Chapter 12:

SPECIFICATION

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 SPECIFICATION
detailed description of a particular thing,
especially one detailed enough to provide
somebody with the information needed to
make that thing.
Specification specifies or describes the nature
and the class of the work, materials to be used in
the work, workmanship, etc.
 It is very important for the execution of the
work. The cost of a work depends much on the
specifications.
Specification should be clear and there should
not be any ambiguity anywhere. 2
 SPECIFICATION
 Form the study of the specifications, every body can easily
understand the nature of the work and what the work shall
be?.
 The drawings of a building or structure show the
arrangements of the rooms and various parts and the
dimensions-length, breadth and height, with very brief
descriptions of different parts.
 Drawings do not furnish the details of different items of
work, the quantity of materials, proportion of mortar and
workmanship which are described in specifications.
 Thus, the combinations of drawings and specifications define
completely the structure. Drawings and specifications form
important parts of contract document.
 Specifications depend on the nature of the work, the
purpose for which the work is required, strength of the
materials, availability of materials, quality of materials,
etc. 3
 PURPOSE OF SPECIFICATION
Drawings do not furnish the details of different
items of work, the quantity of materials,
workmanship etc, which are all described in the
specifications. Specifications serve the following
purposes:
Guide the bidder at the time of tendering for
arriving at a fair price for the work involved.
Provide guidance for execution and
supervision of work and purchase of
materials.
State the acceptance criteria for different
items of work. 4
 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION

General specifications or brief

specifications

Detailed specifications

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 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
a. General specifications / brief specifications
 General specification gives the nature and class of the
work and materials in general terms, to be used in the
various parts of the work, form the foundation to the
superstructure.
 It is a short description of different parts of the work,
specifying materials, proportions, qualities, etc.
 General specifications give general idea of the whole work
or structure and are useful for preparing the estimate.
 General specifications are also called brief specifications.
These give a general ideas of the class and type of work
giving brief descriptions of materials, quality and
workmanship.
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 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
b. Detailed specifications
 The detailed specification of an item of work specifies the
qualities and quantities of materials, the proportion of mortar,
workmanship, the method of preparation and execution and
the methods of measurement.
 The detailed specifications of different items of work are
prepared separately and describe what the work should be
how they shall be executed and constructed.
 Detailed specifications are written to express the requirements
clearly in a concise form avoiding repetition and ambiguity.
 The detailed specifications are arranged as far as possible in the
same sequence of order as the work is carried out.
 The detailed specifications are very helpful for the execution of
work. The detailed specifications form an important part of
contract document.
 The detailed specifications give detailed description of each item
of work including material and method to be used along with
quality of workmanship required. 7
 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
Detailed Specifications are of two types
• Standard Specifications
• Special Specifications

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 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
• Standard specifications are those which
remain same for various types of projects.
These specifications can be used for every
project that fall into this category. Different
public sector organizations collect data from
various types of construction work and
published data in the form of a book.
• No need to write detailed specifications
again and again for every project. It saves
from mistakes while writing specifications
over and over again.
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 TYPES OF SPECIFICATION
SPECIAL SPECIFICATIONS
• Sometime construction projects are of
special type. Specifications for these types
of projects are not mentioned in detailed
specifications book. Consultant has to write
specifications for this type of work.
• In tender documents these specifications
are written separately under Special
Specifications heading.
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 IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICATION
 To convey a clear understanding of the nature of the
machinery, supplies or materials to be furnished or the work
to be done under a contract, it is just as necessary to prepare
proper specifications as it is to develop complete and accurate
plans
 Bidders learn from the specifications not only the information of
the nature and amount of the work which they will be called upon
to do, if their bid is accepted, but they may also form some idea
of the fairness of the parties who have prepared the plans and
specifications.
 In the preparation of the specification, absolute clearness of
details and fairness of intent are essential to secure satisfactory
proposals and proper work.

