Page 75 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

Civil Engineering Project Management
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requirements, and Part 2: the quality of workmanship and materials required.
The general requirements can usually be classified into four categories:
• scope of work and reference standards;
• drawings and documents;
• site details and data;
• completion and testing.
Under the first, the specification should provide a brief but reasonably compre-
hensive description of the works to be built. The elements making up the whole
project should be mentioned, together with their principal sizes or, where rele-
vant, outputs. (This is of assistance to those who might wish to use the priced
contract later for the purpose of analysing costs.) The services which the con-
tractor is to provide may need description, particularly if he is to design any
part of the works. The services which the employer and/or other contractors
are to provide must be defined. Explanation should be given of the industry or
national standards used on the project, and in what circumstances alternatives
may be allowed.
The second section should include:
• a list of drawings provided by the employer to accompany the contract;
• requirements for any drawings and explanation of methods of construc-
tion the contractor is to produce, in order that sufficient information is
provided for the employer to decide whether such work is as specified and
conforms to all safety measures required;
• the timing of submission of the contractor’s drawings and what time is
allowed for the engineer to examine same and respond;
• other information required from the contractor such as – test results on
materials and items of plant the contractor is to provide including manu-
facturers’ drawings, maintenance and operation manuals;
• an example of the form in which claims for interim payment should be
submitted.
The third section will contain much information about the site and relevant
data, such as

• description of site and access, working areas;
• statutory requirements e.g. work in public roads, Health & Safety Act,
Control of Pollution Act, etc.;
• water and power supplies available, sanitation, sewerage and solid waste
disposal;
• contractor’s offices;
• engineer’s offices, attendance on engineer, vehicles for engineer, telephones;
• temporary fencing, watching;
• setting out data;
• geological and hydrological data.
The geological and hydrological data presented is of crucial contractual signifi-
cance. The contractor has to base his prices on what is reasonably foreseeable;