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A summary of SECTIONFORMAT

The information contained within the Divisions; a category of construction specifications is

written in a uniform standard style called SectionFormat, a formatting standand which is used in

arranging specification text in a project manuals sections.

SectionFormat, is a joint pu!lication of "S# $"onstruction Specification #nstitute and

"onstruction Specifications "anada $"S", which com!ines the two recommended formatting

standards into one pu!lication, providing a uniform approach to organi%ing and presenting

specification sections. SectionFormat was first pu!lished !y "S# in &'(' and in finally in &')* it

was pu!lished jointly !y "S# and "S".

SectionFormat consists of three main parts+ eneral, -roducts and xecusion. The content of

each section is defined as follows. -art &, eneral, descri!es administrative, procedural and

temporary re/uirerments uni/ue to the secrion. -art 0, -roducts, descri!es materials, products,

e/uipment, fa!rications, mixes, systems and assem!lies that are re/uired for incorporation intothe project. -art1, xecution, descri!es installations or applications, including preparatory actions

and post2installation cleaning and protection. ach one of these parts will !e explained !riefly in

the upcoming paragraphs.

3s explained !efore -art & is the eneral section. 3 short statement permitting the reader to

assess section content /uic4ly. #t includes !oth supplied !ut not installed and installed !ut not

supplied products under this section and also related sections which lists other sections dealing

with wor4 directly related to this section. #t also includes -rice and -ayment procedures which

consist of 3llowances, 5nit prices, 3lternates and 6easurement and -ayment.

The second part is called -roducts. This part includes infromation a!out systems, assem!lies,

6anufactured 5nits, /uipment, "omponents, -roduct types, 6aterials and accessories. #t may

also include software products for heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. The

6anufacturers seciton of this part consists of a list of names of the manufacturers, su!stitution

7imitations and -roduct 8ptions. xisiting -roducts section lists characteristics of assem!lies,

components, products or materials that must match existing wor4. The 6aterials that are to !e

furnished are descri!ed in this part as well. 3lso 6anufactured 5nits, /uipments used and their

functioning descriptions, explanation of specific components of a system manufactured unit, type

of e/uipment used, accessories, mixes and fa!rication which descri!es manufaturing, shop

fa!rication, and shop assem!ly of items are included in this part. Source /uality control is also

listed in this section which consists of Tests and #nspections, 9on2"onforming wor4,6anufacturing services and "oordination of other tests and inspections.

-art 1 is called the xecution part. This part specifies !asic on2site wor4 and includes provision

for incorporating products into the project. #t consists of a list of #nstallers, xamination meaning

the verification of the conditions for installation, preinstallation testing and evaluation and

assessment, -reparation of surface, area or site for protection of #n2place conditions, rection,

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#nstallation, 3pplication and "onstruction in the section. :epair and :estoration of wor4, :e2

installation of elements,Field uality "ontrol of the site, adjsuting of the prepared products,

"leaning of the installed products and Demonstration and Training of the owners personnel are

also listed in xecution part.

The advantages of using SectionFormat are as follows. SectionFormat provides a standard forlocating information within a specific section, it also reduces the chances of ommissions or

duplications, and it facilitates coordination of project documentation within a -roject 6anual.

-roject manual is a manual which is used for procuring a construction contract and for

construcing a project. 8ther definitions that need to !e understood and read are Standard

"ontract, Division, Section, -art, 3rticle, -aragraph, Su!paragraph, used in the sections

stands out as 3rchitect>ngineer. -arts and Division were explained !efore. The Section is a

portion of a Division that specifies wor4 results. =hen a section does not re/uire the use of a

part, the unused part num!er and title are included. The information within a asection is

organised into the following hierarchy+ ach Section contains three -arts as said !efore, each partcontains one or more 3rticles, each article contains one or more -aragraphs and each -aragraph

may contain su!paragraphs as needed.

#t is to !e noted that the 3rticle titles most appropriate for descri!ing the relevant text is

recommended. The 3rticles are optional and should !e only listed when re/uired. ?asically the

complexity of a section will determine the num!er of 3rticles needed. 3rticle titles are of e/ual

status when used within a section.

Sections need !e coordinated with the contracting re/uirements mentioned in the three parts.

-ageFormat $ 3 joint pu!lication of "S# and "S" is another format that offers a recommended

arrangement of text on a specification page within a project manual, !y providing a framewor4for consistently formatting and designating articles, paragraphs and su!paragraphs. #t also

includes guidance for page num!ers and margins.