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 IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICATION
 Any specifications, which are arbitrary, unfair or
unnecessarily severe give a bad impression of the engineer, and
usually involve either a refusal to bid on the work or additions
to the price bid to offset the unwarranted treatment to be
expected under such specifications.
 A specification is not the place to show the extent of the
engineer’s knowledge, but it is the place to show how clearly
and exactly he can describe the essential and practicable limits
of the qualities of work and material needed for the end in
view, how well he can protect his client by definite and proper
requirements and how fair and just he will be in his treatment of
contractors.
 Specifications not only describe the character of the work but also
serve as the instructions to superintendents and inspectors as
to what requirements they must enforce.
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 IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICATION
 The specification clearly illustrated the quality of materials,
quality of workmanship and the method of doing the work. This
helps to control the quality of work and make the project and
components within the tolerance.
 Specification also serves as guidance to the contractor as to
how to do the work and to the supervisor, engineer as to how
to check and what to check on the work. Specification is also a
most important document to the employer as it protects the interest
of the employer to give highest possible standard of work.
 To the estimator, it gives general idea about the quality of
work and hence easy to estimate for the project. To the
contractor, it gives clear picture about what is required to be done
in the project.

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 IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICATION
Therefore he can offer his most competitive bidding. If
the specification is not complete and clear, the contractor
may not be able to bid correctly which may adversely
affect the project.
The conditions of contract often include statement as “
if there is ambiguity between drawings and
specification, the details written in
specification shall govern”.

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TECHNIQUES OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
Specification writing needs clear concept
of the job, through knowledge of
materials to be used and methods of
construction.
This has to be gained from long
experience and research on the subject.
Specification must be written in such a way
that the bidders , contractors, supervisors,
engineers and technicians all understand
it correctly. 15
 TECHNIQUES OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
Specification writing should follow the following general rules:
 Language :
it should be simple and clear. It should give simple
meanings and it should not need special interpretation.
Rules of grammar should be followed. Tense of sentences
and general structure and style of sentence should be
uniform. Repetition of noun is preferred.
 Shortness :
specification should be written as short as possible.
Standard products should be specified by referring to the
relevant standard. Fewer words will involve lesser
risk of legal complications.
 No reasoning:
specification should not contain the reasoning for
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specifying. It is the instruction to the bidder.
 TECHNIQUES OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
Specification writing should follow the following general rules:
 Items to be covered:
A particular item of BOQ may need various articles /
materials and workmanship. All the items / articles /
materials needed are to be covered and various steps of
workmanship have to be defined. The requirement of
the item of BOQ should be very clearly
understood.
 Ambiguities:
Ambiguities should be avoided as far as possible. Great
care should be taken so that the drawings and
specification specifies the same things.

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 TECHNIQUES OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
Specification writing should follow the following general rules:
 Difficulty in achieving:
Difficult things should not be specified. Materials not
available has to be avoided from specification. Similarly
workmanship which is not possible to achieve should not be
specified. Practical limitations of materials and
workmanship should be kept in view while writing
specification.
 No cross –referring :
Cross reference to sections and paragraphs should be
avoided as far as possible. When it is unavoidable, the
title of specification should be referred.

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 TECHNIQUES OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
Specification writing should follow the following general rules:
 Size and pattern:
The size and pattern of materials and components to be
specified should be commercial and readily available in the
market. This saves both time and cost.
 Fairness :
Specification should be fair to the contractor and to the
employer. It should not throw all risks to the contractor
alone. All possible risks, hazards etc. should be
described in the specification.
 Completeness:
Specification should give complete meaning so that disputes
are minimized.
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STEPS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
 Specification for material – First of all, the main material to be
used has to be specified. Relevant code of practice etc. has to be
refereed to. Quality of materials, tests required and tolerance must
be specified. E.g. for cement concrete first of all specification of
cement must be written. Then specification of aggregates and
water must follow.
 Auxiliary materials: - All other auxiliary materials to complete the
item of work has to listed and their specifications to be written. They
also must be complete. E.g. some additive require for concrete
should also be added.
 Preliminary work: - Before construction or installation of materials,
some preliminary works are required. This has to be addressed while
writing specification. E.g. preparing the surface, wetting of bricks
for brick masonry etc.
 Installation of materials :- Method of installation of all the
important materials or laying them should be written clearly.
Temporary works required, if any for installation etc. must also
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be written.
STEPS OF SPECIFICATION WRITING
 Tests : If any tests are to conducted on materials or on the
work they should be written in the specification. Testing
frequency or sampling procedure must also be
mentioned.
 Clearing on completion: - General clearing and special
clearing if needed after completion of the item or the work
should be mentioned.
 Schedule if any: If any item requires some schedule to be
followed, it should be mentioned clearly in the specification.
E.g. “ plaster surface shall be kept damp for 14 days.”
 Method of measurement:- Detail method of measurement has
to be written at the end of the specification of each item.

