ABSTRACT
Construction projects under control of Highways England work to National Building Specifications that have developed a new information technology based toolkit that provides an employer with information at an early stage in the construction project. It provides design phase, construction phase and final hand-over data. In addition there are standard data fields that provides a valuable source of information for cost control and environmental impact, construction programme and material specifications. Methods used to programme work vary according to the scale and complexity of the job, from a simple check list to a network analysis. The ideal programme is one that contains all the necessary information and is easy to prepare and use. The writer of a specification must be specific in his/her instructions and crystal-clear and complete in the detail. The specification, as part of the contract documents, must have all the preciseness of an agreement and convey exactly what is wanted.
