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BLMLIBRARY I II 88069910 SPECIFICATION WRITER'S GUIDE Second Edition DEPARTMENT OFTHE INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT T TechnicalNote394 11 BLM/RS/ST-96/001+91CX) -S64 1996 SPECIFICATION WRITER'S GUIDE Second Edition Bureau of Land Management National Applied Resource Sciences Center First Edition-May, 1987 Dion Dishong, Editor Second Edition-April, 1996 Lori Quayle, Editor A Acknowledgements: TheStateOffices 'ecalledupontoreviewthedraftofthisguidebeforefinalreproduction anddistribution. Tneresponseswereirporessive,timely,well-thought-out,numerous, humorous,nit-picky,easy-to-read,inde^ 'erable,andcolorful. Somepeopleusedthe rmeesmpoonsfeorfmo.rmStialtltoatchheerdstporetfheerrbeadcktoowfrite?dornaftthecodprya,ftwchoilpeyowthheerrseputetchoeimrmceonmtmseanptplsieidn. Alsoreceivedwerecopiesofthedraftwith"yellowstickles"stuck jmerousplacesto supplementthecommentsscrawledacrossthetextorinthemargins. Constructivecommentsandquestionswerereceivedfromthefollowingpersons/segments withinBLM: AK976 NormZiesmer NV941 GeorgeClark CA940.8 GeraldEverts OR082.0 DanaCork OR120 DennisGraham ID042 SteveFrazee ID050 RogerDalrymple SC216 Branchstaff ID941 GaryStevens SC651 LarryKeller MT941 JamesNorris WY941 JimKor NM010 RichLaCasa Theirinvaluableassistanceisgreatlyappreciated. Thisguidewouldnothavebeenproduced withoutthehelpofallofthesepeople. Commentsandrecommendationsforimprovementsoffutureeditionsaresolicitedfromany readerofthisguide. Aresponseformhasbeenprovidedatthebackoftheguidethatcanbe eithermailedorFAXed;apreaddressedFAXcoversheetisalsoincluded. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ill Chapter1 -ACQUISITIONREGULATIONS 1 Introduction 1 CodeofFederalRegulations 1 DBeLpMarPtomliecnytoftheInterior 21 Chapter2-SPECIFICATIONS 3 Definitions 3 Content 3 TypesofSpecifications 4 Descriptive 4 ReferenceStandards 4 Proprietary 5 Performance 5 SpecificationWritingProcess 7 Step1: DeterminetheGovernment'sMinimumNeeds 7 Step2: OutlinetheProject 7 Step3: DoMarketResearch 7 Step4: InvestigatePreviouslyWrittenDocuments 8 Step5: Write,Tailor,andEdittheMaterial 9 Step6: CorrelateDrawings,Specifications,andCross-References 10 MetricUsage 11 Chapter 3 - STYLE 13 References 13 RulesofThumb 13 ActiveVoice 14 Abbreviation 15 Capitalization 16 Commas 16 CompoundWords 17 LegalJargon 18 Numbers 18 WordChoice 19 Chapter4-FORMAT 23 Introduction 23 UniformContractFormat 23 StatementofWorkProcess 25 FP-92 26 CreatingFP-92Specifications 26 CSIFormat 27 Divisions 27 Sections 28 Parts 28 Articles 29 Paragraphs 29 InteragencyStandardFormat 31 I TABLEOFCONTENTS CSIEditingProcedure 34 AppendixA SAMPLES 35 AppendixB REGULATIONRESOURCES 43 AppendixC CONSTRUCTIONOUTLINE 47 AppendixD FULLTEXTOFREGULATIONS 52 BIBLIOGRAPHY 67 INDEX 69 ResponseForm 73 FAXTransmittal end II Preface (tothe Second Edition) Theoriginal"User'sGuideforPreparingBLMProjectSpecifications,"producedin1987,was foundtobehelpfulbytheBLMstaffwhousedit. Thetimehasarrivedforittobeupdated ssohotrhtaetneitdwfilolrctohnetsineuceontdoebdeitaiounsetfoul"StpoeocliftiocastpieocnifWirciatteiorn'swrGiutiedres./"desTihginserrse.visTehdeGtuiitldeewiassa resultofthegood-willedcomments,suggestions,complaints,andcontributionsofitsusers, aswellaschangesintheconstructionindustry,technology,andtheFederalGovernment. Thiseditioncontainsitemsfromtheoriginalversionthatpeoplecouldn'tdowithout,aswell asadditionsthatmanypeoplefeltwereeithermissingfromtheoriginalorareneedednow becauseof"changingtimes." Iwhhaovecotmrimeednttoesdtrtikheatatuhseeyfunleecdomlemsosntegxrtoculnudttbereitnwgetehnetihneforremvatiieowne,rsanodftthheosderawfthoverrseiqounested thatmoreinformationbeprovidedforcertainsubjects. Theresultisscaled-downchapters