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CSI Houston ChapterThe Construction Specifications InstituteMarch 2015

Inside this issue:CSI Houston ChapterMarch Program 1Leadership Directory 2

Presidents Message 3

Board Meeting Minutes 4

Sponsor Advertisements 5

Furnish, Install, Provide? 6

CSI Sponsor Advertise-ments 7, 8

Strictly Smith-ly, HowArchitects Decisions Make ItInto Specifications 8, 9

Strictly Smith-ly, ProfessionalCertifications 10

SCR Region Conference 11

CSI Houston Calendar 12

Houston Chapter Website:http://www.csihouston.org

March 23, 2015Board / ChapterMeeting3+( 66%XLOGLQJ5430 Westheimer Road7

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Gratis to CSI members;$35.00 to non members atthe door.5* RWRhttp://www.csihouston.org

CSI Houston March ProgramThe Wood Revolution

There is a quiet revolution going on in Europe and Cana-daa revolution that will likely change the way structuralwood building systems are viewed.

Inspired by an article in the March 2014 issue of the Con-struction Specifier, the March meeting will seek to highlightthe innovative and technological advances in engineeredheavy timber construction as it relates to its structural andseismic abilities, acoustics, fire resistance, sustainabilityand how the latest and future editions of the InternationalBuilding Code are increasingly recognizing this type of con-struction. Rounding off the discussion will be a case studyof a 40-story office tower, planned for the realities of con-temporary urban office developments in a typical NorthAmerican City. Make no mistake this is far removed fromthe familiar stick frame construction that we are accus-tomed to.

We are excited to introduce our acclaimed panel of experts:

Sherry Mundell, South Central Technical Advisor, WoodWorks Wood Products Council

Nick Bevanda, Architect, CEI Architecture, Vancouver BC

Please join us at our March 23, CSI Houston Chapter meeting for an interest-ing and informative evening of discussion.

SPEC.TECTONICS

20142015 COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Programs Alex Bernard, CSI, CCPR(713) 407 7700

[email protected] Mark LeCrone

(713) [email protected]

Certification Greg Quintero, CSI, CDT, AIA, LEED AP(713) 356-1300

[email protected]

Awards Amy Salmeron, CSI, CDT713-460-5216

[email protected]

Continuing Education Mark Koehler, CSI(713) 781-6006

[email protected]

Public Relations/Marketing Grant Groeschel, CSI(713)-520-0155

[email protected]

Golf Tournament Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

Table Top Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

CIC Delegate Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPR(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

CIC Alternate Jeff Holstein, CSI, CDT

20142015 CSI HOUSTON SPEC.TECTONICS

SPEC.tectonics Editor Don Smith, CSI, CCS, RA, LEED AP(713) 688-0092

[email protected] CSI HOUSTON WEBSITE

Webmaster Logan Vits, CSI, CCPR, LEED AP(281) 703-5201

[email protected]

20142015 CSI HOUSTON FOUNDATIONPresident, Al Pasek, CSI, CCPR

(713) [email protected]

Past PresidentGreg Roberts, FAIA, FCSI, CCS, ACHA, LEED APVice President Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPRSecretary Diann Reid, CSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED APTreasurer Bob Cook, CSI, AHCCommittee Chair James Sandoz, CSI, CDTDirector Jeff Holstien, CSI, CDTDirector Don Smith, CSI CCS, RA, LEED AP

MARCH 2015 - PAGE 2 CSI HOUSTON

CSI HOUSTON CHAPTER20142015 CHAPTER OFFICERS

President Neil Byrne, CSI, CDT, CPA(281) 354-1100

[email protected]

Past President Robert P. Byrne, CSI(713) 632-4790

[email protected]

President Elect Holly Jordan, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP(713) 407-7700

[email protected]

VP Finance/ Admin. Chuck Vojtech, CSI(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

VP Professional Development Tim Wilson, CSI(832) 289-6765

[email protected]

VP Member Services Tom Atwell, CSI(713) 877-8879

[email protected]

VP Public Services Don Smith, CSI, CCS, RA, LEED AP(713) 688-0092

[email protected]

Secretary Betsy Finch, CSI(713) 806-3401

[email protected]

Treasurer Bill Fairbanks, CSI, CCPR(281) 227-3577

[email protected]

20142015 BOARD OF DIRECTORSDirector through 2015 Amy Salmeron, CSI, CDT

[email protected]

Director through 2015 Grant Groeschel, CSI, AIA, LEED AP(713) 934-4891

[email protected]

Director through 2016 Don Ude, CSI(281) 685-0164

[email protected]

Director through 2016 Logan Vits, CSI, CCPR, LEED GA(713) 703-5201

[email protected]

