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Standard Bidding Document (SBD)

CHAPTER TWO 
2
The significance of having standard bidding
BIDDING PROCEDURES, CONTRACT TYPES procedure, specially for public funded projects is:
AND SPECIFICATIONS
To simplify the drafting of a specific bidding document for
Procurement of Works by procurement staff;

To minimise the time required by the Tender Committee to
Learning Objectives: approve Bidding Documents prior to release;
At the end of this Chapter , students should be able to:
To reduce Bidders’ time and effort in the preparation of Bids;

Explain the bidding procedures for works and service contract
To facilitate and simplify the evaluation and comparison of bids
and Contract award by the Procuring Entity

Mention the different types of tendering
 To ensure this, for instance, the Ethiopian

Understand the major components of construction contract document
government established an agency (PPA) that

Explain the different types of specifications
supervises procuring entities and sets procedures of
public procurement [proclamation no. 430/2005]

Scope and Value of Contract Summary of BP for Service Contract

3
4 Preparation of Terms of Reference (TOR)
 This SBD is suitable for a standard contract, where  Preparation of Cost Estimate
the works have been fully designed by or for the  Advertize for expression of interest
Procuring Entity (Employer), prior to bidding, and the  Prepare short list
Contractor will be responsible for construction only.  Prepare and issue Request for Proposal (RFP)
 It is suitable for works valued at up to US$10 million.  Evaluate Technical proposal
 This SBD for the Procurement of Works is not  Notify Unsuccessful Bidder
suitable for the following situations:
 Notify bidders (passing technical Requirements) about the

Complex works under US$10 million, such as large water date of financial opening
treatment plants;

Works over US$10 million;
 Open financial opening in public

Works designed by the Contractor, including turnkey  Evaluate financial proposal
contracts.  Negotiate price and sign contract

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5
…continued
6
Bidding procedure for works
 The TOR normally consist of

Background of the project;  The relevant parts of the bidding process are summarised
here as follows:

Objectives of the Assignment;

Selection/Identification of Bidders;

Scope of work;

Preparation and Issue of Bidding Documents;

Transfer of knowledge;

Bidding Period and Bid Receipt;

List of reports, schedule of deliveries, period of

Bid Opening;
performance;

Bid Evaluation; and

Data, local services, personnel, and facilities to be

Bid Acceptance, Contract Award and placement.
provided by the borrower; and

Institutional arrangements.

GPN and SPN

7
Types of tender
 General Procurement Notice is made during projects planning
Things Bidders’ Geographical Procurement Procurement phase and it is only interests of the bidders are aroused because
Bases Procured Coverage Coverage Awareness Steps
sufficient tender documents are not available.
This approach is used:


 The Project Owners to

 identify interested bidders to issue Invitations by letters and save time;
Types Goods Competitive International General PN Single  identify bidders relevant for the procurement required; and
Services Negotiated Regional Specific PN Two Staged  protect loss of cost in preparing lots of tender documents.
Works National Pre – Qualification  The Bidders to:
 give sufficient time to assess the cost of the project;
Local Post - Qualification
 protect loss of cost only to participate; and
 encourage competent bidders.

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GPN Sample GPN

 There are two types of GPN based on their purpose why and when
they are notified.
 The first type is when the purpose is to create awareness and let bidders’
prior information about upcoming projects such that they can follow up its
development and include them in their plan.
 This type of GPN is used for procurement of works and goods and is often
announced as soon as the design implementation service is started.
 The Second type is when the purpose is to determine interested bidders
who could be invited in the form of Limited Competitive Tendering. This
type of GPN is used for procurement of services and is often announced
after financial sources are determined. GPN covers the Employer and its
financiers for its project; Description of the project with its probable or
planed implementation time; type of procurement method and address
where further information can be obtained.

