ABSTRACT
Once a decision has been made about the performance parameters required and/or the proprietary products to be used, the specifier has to confirm these intentions in the contract documentation, i.e. they have to be ‘specified’. This can be done by referring to the product on the drawings, by including it in schedules of work, or through the written specification. The written specification is an important document in ensuring a quality building for which adequate resources must be allocated by the office manager (see Chapter 6). The specification must be well written, comprehensive and free of errors, a task that requires considerable time. It is an essential part of the design process that requires particular skills in researching different product characteristics and being precise in communicating those requirements to a variety of organizations and individuals.