Director through 2017 Jeff Holstien, CSI, CDT(281) 850-4659

[email protected]

Director through 2017 Alex Bernard, CSI, CCPR(713) 407 7700

[email protected]

Board Advisory Director Doug Frank, FCSI, CCS(281) 660-6246

[email protected]

CSI SOUTH CENTRAL REGION (http://www.scr-csi.org) / INSTITUTE LEADERS (http://www.csinet.org)SC Region President Melody A. Stinson, CSI, CCS, AIA, LEED AP Institute Director Kirby M. Davis, CSI, CDT

(405) 942-7337 (203)671-7210

[email protected] [email protected]

SPEC.TECTONICS MARCH 2015 - PAGE 3 CSI HOUSTON

March 2015Presidents Messageby Neil P. Byrne, CSIPresident, CSI Houston Chapter

February was anothergreat month at CSI Hou-ston and we have moregood things lined up inMarch and beyond.

For those interested inpassing the CDT exam,we have set up an examcram to help youachieve that goal. Thedate has been set forSaturday, March 21st atHOKs new offices. AConstant Contact invitehas already been sent out, please sign up and takeadvantage of this great opportunity.

As a reminder, the South Central Region (SCR) Con-ference will be held in Lubbock, TX this year on April16th 18th. I hope to see all of you there.

Lastly, CSI Houston has a new twitter handle,@CSIHOU, please follow us for important Chapterupdates.

I look forward to seeing you all at the March meeting.Remember, please help increase membership andmember participation by advocating R.U.N CSI!

At each monthly meeting, the Chapter encourages Indus-try Members to provide a table top display of their prod-ucts and services for the inspection and education ofthose attending the meeting.The table top display is also encouraged to be presentedduring the social hour and after the program for anyquestions by attendees.The presentation fee is $200 for members and $250 fornon-members, or free with a Golf Sponsorship pledge.Contact: [email protected]


CSI Board Meeting MinutesHouston Chapter CSILocation: HESS Building 5430 WestheimerRoad Houston, TXJanuary 26, 2015

Present: Alex Bernard, Betsy Finch, Bill Fairbanks,Chuck Vojtech, Don Smith, Don Ude, Doug Frank, Hol-ly Jordan, Jeff Holstein, Neil Byrne, Tom Atwell

President Neil Byrne called the meeting to order at4:07 p.m.The November 2014 Board Meeting Minutes were ap-proved.

Vice President ReportsFinance/Administration: Chuck VojtechTreasurers Report: Bill FairbanksBill distributed the Profit & Loss Statement dated Janu-ary 26, 2015. Don Smith reported he has sent outemails for newsletter ad renewals.

Professional Development: Tim Wilson

Continuing Education:

CDT Certification: Greg QuinteroNeil reported the chapter would offer CDT ExamCram on March 21st at the offices of HOK.

Member Services: Tom AtwellPrograms: Alex BernardNeil reported there are one hundred and forty oneRSVPs for the January chapter meeting and fourteentabletops reserved. Alex reported programs arescheduled through June.

Membership: Mark LeCroneNeil reported current membership is at one hundredand ninety members.

Awards: Amy SalmeronNeil asked for ideas from the board members for theCraftsman Award and requested board members emailAmy with their ideas for the award.

Table Top Display: Amy PeeveyNeil reported that Amy has resigned her chair position.

Public Services: Don SmithSPEC.tectonics: Don SmithDon reported the current newsletter has been postedto the website.

Electronic Communications: Logan VitsNo report.

Other Business:Pat Kiley: The board discussed making a donation toPat Kiley. Chuck Vojtech moved to donate $500.00 toPat Kiley. The motion was seconded and approved.


Scholarship: Bill Fairbanks reported the Foundationhas $4,000.00 budgeted for scholarships.Don Ude moved the CSI Houston chapter commit$8,000.00 to the Foundation for scholarships. The mo-tion was seconded and approved.

Meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

Betsy Finch, CSIChapter Secretary

WHERE IS YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISEMENT?

A quarter page ad is only $250 for 12 issues

A half page ad is only $500 for 12 issues

A business card ad is only $225 for 12 issues

Contact Don Smith at(713) 688-0092 or [email protected]

for more information.


Furnish, Install, Provide?By Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CSC

Most architects,I believe, definethe terms fur-nish (or supply),install, and pro-vide, and some-times those def-initions appearin an owner'sgeneral condi-tions. Whendefined, they are part of the contract documents, andrequirements using them are enforceable based onthose definitions. In practice, perhaps because the def-initions are nearly ubiquitous, I have had few problemswith interpretation by contractors, or with enforcement.

