equipment vs results

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Author Message Tracy Van Niel, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: tracy_van_niel Post Number: 355 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 11:15 am:    I have been told over the years that architects should not be specifying the name or type of equipment to be used by a manufacturer to produce a material because it then becomes a liability issue for the architect. If there is specific criteria that the material/product needs to meet (in our case, we are wanting a higher level of performance for a specific product), that criteria should be called out along with appropriate reference standards, tolerances, product names, etc. I am currently in the process of drafting an email to some of the project architects and wanted to include something that backs up my understanding of not specifying equipment that the manufacturer has to use, but after scouring the CSI Project Delivery Practice Guide and doing some online searches, I am not able to find anything that says this. Am I misremembering this or can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks! Tracy L. Van Niel, FCSI, CCS Ronald J. Ray, RA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP, AIA Senior Member Username: rjray Post Number: 204 Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 11:53 am:    The process used to produce or install a product, and the equipment used in that process, are known in the construction industry as “means and methods.” AIA Document A201 - General Conditions of the Contract for Construction clearly state that “the Contractor shall be solely responsible for, and have control over, construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures ... unless the Contract Documents give specific instructions concerning these matters.” I believe that any architect that would specify “means and methods” would be responsible for, and liable, for the final “work result.” Adding that type of risk may not be looked on favorable by an architect’s professional liability insurance carrier. Tracy Van Niel, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: tracy_van_niel Post Number: 356 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 12:16 pm:    Thank you, I immediately thought of means and methods myself, but then I couldn't find a description that I felt would substantiate what I wanted to tell them. I'll go with 'general' and leave it at that. Tracy L. Van Niel, FCSI, CCS