SPN Types of Tender

12

 Based of things to be procured tenders can be classified

 Specific Procurement Notice (SPN) is an Invitation for
as:
Tender or a Request for Proposal when the project is

Consultancy/ Service
ready for implementation. SPN can be sent to those o “Services” means the consultancy services to be performed by the
interested bidders identified following GPN directly. Supplier as described in the contract. E.g. Feasibility study, Business
Otherwise, it should be advertise on the bases of plan, Design, Supervision, Contract administration
enlarging opportunities. The contents of SPN are similar
Works
The “Works” are what the Contract requires the Contractor to
to The Form of Invitation to Tender o
construct, install, and turn over to the Employer, as defined in the
Special Conditions of Contract.

Goods
o “Goods” means all of the commodities, raw materials, machinery and
equipment, and/or other materials that the Supplier is required to
supply to the Procuring Entity under the Contract.

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Bid Qualification Procedure Types of Contracts based on method

of evaluation of proposal
13 14

Competitive Bid Negotiative Bid 1. Competitive Selection Process Quality v Cost based
(QCBS):
Financial Proposal
Financial proposal and Technical proposal is evaluated

Two envelope system used
Short-Listed Bid Open Bid

Financial proposal opened in public,
Financial Pr.
Sf = 100 x Fm/F

S = (St x T%) + (Sf x P%)
One-Stage Procedure Two-Stage Procedure

Illustrative example……..
Financial Proposal
2. Competition on quality (QBS)
Pre-Qualification Post Qualification
Technical Evaluation Only

Negotiations on Price
•Technical Proposal
•Financial Proposal
•Financial Proposal
•Technical Proposal

…Cont’d Quiz
3. Selection under fixed budget (SFB)  Assume that you are assigned as the evaluation committee of
some construction bid. It has been stated in section 3 of the bid
 Technical and financial proposals in two document that the method of evaluation is Quality and Cost
separate envelopes based selection system and the weight given for technical
and financial is 70% and 30 % respectively. By Assuming that

Financial proposals to be within specified fixed budget the minimum qualification criteria is 75% , recommend the

Technical evaluation (quality) first potential bidder for award of the contract. The technical sore

Public opening of financial proposals and financial offers of the bidders are summarized below.

Rejection of proposals exceeding fixed budget Technical score out of 100% Financial offer of the bidder

Highest rated technical proposal (within fixed budget)  Bidder A 87 17,530,000.00 ETB
selected  Bidder B 76 14,500,000.00 ETB
4. Least Cost Selection (LCS)  Bidder C 91 21,000,000.00 ETB

Financial Proposal will be ranked  Bidder D 73 12,000,000.00ETB

The lowest priced proposal will be recommended for
contract award, subject to satisfactory negotiations.

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Types of Contract based on method of pricing Types of Contract based on method of pricing
17 18

 Type of contracts: 3. Cost - plus contract

1. lump sum contract A cost-plus contract is the extreme form of the cost reimbursable

Such a contract might be used for the supply of a particular type and is so called because
unit of process plant or material, or for a package deal in
The contractor is reimbursed for all costs incurred during the
which the Contractor is responsible for both fulfillment of the contract,

Plus an agreed fee to cover overheads and profit.
o Detailed design and

The fee may be defined as a percentage of the agreed actual cost
o Construction.
or as a fixed amount

2. Cost - reimbursable contract 4. Admeasurements Contracts

Cost- reimbursable contracts are used when the requirements of the  The most common types of construction contract which facilitate
promoter are vague or competitive tendering,

when it is desirable for design to proceed concurrently with construction.  It incorporate some mechanism for the introduction and evaluation of

Such contracts are also used when the promoter wishes to be directly changes in the work content of the contract.
involved in the management of the contract or to reduce the financial
risk to the contractor

Types of Contract based on method of pricing The Contract

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a) Bill of quantities :Bidders are required to enter unit prices against the estimated
quantities of many items of completed work  a Contract between parties is basically an ….
b) Activity Schedule :
This types of contract is similar to the bill of quantities, but the estimated quantities
of work items which are expected to be less accurate than those given in the bill of
quantities. Agreement
5. Target Contracts:
 A promoter may introduce additional incentives into a contract by enforceable at law…
offering the contractor a bonus payment for the achievement of
some previously defined target in terms of

Time,

Cost, or  Which contains certain elements ….

