Evaluation of Specification of Questionnaire Returns

A questionnaire survey of contractors, owners, and private design professionals has indicated that there is a lack of emphasis placed on specifications by many organizations. This lack of emphasis is evidenced by failure to utilize engineers adequately trained in this field and by inadequate budget allowances of dollars and engineering time for this task in the design process. This lack of emphasis is resulting in poorly prepared construction specifications, which increase costs to the owner. The survey also indicated a lack of consideration being given by owners and private design professionals to specifications concepts, such as statistically controlled end-result specifications and sharing of risks with contractors.