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Use of international and local standards
 If standard code of practice is available, a detail narration of requirement of
material and workmanship is not necessary. Strength of material, tests results
and testing procedures etc. need not be specified if they are specified in some
standard international or local standards. Instead, relevant international or local
standard could be referred to.

 E.g. “ Mild steel reinforcement shall confirm to IS 432 – 1960 and IS 465 -
1962” or factory made bricks shall confirm to NS”.
These practice shortens the specification writing. Its advantage may be listed as
follows:
 It saves time of the specification writer hence design cost will be lowered
 There is uniformity of quality
 It is easy to control quality for the construction supervisors since they become
familiar with it. Referring to the book every time may not be required.
 Interpretation will not be difficult and there is little chance for ambiguity.

 Since less will be written on the project specification, there is lesser chance22 of
mistake which reduces the chances of disputes and legal complications
Use of code of practice
 Various code of practice could be used
to write the specification of material
and workmanship.
Detail procedure as to how to
achieve final result need not be
written.
Standard code of practice could be
referred to.
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Product specification
 These are the specification prepared by the
producers / manufacturers of construction material
or the components for their product.
This may contain detail specification of the product
and general guidance for the use of the product.
 Detail method of their handling and storage also is
included. A detail instruction for installation is part
of this specification.
 Since the standard products are to be purchased and
incorporated into the works, it is always desirable to
adopt the product specification of standard
manufacturers.
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Performance specification
This type of specification deals with the
performance of the material before they are
incorporated into the works.
 Also the performance of the material after they are
incorporated into the work is specified. Performance
of composite structure is also dealt.
The behavior of the material or the works is
specified in the performance specification.
Test requirements and test results are mentioned.
Maintenance method, frequency of maintenance
required etc. will also be included in this
specification.
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Specifications for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)
Materials Specifications
• Aggregate should be clean, dense, hard, sound, durable, non-
absorbent and capable of developing good bond with mortar.
– Coarse aggregate shall be of hard broken stone of granite or
similar stone, free from dust, dirt and other foreign matters.
The stone ballast shall be of 20mm size and smaller. All the
coarse material should be retained in a 5mm square mesh and
should be well graded such that the voids do not exceed 42%.
– Fine aggregate shall be of coarse sand consisting of hard,
sharp and angular grains and shall pass through a screen of
5mm square mesh. Sand shall be of standard specifications,
clean and free from dust, dirt and organic matter. Sea sand shall
not be used.
• Cement shall be fresh Portland cement of standard ISI
specifications and shall have the required tensile and
compressive stresses and fineness.

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Specifications for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)
• Water shall be clean and free from alkaline and
acid matters and suitable for drinking purposes.
• Proportion Specifications
1:2:4 (cement : sand : stone ballast) by volume
when specified. Minimum compressive strength
of concrete of 1:2:4 proportion shall be 140
kg/cm2 in 7 days.
• Hand mixing
Mixing shall be done on masonry platform or
sheet iron tray.
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Specifications for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)
• Machine mixing
Stone ballast, sand and cement shall be put into cement
concrete mixer to have the required proportions.
• Slump
Regular slump test should be carried out to control the
addition of water and to maintain the required consistency.
A slump of 7.5cm to 10cm may be allowed for building
work.
• Formwork
Formwork centering and shuttering shall be provided as
required as per the standard specification before laying
concrete to confine to support or to keep the concrete in
position. The inner surface of shuttering shall be oiled to
prevent concrete sticking to it.
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Specifications for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)
• Laying Technique
Concrete shall be laid gently (not thrown) in
layers not exceeding 15cm and compacted by
pinning with rods and tamping with wooden
tampers or with mechanical vibrating machine
until a dense concrete is obtained.
• Curing Method
After about two hours of laying of concrete, when
the concrete has begun to harden, it shall be kept
damp by covering with wet gunny bags or wet
sand for 24 hours. 29