship you need for the project. Have specifications for 2022.
7. Make it legally binding
We have already touched on how you are better protected against risks, but it should be remembered that the specification is part of the contractual documentation and therefore becomes legally binding in the event of a dispute or dispute. Have specifications for 2022.
8. Ensure customer satisfaction
The specifications are an interpretation of the initial brief provided by your client. It serves as a written interpretation of this brief and by making sure that you understand the client’s wishes and the strengths they need, it serves as a key control over the performance criteria.
9. Create a useful resource for facility management
The specification will not remain a static document – it will grow and evolve throughout the project timeline as you end up with an “as built” version that represents the final asset. The specification will prove invaluable to facility managers and maintenance crews in providing vital information about the building or asset as it transitions to use, reuse and even up to demolition.
10. Save time and money
Taking the time to put together precise information, clear instructions and minimal repetition will allow the contractor to proceed with little disruption. This has reduced the need for questioning and clarification, which adds time and cost to a project.
Do you like reading our article on writing specifications? Be sure to also visit our pages of model building specifications and software specifications .