Performance

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ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTS Construction Contracts

 Construction Contracts therefore have certain

 Mutual Agreement and Genuine Intention elements ….
 Ex: they include
 Offer and Acceptance  An agreement ..’meeting of minds’
 Capacity to Contract  Terms and Conditions
 Allocation of Risks between
 Consideration in a Contract  Employer
 Lawful Object of a Contract  Contractor
 Duties, Responsibilities and Obligations
 Contract Time  Role of the ‘Engineer/Architect’
 The absence of any one of these elements is sufficient to void a contract..
 Default and remedies

Construction Contracts (cont.) Construction Contract Documents

 The construction contract documents define the

agreement between the owner and the contractor.
 It is a two-party agreement that does not include the  Advertisement for bids  Payment Certificates
designer (For DBB project delivery).  Information for bidders  Contract form or
agreement
 It is important that the construction contract, whatever  Bid form
form it may take,  General conditions or
 General notices provisions
 States clearly the roles and responsibilities of the
 Notice of award  Supplemental and/or
parties
 Notice to proceed special conditions
 Bid bond  Plans
 Performance bond  Specifications

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Construction Contract Documents ..Cont’nd

Characteristics of a “good” contract document: Construction Contracts

1. Carefully considered
2. Expressed clearly ……bidders are required to:
3. Time-tested  Examine all portions of the contract documents
4. Comprehensive  Examine the physical conditions of the site
5. Fair  Determine legal requirements affecting the work
6. Balanced  Complete these investigations prior to bidding
7. Applicable to the elements of a construction projects

Con’d
DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES IN
CONTRACTS
 When a contract is breached, the party not guilty of
the breach is relieved by law from his duties arising
Construction Contracts out of contract, and he may seek a remedy for the
……contract documents should: breach at law.
 Includea hierarchy to determine which documents  The law provides two common remedies:
govern in case of conflict  Damages to be paid in money to the hurt party by the
party in breach of contract
 Not contain ambiguous language
 Specific performance of the contract by a court order.
 Not contain exculpatory clauses
 In construction contracts money damages are much
more common than specific performance.

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ROLE OF THE DESIGNER IN THE

QUALITY RELATED FUNCTIONS OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
 Although contract is an agreement between owner
 The contract documents can be considered a and contractor under DBB, it may include a
procedures manual to help ensure quality. (They set description of the various services and functions the
forth procedures and quality requirements for designer may provide during construction.
management and administration of the contract, such  The designer may also have a major role in preparing
as schedules, shop drawings, and inspections.) many of the contract documents and compiling
 Construction contract can also be used as a planning documents for use by bidders and the parties.
tool for quality. Parties can look to the various  The contract documents for design-build include
components (specification requirements, submittals, design criteria, performance specifications, or outline
inspections) to help ensure that proper attention is specifications.
given to quality.

Content of construction Contracts Content of construction Contracts

 Description of works  Changes in contract amount or scope due to changes in
 Price of works materials or services
 Construction start and completion times  Sharing of third party damage liability
 When and how advance and progress payments are to  Method of delivery of owner supplied materials or
be made owner-rented tools or equipment
 How to compensate for changes in construction schedule  Times and methods of inspection of wholly or partially
or contract amount, for design changes, contract completed construction and time of delivery of
suspension or termination completed construction
 Sharing and evaluation of loss in respect of force  Time and method of payment upon completion of
majeure events including acts of God construction

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Content of construction Contracts Content of construction Contracts

 Interest, penalty and other damages in case of  Therefore in construction contracts the above
delay in performance of contractual obligations elements are systematically organized into the…
and other liabilities  General Agreement
 General conditions
 Method of dispute resolution  Supplementary conditions
 Technical Section
 Specifications
 Drawings
 BOQ