Oddly, it's architects who seem to have the most trou-ble understanding and using these definitions, eventhough the definitions originate in the architect's ownoffice. In casual conversation, it's common to use fur-nish and provide interchangeably. This should be nosurprise, as the first definition of furnish is either pro-vide or supply in every definition I found, and defini-tions for provide usually are make available, supply, orcause to be present, all of which also define furnish.

When used in casual conversation outside the office,there usually is no problem, as no further precision isneeded, and we aren't concerned about installation.However, when used in casual conversation in the ar-chitect's office, or in conversation between architectand owner, there is at least a potential problem.

If a specifier, or an architect who cares about suchthings, is involved in the conversation, it's likely that theprecise definition will become part of the discussion,and the related contract documents will use the correctdefinitions. But without the involvement of such a per-son, it's quite possible that the contract documents willuse the wrong, or conflicting, definitions.

A similar problem exists with references meant to indi-cate either who is furnishing or who is providing some-thing, for example, by owner or by contractor. I haveseen countless references of this sort, and each timeasked what the intent was. The responses have beeninconsistent, sometimes meaning furnished by andother times meaning provided by.

To further complicate the issue, I have seen increasinguse of the term vendor. In the context of the construc-tion contract, there typically are two or three definedentities: The owner, the architect, and the constructor(contractor, CM, or design-builder). Everything must befurnished, or installed, or furnished and installed, byeither the owner or the constructor. In my experience,a "vendor" is most often a company that works directly

for the owner, either furnishing materials for installationby the constructor, or furnishing and installing materi-als for the owner. In either case, an additional term isnot required; a vendor works either for the owner or forthe constructor, and a vendor who works for the con-structor is a subcontractor.

In casual conversation, incorrect use of defined termsmay be an inconvenience, but when defined terms areused imprecisely in conversation with a client, whetherin formal or informal communication, incorrect interpre-tation is almost inevitable.

To eliminate these problems, consider elimination ofthe term provide, instead, using the slightly longer, butunmistakable furnish and install. Some would arguethis is not necessary, and I agree. In balance, though,the advantage of clarity and the elimination of the needto continually discuss the speaker's intent can out-weigh the simplicity and elegance of using provide.

How often have these definitions led to problems foryou?

2015, Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CSCAgree? Disagree? Leave your comments at http://swspecificthoughts.blogspot.com/.



Strictly SMITH-ly

How Architects Decisions MakeIt Into SpecificationsBy Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI CCS RA LEEDAP

I am always amazed at the creative ways thatdecision makers communicate their desires.Shortly after I took over writing specifications fulltime and was quite busy, I had a project architectin the firm I work for approach me and tell methat he had a project that would start next monthand that it had glass in it. So far, so good, Ithought.

In a week or two after our first encounter, heshowed up again and pronounced Don, its goingto be bronze glass.

After weeks passed and a few more of thesebrief encounters, a picture was beginning to de-velop. I had no reason to believe that he was notcompletely serious, but I started to wonder whyanyone would communicate in such a way thatwould make the listener doubt their sanity. Noth-ing was ever written down, not even on thesmallest of Sticky Notes. The flow of this al-most monotonous information was endless. Iwas beginning to believe I was the butt of somevery cruel joke.

It was as if every little scrap of a information wasengraved on a grain of sand on an endlessbeach that was shifted and re-deposited by theaction of each new wave as time went by.

At least with computers, you have the benefit ofthe day-time group to help you sort things out.But, it still does nothing to help sort out thechanges impact on the related work of other sec-tions.

I left engineering school shortly after my secondyear in college began for many reasons, includ-ing the premonition that I would be picking prod-ucts out of catalogs for someone else to use forthe rest of my life.

Its funny how these little daydreams come backto haunt you.

Continued on page 9


tion can be offered for consideration, but onlythe project architect can weigh the decisionsto use it or not as only he has all he infor-mation and responsibility to make such a de-cision.

A Design Development Phase Outline Specifi-cation is a good place to evaluate the prod-ucts, materials and systems that comprise aproject. But even in this early stage, deci-sions still must rely on judgment, objectives,function, and budgets. A project architectonce asked me for a generic roofing spec. Itwas early in the Design Development phaseof the project so I responded Sure, what kindof roof is it; clay tile, sheet metal, modifiedbitumen? Then a curious look appeared onher face and she turned and walked awayfrom me.

I keep going back to Yogi, my personal phi-losopher . . .

"If you don't know where you're going, youmight wind up someplace else."

Yogi Berra

Just my opinion,

Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI, CCS, RA, LEEDAP

Continued from Page 8

But anyway, it has always amazed me how atide of emails containing cut sheets of catalogswith multiple items each with multiple optionsand accessories arrive without a manufacturersname or decisions marked to show what iswanted. It makes you wonder what they arewilling to seal and sign.

