For the past 25 years, Joe Goldbloom and I have conducted a running debate over whether specifications writers engage in the unlawful practice of law. Joe's position is that lawyers have no business writing specifications, that being the designer's province. Having been given the honor to write this foreword, I have the opportunity for the last word, at least for now. Joe Goldbloom and I first met in 1964, while serving together on the ASCE Committee on Contract Administration. Joe became my teacher, mentor, and friend. Underlying our good natured debate was the serious issue of the technical qualifications required of a specifications writer. As a matter of fact, specifi cations writing traditionally has fallen in a crack between the two professions. Specifications writing typically is neither taught in engineering school nor in law school. Engineers are taught how to design; lawyers are taught how to draft contracts. Specifications writing requires mastery of the technical elements of design as well as the skills of contract drafting. Specifications writing is neither glamorous nor sexy; it is often viewed as a necessary evil of the designer's job.

The authoritative resource for the organization, preparation, use, and interpretation of construction documents encompassing the entire life cycle of a facility. This new edition considers the need for interdependent processes of design, construction and facility use. The Fifth Edition expands the scope of the manual to meet the requirements of all participants involved in a construction project in a stage-by-stage progression, including owners, A/Es, design-builders, contractors, construction managers, product representatives, financial institutions, regulatory authorities, attorneys, and facility managers. It promotes a team model for successful implementation.

This book provides an overall understanding of construction contracts, explaining a range of topics with in-depth examples, allowing engineers, site managers, architects, contractors, and other construction professionals in search of information on construction contracts to find it in one place. The volume further serves as a learning tool and a reference guide for students and instructors. Adopting a primarily Canadian perspective, the book provides references from two Standard Contract Documents CCDC (Canadian Construction Document Committee) and FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) and briefly describes other major contract documents used within USA and UK construction industries.

Ying-Kit Choi details the guidelines, principles, and philosophy needed to produce design documents for heavy civil engineering projects.