Content of construction Contracts The Construction Documents

 Standard forms of construction contracts have three main parts:  There are now many standard construction
 The agreement
 The general conditions documents that support project management that
 The conditions of particular applications include
 The agreement  standard forms,
 is quite brief and appears to consist mostly of statements of fact,
whereas  agreements,

 The general conditions  general conditions, and

 deals primarily with matters that pertain generally to be  other documents….
construction work and the persons involved.
 The Particular Conditions
 Deals with particular applicable conditions

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Standard Construction Documents Standard Construction Documents

 Example ….
 Technical
 Fidic Form of Contract  Specifications
 JCT  ASTM
 AIA  ACI
 RIBA
 CSI
 NEC
 SABS
 PPA
 IS

 BatcoDa  BS
 MoWUD  ETHIOPIAN STNADARDS

Standard Construction Documents Construction Contract Types

 BOQ
 Re-measurement form
 Standard Principles of measurement  Schedule of rates
 Etc  Lump Sum
 BOT
 BOOT
 Turn Key
 Cost Plus
 Labor Contracts
 Segregated Contracts
 Subcontracting
 Own Force Contracts

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The FIDIC form of Contract

42
FIDIC Conditions of Contract
:
 FIDIC
 General conditions
• Red Book: Is intended for Civil Engineering construction works.

 Particular conditions
• Yellow Book: more suitable for Electromechanical works,
 Red Book emphasis on testing, commissioning procedures, guarantees etc
 Green Book
 White Book
• Silver Book: fro Design –Build Projects (Turnkey Projects) no
Engineer)
 Yellow Book

• Green book: For works of smaller nature.

• White Book: for Consultancy Services (Design and Supervision)

The FIDIC Red Book The FIDIC Yellow Book

 Red Book: Conditions of Contract for Construction For Building and
Engineering works designed by the Employer,
 Yellow Book: Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build For
 First Edition 1999 electrical and mechanical plant, and for building works, designed by
the Contractor
 Contents of Contract Book  First Edition 1999
 General Conditions  Contents of Contract Book
 Guidance for the Preparation of the Particular  General Conditions
Conditions  Guidance for the Preparation of the
 Particular Conditions
 Forms of Tender and Contract Agreement  Forms of Tender and Contract Agreement
 Dispute Adjudication Agreement  Dispute Adjudication Agreement
 Turner and Townsend  The Yellow Book provides conditions of contract for construction works
where the design is carried out by the Contractor

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The FIDIC Silver Book The FIDIC Green Book

 Silver Book :Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Projects  Green Book :Short Form of Contract
 First Edition 1999  First Edition 1999
 Contents of Contract Book
 Contents of Contract Book
 General Conditions
 Agreement
 Guidance for the Preparation of the
 Particular Conditions  General Conditions
 Forms of Tender and Contract Agreement  Rules for Adjudication
 Dispute Adjudication Agreement
 Notes for Guidance
 The Silver Book is suitable for use on process, power and private-
infrastructure projects, where a Contractor is to take on full responsibility  The Short Form of Contract is recommended for engineering
for the design and execution of a project. Risks for completion to time, cost and building work of relatively small capital value. The
and quality are transferred to the Contractor and so the Silver Book is only Guidance Notes for the Green Book recommended that
suitable for use with experienced Contractors familiar with sophisticated
risk management techniques generally it should not be used on projects with a contact
value greater than US$500,000.

The FIDIC MDB Book The FIDIC DBO Contract Book

Red Book (MDB edition) :Conditions of Contract for Construction For

Building and Engineering works designed by the Employer  DBO Contract ;Conditions of Contract for Design,
 MDB Edition 2005 Build and Operate Projects
 Contents of Contract Book  First Edition 2008
 General Conditions
 Guidance for the Preparation of the Particular Conditions  Contents of Contract Book
 Forms of Tender and Contract Agreement
 Dispute Adjudication Agreement
 General Conditions
 As part of their standard bidding documents the Multilateral  Particular Conditions
Development Banks (MDBs) have for a number of years required
their borrowers or aid recipients to adopt the FIDIC  Sample Forms
 Conditions of Contract.