Review comments are likewise troublesome.Review comments are normally handled in theform of comments in a pdf file. There is not justone version but overlapping comments from theseveral required submittal dates and no mentionof what is superseded or now following a newdecision path.

Comments can also come from a project clientrepresentative. These comments are usuallydirected to the project architect. Forwardingthese to the specifier without the project archi-tect taking action on them can be dangerousfrom many points of view. Even skilled projectrepresentatives can look at something and notunderstand its use. One client representativeonce told me Sometimes I look but I dont see.Teamwork gets the job done. There is no betterhelp than another set of eyes looking at some-thing from a different perspective.

Forwarding changes without specific instructionson what they are for can also be dangerous.Take for example new cut sheets for productsand materials that are different than those origi-nally sent to the specifier. Are they substitutionsfr the original instructions? Are they changesfor only some items, but not all? What happensto the original decisions?

This is where the specifier has to remind the re-viewer that the specifier works in the Non-Fiction department of our profession and can-not fabricate facts based on what the specifierthinks is required. The project architect thatsigns and seals the drawings and project manu-al is responsible for the decisions and content ofboth drawings and specifications. The projectarchitect attends meetings with the client andthe consultants, listens to the pros and cons ofthe options available, and makes decisions orcauses decisions to be made by a consultantthat he can support in the interest of the client.

If a specifier sees a problem that has not beenaddressed or addressed adequately, a sugges-

WHERE IS YOUR BUSINESSADVERTISEMENT?

A quarter page ad is only $250 for 12 issues

A half page ad is only $500 for 12 issues

A business card ad is only $225 for 12 issues

Contact Don Smith at(713) 688-0092 or [email protected]

for more information.


So, again, you must ask yourself what do thesemean to me? They represent a minimum level ofknowledge attained and a quest to learn at leastone something new each day.

What do certification mean to others? If you areemployed as part of a design team, your qualifi-cations as well as other team members are putforward in each project proposal as the collectiveknowledge, experience and judgment that willguide to project through to its completion.

What is your employer thinking about your certifi-cation? As part of the team, your individual skillscontribute not only in the preparation of your ownwork, but also to the results of the entire the en-tire project design team. Everyone on the teambenefits from another set of knowledgeable eyes.Project success comes from the efforts of theentire team. The best reward possible for projectsuccess is the continued trust of a client and thereward of another project to work on together.

"In a time of drastic change it is the learners whoinherit the future. The learned usually find them-selves equipped to live in a world that no longerexists. "

Eric Hoffer

Just my opinion,

Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI, CCS, RA, LEEDAP

Strictly SMITH-ly

Professional CertificationsBy Donald F. Smith, Jr., CSI CCS RA LEED AP

Building Knowledge and Improving Project Deliv-ery is the motto of the Construction SpecificationsInstitute. The various certifications granted by theInstitute through examination attest to the minimumlevel of knowledge attained by the individuals of thevarious design and construction processes.

CSIs core purpose is to improve the process ofcreating and sustaining the built environment. Sobefore investing your time and energy in becomingcertified, it might be wise to think about what certifi-cation means and how becoming certified helps theindividual.

The Construction Documents Technologist (CDT) isan elite group of professionals known in the con-struction industry for their comprehensiveknowledge of writing and management of construc-tion documents.

The Certified Construction Specifier (CCS) is givento individuals who have gained an in-depth under-standing of agreements and their relationship to theContract Documents, general and supplementaryconditions of the Contract, Division 01 - GeneralRequirements, and their relationship to the specifi-cations, and advanced skills in specification devel-opment. A CCS must have at least five years fulltime specification writing experience before sittingfor the CCS certification exam.

The Certified Construction Contract Administrator(CCCA) has an in-depth understanding of develop-ing, administering, and enforcing construction docu-mentation and construction contracts. People withCCCA certification have proven their skill in qualityassurance, and quality control, bidding and negoti-ating procedures, construction observation and in-spection, and knowledge of agreements, conditionsof the contact for construction, Division 01, and ofthe other documents related to the project.

The Certified Construction Product Representative(CCPR) certification is given to individuals whohave proven to be a valuable resource called opnby the design team for product and constructionknowledge and who understands the roles and re-sponsibilities of the members of the entire construc-tion team.

63( &LVDPRQWKO\SXEOLFDWLRQRIWKH+RXVWRQ&KDSWHU&RQVWUXFWLRQ6SHFLILFDWLRQV,QVWLWXWH&6,+GRHVQRWDSSURYHGLVDSprove, sanction, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of any date, claim, or opinion appearing herein. Republication rights are granted to the CSIand its chapters for original articles printed herein, provided proper credits are given. The Houston Chapter is incorporated under the laws of theState of Texas, and is chartered by the Construction Specifications Institute.

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