The Engineering Desk / Module 03
Technical specification build-up
Specification authored against the bill item it prices, versioned with the tender it was issued in, so award, execution and audit all read the same clause.
- Discipline engineer
- QS
On this desk. Most execution disputes are specification disputes wearing a commercial costume. A bill item priced against a clause nobody can produce is an argument waiting to happen; the same item with its specification attached usually is not.
What it holds
Clause against bill item
Materials, workmanship, tolerances, testing regime and acceptance criteria written per item — with the code reference cited and labelled as binding or recommended.
A reusable practice register
Specifications kept as firm content, not retyped per project, so the standard improves with every mandate instead of resetting.
Versioned with the tender
The revision issued for tender is frozen and recorded, so an execution query resolves against what was tendered rather than against what has since been improved.
Into quality control
Acceptance criteria feed the inspection and test plan, so what was specified is what gets inspected — the same sentence, not a paraphrase.
What it produces
- Tender specification volume, generated from the bill
- Item-level specification extract for a site query
- Testing schedule derived from acceptance criteria
What it will not allow
- Issuing a bill item with no specification
- Editing a tendered revision
- A recommendation presented as a code requirement