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The Construction Contract and Supervisory role The Role of the Supervisor FIDIC Art 37.1

 The Contract documents stipulate the role of  The Engineer, and any person authorized by him,
 The Engineer (Supervisor) shall at all reasonable times have access to the Site
 The client and to all workshops and places where materials or
 The contractor Plant are being manufactured, fabricated or
 Therefore the task of the supervisor is defined and prepared for the Works and the Contractor shall
limited in these documents afford every facility for and every assistance in
obtaining the right to such access.

The Role of the Supervisor Art 37.3 The Role of the Supervisor
Dates for Inspection And Testing

 Rejection
 The Contractor shall agree with the Engineer on the time and place
for the inspection or testing of any materials or Plant as provided in  If, at the time and place agreed in accordance with
the Contract. The Engineer shall give the Contractor not less than 24
hours notice of his intention to carry out the inspection or to attend Sub-Clause 37.3, the materials or Plant are not
the tests. ready for inspection or testing or if, as a result of
 If the Engineer, or his duly authorized representative, does not
the inspection testing referred to in this Clause, the
attend on the date agreed, the Contractor may, unless otherwise Engineer determines that the materials or Plant are
instructed by the Engineer, proceed with the tests, which shall be
deemed to have been made in the presence of the Engineer. The defective or otherwise not in accordance with the
Contractor shall forthwith forward to the Engineer duly certified Contract, he may reject the materials or Plant and
copies of the test readings. If the Engineer has not attended the
tests, he shall accept the said readings as accurate. shall notify the Contractor thereof immediately.

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The Role of the Supervisor The Role of the Supervisor

 Rejection  Examination of Work before Covering up (FIDIC 38.1)
 The notice shall state the Engineer's objections with reasons.  No part of the Works shall be covered up or put out of view without
The Contractor shall then promptly make good the defect or the approval of the Engineer and the Contractor shall afford full
ensure that rejected materials or Plant comply with the opportunity for the Engineer to examine and measure any such part
of the Works which is about to be covered up or put out of view and
Contract. If the Engineer so requests, the tests of rejected to examine foundations before any part of the Works is placed
materials or Plant shall be made or repeated under the thereon.
same terms and conditions. All costs incurred by the
Employer by the repetition of the tests shall, after due
 The Contractor shall give notice to the Engineer whenever any such
consultation with the Employer and the Contractor, be part of the Works or foundations is or are ready or about to be
determined by the Engineer and shall be recoverable from ready for examination and the Engineer shall, without unreasonable
the Contractor by the Employer and may be deducted from delay, unless he considers it unnecessary and advises the Contractor
any monies due or to become due to the Contractor and the accordingly, attend for the purpose of examining and measuring
Engineer shall notify the Contractor accordingly, with a copy such part of the Works or of examining such foundations.
to the Employer.

Measurement Quantities
Instructions for Variations
 51.2 The Contractor shall not make any such  55.1 The quantities set out in the Bill of Quantities
variation without an instruction of the Engineer. are the estimated quantities for the Works, and
Provided that no instruction shall be required for they are not to be taken as the actual and correct
increase or decrease in the quantity of any work quantities of the Works to be executed by the
where such increase or decrease is not the result of Contractor in fulfillment of his obligations under the
an instruction given under this Clause, but is the Contract.
result of the quantities exceeding or being less than
those stated in the Bill of Quantities.