andlargerappendices. Inthisway,theinformationispresentedquicklywithoutexcess information;however,thedetailsandexamplesareavailableandcross-referencedfor individualsneedingmoreinformation. Nowarrantyastotheusefulnessorcompletenessisexpressedorimpliedconcerningthe guidelinesandpracticesdescribedinthisguide. Althougheveryeffortwasmadetoavoiderrors,youwilllikelyfindafew. Commentsand recommendationsforimprovementsoffutureeditionsaresolicited. (Aresponseformhas beenprovidedatthebackoftheguidethatcanbemailedorFAXedandincludesaFAX coversheet.) Asalways,trytoverifytheaddress,phoneandFAXnumbersbeforetaking action,justincase"progress"hastakenplace. December6,1996 LoDreinQvueary,leC,olEodriatdoor iii Chapter 1 - ACQUISITION REGULATIONS introduction ThisguidewaswrittentofulfillaneedforunderstandingGovernment specifications: whattheyare,howtheyfitintoGovernmentprocurement,whatformsthey shouldtake,andwhathappenswhentheyfailtoperformtheirfunction. Thisbookisnota ManualoraHandbook,bothofwhichhavethepoweroflawbehindthem. Thisbookis intendedasaguideforbothexperiencedandnewspecificationwriters/designerswhoneeda readyreference. Itisacollectionofmaterialhelpfulinunderstandingandwriting specificationswithintheBureauofLandManagement(BLM). Code of Federal Regulations Therulesthatgovernhowthe executivedepartmentsandagenciesofthe FederalGovernmentoperatearepublished throughouttheyearintheFederalRegister. TheinformationfromtheFederalRegisteris consolidatedannuallyintotheCodeofFederal Regulations(CFR). TheCFRisdividedinto50 titleswhichrepresentbroadareassubjectto Federalregulation. Thelawthatgovernsexecutiveagencies'procurementisimplementedbythe FederalAcquisitionRegulations(FAR)System. TheFARislocatedintitle48oftheCFR. The Federalacquisitionregulationsinchapter1 (oftitle48)arethosegovernment-wideacquisition regulationsjointlyissuedbytheGeneralServicesAdministration,theDepartmentofDefense, andtheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration. Chapters2through99are acquisitionregulationsissuedbyindividualgovernmentagencies. Department of the Interior TheDepartmentoftheInteriorAcquisitionRegulations(DIAR)augmentandfurther explaintheFAR. TheDIARcoversthesametopicsastheFAR,butwithmorespecific guidelinesoncertaintopics. TheDIARislocatedin48CFRChapter14(Parts1401through 1453). 1 CHAPTER1 -ACQUISITIONREGULATIONS LawsorrulesgoverningothersubjectsconcerningtheDepartmentoftheInteriorareinthe followingCFRtitles,subtitles,andchapters: Title ChapterorSubtitle 25 1 BureauofIndianAffairs 30 II MineralsManagementService 30 IV GeologicalSurvey 30 VI BureauofMines 30 VII OfficeofSurfaceMining 36 1 NationalParkService 41 114 FederalPropertyManagementRegulationSystem 43 SubtitleA OfficeoftheSecretaryoftheInterior 43 1 BureauofReclamation 43 II BureauofLandManagement 48 14 FederalAcquisitionRegulations 50 l,IV FishandWildlifeService 50 IV EndangeredSpeciesCommittee BLM Policy TheBureauofLandManagement'spoliciesandproceduresarecontainedinBLM Manuals(usuallyinred3-ringbinders). BLMprocurementpoliciesareinBLMManualSection 1510,whichissupplementedbythe1510Handbooks. Mostofthesehandbooksare intendedforusebynon-procurementpersonnel. Theycontainproceduralguidancethat implementsboththeFARandtheDIAR. EngineeringpoliciesareinBLMManualSections 9100through9189. TheRecreationPlanningpoliciesarecoveredinSections8300through 8342. AlloftheaboveManualSectionsandHandbooks(listedinappendixB,page44),are recommendedreadingforspecifiers/designers. READER'SNOTE: ThefulltextofboldedFARreferencesinthisguidecanbefoundin appendixD,page52. TheCFRisusuallycitedwithtitle,part,andsectionnumber,e.g., "48CFR10.006." However,whenthisguidediscussestheFAR(CFRtitle48,chapter1),all citationswillbereferencedsimilarto"10.006"(part10,section006). Anexplanationofthe numberingsystemoftheFAR,DIAR,andBLMManualSectionsisincludedinappendixB, page43. 2