| Author |
Message |
Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP
Senior Member
Username: lazarcitec
Post Number: 1406
Registered: 05-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - 08:05 pm: |    |
I am being asked to incorporate word for word Green Building language in the specs for a project. I am reluctant to do this because the Green Consultant uses the word "if" throughout the Certification Plan. I have been told, the word "if" should not be used in specs as it increases uncertainty and can lead to more RFI's. Do my peers agree or have other reasons I can mention to my client? |
George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: geverding
Post Number: 797
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 12:28 am: | |
I agree, “if” usually has no place in specifications, but the word itself is not really the culprit, it is the use of the subjunctive mood. Write specifications using imperative mood [preferred], or indicative mood; avoid subjunctive mood.
Imperative mood is a command or request, usually with an implied “you” [the Contractor] as the subject. “Provide templates for anchors and bolts.”
Indicative mood makes the noun the subject of the sentence, and requires the use of “shall” with almost every sentence. “Templates shall be provided for anchors and bolts.” Usually in specifications, indicative mood is used with streamlined language for product or material descriptions, where “:” implies “shall” or “shall be”. “Anchor Bolts: ASTM F 1554, Grade 36.”
The reason we use these grammatical conventions is that they provide us with the simplest, clearest, and most direct expression of the contractual requirements we wish to specify.
Subjunctive mood is not appropriate for specifying because, rather than dealing with statements of fact as imperative and indicative do, subjunctive deals with conditionals, hypotheticals, imaginaries, suggestions, and conditions contrary to fact. None of these uses of subjunctive mood conveys a requirement. Specifications are requirements.
I am curious how the consultant uses “if” – can you quote a few examples for us? It is possible, although rare, to write a sentence using “if” that’s not in the subjunctive mood, although it is unlikely your consultant is doing so. |
J. Peter Jordan
Senior Member
Username: jpjordan
Post Number: 847
Registered: 05-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 07:39 am: | |
I think I can understand why "if" is used in such a document. The problem can be that it is used incorrectly. When the word "if" is used, there is a bifurcation of requirements. One should think of it as "if...then...otherwise..." In this particular situation, the specifier is attempting to test a condition and then establish requirements depending on the results of the test.
Often the ambiguity that comes from using "if" is the result of failing to establish requirements when the condition being tested is "true" and when the condition is "false." |
George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
Senior Member
Username: geverding
Post Number: 798
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 11:02 am: | |
Peter - referring to a statement such as: "Do not place concrete if temperatures fall below 40 degrees"?
In that case, my preference would be to use the word "when" in place of "if". That's not really subjunctive case, because it deals with something that is a real "concrete" fact - When do we place concrete? When the temperature is above 40 degrees. (even if the fact of cold temperature may or may not occur during a specific project). So it avoids the ambiguity and meets the requirements of your last sentence.
Subjunctive case is speculative - Tevye's "If I were a rich man...", for example. The difference is subtle but significant - "If you ever find a million dollars, you should buy me a car." vs. "When (or if) you win the lottery, you will have to pay taxes first."
The latter phrase works for a spec, the former doesn't |
Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: rlmat
Post Number: 674
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 11:20 am: | |
Timely advice. In all my years as a spec. writer, I never knew about not using "if".
I'm working on a spec right now that I did not write, that has "if" used throughout. My question was going to be what to replace it with. Thanks for your answer. |
Greta Eckhardt
Senior Member
Username: gretaeckhardt
Post Number: 11
Registered: 08-2013
| | Posted on Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 11:58 am: | |
The word "if" is sometimes used in specifications to cover unknown conditions. For example: "if hazardous materials are encountered...." Here the specifications need to address how to proceed in that case, and in order for the documents to be biddable, a unit price or allowance may be advisable.
Compliance with sustainable design criteria may present other types of unknowns, such as whether or not a building will pass IAQ testing requirements. In each case, it must be clear what the contractor must do. If the result is clearly beyond their control, an allowance or unit price may be needed. However, if the building really could have passed the IAQ test if they had done things correctly, then the specifications should be clear that the contractor is responsible for cleaning, ventilating, replacing materials or whatever it takes to pass the test, without additional cost to the Owner. |
Scott Piper
Senior Member
Username: spiper
Post Number: 23
Registered: 08-2014
| | Posted on Monday, June 22, 2015 - 03:08 pm: | |
I would generally agree that using "if" should be done with care but I have to agree with Greta that sometimes it is the most appropriate term. The hazardous materials situation is a good example of this. We did a project where we had taken soil borings both for structural considerations as well as soil sampling of the existing conditions. The tests left us confident that we would not encounter any contaminated soil during excavation.
However we still had language included just in case we ran into any issues. During bidding my spec stated "when" contaminated soil is found rather than "if". Multiple bidders read this to mean that we would indeed find bad soil even though the testing indicated otherwise. We had to clarify that we had no reason to believe that bad soil would be found and the unit pricing in the contract was a 'just in case' clause. "If" would have been the proper term in this situation to avoid confusion amongst the bidders. |
|
4specs.com Home Page