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Work to be Measured
Work to be Measured
 56.1 The Engineer, shall except as otherwise stated,  Should the Contractor not attend, or neglect or omit to send such
ascertain and determine by measurement the value of representative, then the measurement made by the Engineer or
the Works in accordance with the Contract and the approved by him shall be taken to be the correct measurement of
such part of the Works. For the purpose of measuring such
Contractor shall be paid that value in accordance with
Permanent Works as are to be measured by records and drawings,
Clause 60. The Engineer shall, when he requires any the Engineer shall prepare records and drawings as the work
part of the Works to be measured, give reasonable proceeds and the Contractor, as and when called upon to do so in
notice to the Contractor’s authorised agent, who shall: writing, shall, within 14 days, attend to examine and agree such
 (a)forthwith attend or send a qualified representative records and drawings with the Engineer and shall sign the same
to assist the Engineer in making such measurement, and when so agreed. If the Contractor does not attend to examine and
agree such records and drawings, they shall be taken to be correct.
 (b)supply all particulars required by the Engineer. If, after examination of such records and drawings, the Contractor
does not agree the same or does not sign the same as agreed, they
shall nevertheless be taken to be correct, unless the Contractor,

Construction Contracts -- General Conditions Construction Contracts -- General Conditions

 Contractor’s warranties  Inspection of materials  Federal, state, and local  Retainage
Defective drawings  Inspection of field work government regulations
  Bonding and insurance
 Approval of contractor’s plans  Authority of the Eng’r.  Employment (EOE rules)
 Guarantee of equipment
and equipment  Duties of the inspector  Emergencies
 Approval of shop drawings  Permits and licenses  Minimum wage rate  Borings
other submittals  Labor considerations  Domestic vs.foreign materials  Spare parts
 Guarantee by the Contractor  Work done by the owner and labor
 Conduct of the work  Lines and grades  Construction reports
 Defective work  Order and discipline  Payrolls and bills of material
 Relations with other contractors  Performance  Cooperation among contractors
and subcontractors  Final inspection & acceptance  Patents

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Provisions of Contract/Contract Document

61 62
Commencement of site Supervision
For works contract include:  As per sub clause 41.1 of the GCC of FIDIC 1987 edition,
a. Invitation to Bid; the Contractor shall commence the Works as soon as is
b. Construction Agreement and its Appendices;
reasonably possible after the receipt by him of a notice to
c. Letter of Acceptance;
d. Signed form of Bid of the Contractor, Appendices and Annexes ;
this effect from the Engineer, which notice shall be issued
e. Particular Conditions of Contract within the time stated in the Appendix to tender after the
f. General Condition of Contract; date of the Letter of Acceptance
g. Priced Bill of Quantities;
h. Drawings;
i. Technical Specifications and Methods of Measurement;  Hence, the supervision service of the Engineer will
j. The Standard Instructions and Information to Bidders for Building
commence in parallel
k. Construction Works and the Particular Project Information and
Instruction thereto;
l. Any other documents required to form part of the Contract.

Assignment 1
 Compare and contrast the role and responsibility of
the Engineer between FIDIC and PPA.

Standards Codes and

Specifications

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Standards Codes and Specifications Standards Codes and Specifications

 The Construction industry has a number of standards  In order to adequately carry out supervision tasks
and codes that govern the process the supervisor must be well knowledgeable in the
 This include area of construction specifications and standards.
 BuildingCodes (Ex. EBCS…)
 Standards (Ex. Ethiopian Standards…)  This is particularly important in understanding the
 Specifications (Ex. BatCoda , Astm…etc) specific requirements of a project as described in
the construction specifications…

Specifications…
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIFICATION
 Specifications are
 There are many design decisions which cannot be expressed
in drawn form. These must rely on being expressed in words.
 Written descriptions of the required quality of the built
 There are, also, many design decisions which would be too
product and its component products.
tedious, or too impractical for some other reason, to be
recorded in drawings.
A specification may also include the procedures for  The specification is thus created to complement the drawings
determining that the requirements of the specification so that together they convey all the design decisions.
have been met.  This is why a construction specification is primarily a design
document.

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Role Of Specifications Role Of Specifications

 The specification has many roles including:  An on-site working document.
A document demonstrating compliance with statutory  A dispute settlement document.
requirements.
 A project management tool.
 A written record of design decisions, materials used
and set standards.  A facilities management tool.
 An estimating document.  A document to be analyzed for feedback into the
 A tendering document.
office master specification and office procedures.
 A legal, contractual document.

