CHAPTER 5 SPECIFICATIONS/MATERIAL ESTIMATING/ADVANCED BASE PLANNING As   an   Engineering   Aid   assigned   to   either   a construction  battalion  or  a  Public  Works  Department, you may be required to assist in the preparation of specifications for a construction project. You will, most certainly,   use   construction   specifications   in   your day-to-day job, especially when surveying or testing materials.   This   chapter   briefly   discusses   the organization and content of construction specifications. In  addition,  EAs  frequently  are  involved  in estimating  material  requirements  for  a  project  and assisting in the planning of advanced bases. This chapter introduces you to those topics. SPECIFICATIONS Because many aspects of construction cannot be shown  graphically,  even  the  best  prepared  construction drawings  are  most  often  not  entirely  adequate  in revealing all the aspects of a construction project; for instance, how can anyone show on a drawing the quality of  workmanship  required  for  the  installation  of  doors and windows or who is responsible for supplying the materials,  except  by  extensive  hand-lettered  notes?  The standard procedure then is to supplement construction drawings  with  detailed  written  instructions.  These written instructions, called specifications (or more commonly specs), define and limit the materials and fabrication according to the intent of the engineer or the designer. Usually, it is the design engineer’s responsibility to prepare project specifications. As an EA, you maybe required to help the engineer in doing this. You also will be required to read, interpret, and use specifications in your work performance as a surveyor or soils technician. To help the engineer in writing specs, you need to be familiar  with  the  various  types  of  reference  specifica- tions that are used in preparing project specs. These reference  specifications  include  various  federal, military, and nongovernmental specifications. When assisting the engineer in preparing specifications or when using specifications, you also need to be familiar with  the  general  format  and  terminology  used  in specifications. This section provides that familiarity. NAVFAC SPECIFICATIONS NAVFAC  specifications  are prepared by the Naval Facilities   Engineering   Command   (NAVFACENG- COM),  which  sets  forth  standards  for  all  construction work performed under its jurisdiction. This includes work performed by the Seabees. There are three types of  NAVFAC  specifications.  These  types  are  discussed as  follows: 1. NAVFACENGCOM   GUIDE   SPECIFICA- TIONS (NFGS). NAVFACENGCOM  guide  specifica- tions are the primary basis for preparing specifications for construction projects. These specifications define and  establish  minimum  criteria  for  construction, materials,  and  workmanship  and  must  be  used  as guidance in the preparation of project specifications. Each  of  these  guide  specifications  (of  which  there  are more than 300) has been written to encompass a wide variety of different materials, construction methods, and circumstances, and must be tailored to suit the work actually  required  by  the  specific  project.  To  better explain this, let’s look at figure 5-1, which is a page taken  from  a  NAVFACENGCOM  guide  specification. In this figure, you can see that there are two paragraphs numbered 3.2.1. This indicates that the spec writer must choose the paragraph that best suits the particular project for which he is writing the specification. The capital letters  I and J in the right-hand margin next to those paragraphs  refer  to  footnotes  (contained  elsewhere  in the same guide specification) that the spec writer must follow  when  selecting  the  best  paragraph.  Additionally, you can see that some of the information in figure 5-1 is enclosed in brackets ([ ]). This indicates other choices that  the  spec  writer  must  make.  Guide  specifications, also, should be modified and edited to reflect the latest proven technology, materials, and methods. 2. EFD   REGIONAL   GUIDE   SPECIFICA- TIONS. These specifications are used in the same way as the NAVFACENGCOM guide specifications but are used only in an area that is under the jurisdiction of one of  the  engineering  field  divisions  (EFDs)  of  the  Naval Facilities  Engineering  Command.  When  the  spec  writer is given a choice between using an EFD regional guide specification   or   a   NAVFACENGCOM   guide 5-1