Purpose of Specifications
Purpose of Specifications
 The specification links the drawings with the general  The purpose of a Civil Engineering Specification is
conditions of contract. It complements, without to tell the contractor precisely the,
duplication, the information in the drawings or the  Quality and type of materials required to be
general conditions of contract. incorporated in the works
 Drawings are graphic descriptions which primarily  the workmanship and finish, anticipated with
define quantity, position and sometimes quality. consideration given to practical limitations such as
tolerance, clearances,
 Specifications are written descriptions which define  Extent of the work to be executed
quality. Together they express the designer's  Methods he may or may not use in order to carry out
intentions. the works

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Purpose of Specifications
Purpose of Specifications
 Requirements and procedures to be complied with in  Specifications should describe the type and quality of
inspection, tests and analysis, during manufacture and every product required for the project.
usage by the owner both on site and off site.
 Methods for testing and acceptance of final products
 The specifications should describe the requirements for
fabrication, erection, application, installation and
 Parameters for rejection of non conforming works etc. finishing.
 Factory tests (If necessary), protection during
manufacture, transport and placing or the like  Specifications should describe the quality of
workmanship necessary for the project.
 This includes all phases of creation and installation
starting with manufacturing,

Reference Standards
Purpose of Specifications
 Specifications should describe  Reference standards specify standards such as
 fabrication, and application, through installation, ASTM, ES, BSI, etc.
finishing and adjustment.  The various manufacturers must meet these
standards.
 Specifications
should include any necessary codes and  Example: Portland Cement: Conform to ASTM C150,
standards applicable to the project. Type I or Type II, low alkali. Maximum total alkali shall
not exceed 0.6 percent.
 The specifications should also include descriptions and
procedures for alternate materials, products or services
if necessary.

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Reference Standard Specifications Materials and workmanship specifications:

 Under this method reference is made to an established  Material specifications: describing the physical
standard defined by associations very knowledgeable and/or chemical properties, performance
about a certain part or phase of construction. characteristics or in some cases, a composition of the
two of the materials to be incorporated into the
 Reference standard specifications are used for works. These properties can be cross checked by
"commodity" products in the marketplace, where brand tests. These descriptions generally include;
names are not important.  physical properties, such as strength, durability, hardness,
and elasticity
 Chemical composition
 Electrical and thermal and acoustical properties
 Appearance including color texture pattern and finishes

Workmanship specifications Workmanship specifications…cntd

 Workmanship specifications; describing the
desired results that need to be achieved in the  Any limitations or restrictions to be placed on the
contractor’s methods in the interest of coordination of
works which include; the work.
 The desired results in relation to the quality of  Any precautions necessary for the protection of the
workmanship and finish, giving due consideration work or adjacent property.
to practical limitations in tolerance, clearances  The methods of inspection and tests to which the work is
and the like. to be subjected with particulars as to mill and shop
 Construction methods or procedures necessary inspections as well as field inspections.
for the accomplishment of particular targets.

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Performance specifications Unenforceable specification clauses….

 Performance specifications: such types of specification,  To the satisfaction of the engineer

define the performance requirements for machinery  As determined by the engineer
and plant operating equipment. This allows the advance  In accordance with the instructions of the
manufacture and procurement of such equipment, or the engineer
purchase of standard brands.
 As directed by the engineer
 Some of the standards specifications are published
 In the judgment of the engineer
reference standards issued by government and
professional societies, and industry associations for  In the opinion of the engineer
utilization in construction work or material production.  Unless otherwise directed by the engineer
 To be furnished if requested by the engineer

Unenforceable specification clauses….

 In strict accordance with

 In accordance with the best commercial practice
 In accordance with the best modern standard
practice
 In accordance with the best engineering practice
 Workmanship shall be of the highest quality
 Workmanship shall be of the highest grade
 Accurate workmanship

Chapter one: Prepared by Tsegaye G

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