Construction specifications use reference documents extensively for two primary reasons:

• Referencing an external document eliminates the need to repeat its requirements in the specification documents. Many reference documents are quite extensive and a specification on that subject would be quite deficient without including the equivalent of its provisions.
• By referencing documents that are well-known in the industry or sector, the specifier can convey requirements more quickly and succinctly. Qualified readers recognize the standard and already know what it says.

It's hard to say which of these reasons is more compelling because the practice is so well established that most people, both readers and writers of specifications, accept the practice as normal.

Non-Governmental Organization Standards

In the U.S., non-governmental organizations (NGO's) publish most of the reference documents used by specifiers to establish quality requirements in construction documents. These are usually referred to as voluntary standards because they do not have the force of law unless specifically adopted into law by a particular authority having jurisdiction. Otherwise, they are binding only upon agreement by the parties to the contract. The NGO's listed here are those that publish standards referenced in BSD SpecLink and PerSpective. Many publish more quality standards that are not referenced and some also publish design-oriented documents that are usually not specified in construction documents.

NGO's that publish standards are of several types, although most are focussed on a particular discipline or product group. Professional societies like ASME, ASHRAE, and IEEE have wide membership from both the design side and the manufacturing side and do much more than simply publish standards. Trade associations, like AAMA, SJI, and AMCA, have membership restricted to manufacturers in the product category and often include a marketing/promotion function. Standards developing organizations, like ASTM and NFPA, are focussed on developing standards and often cover a lot of different product categories and disciplines.

The documents of most NGO's are copyrighted and are for sale. Many NGO's make a considerable amount of their annual budget through document sales. There are notable exceptions to this, though, especially since the advent of the Internet. Many trade associations, especially those with small budgets, now simply post their standards on their websites, free for the download. Our NGO list indicates this by the notation "Free downloads", where known.

Government Agency Reference Documents

There are two types of standards published by government agencies: those that have the force of law (laws and regulations) and those that don't. The latter are usually mandatory on projects of the public agency owner but not on private projects, unless so specified in the contract documents.

Although U.S. government agencies have been mandated to use industry standards where available, many U.S. government standards are still in print and referenced by government agencies. Most U.S. government standards are written for government procurement purposes, which means that they usually include administrative requirements that are not appropriate for private contracts. In addition, there is an inevitable bias toward lowest-common-denominator products -- be sure you understand the quality being specified. On the other hand, there are some design and product issues for which there are no standards other than U.S. government agency standards. The originating agency usually wrote the standard because there were no standards available -- in these cases, the government agency is on the leading edge, although it may not remain so if the issue has relevance to the industry at large. In that sort of situation, ASTM often takes over the standard and maintains it within its consensus process.

Aside from standards developed by specific agencies, the two major standards writing agencies of the federal government are the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). GSA's standards are Federal Specifications (FS), Federal Standards (Fed Std), Federal Test Methods (FTM), and Commercial Item Descriptions (CID). The DOD's standards are Military Specifications (Mil or Mil Specs) and Military Standards (Mil Std).

The only place to find Federal or Mil Specs or Standards is at http://dodssp.daps.dla.mil. No other source is authoritative. You'll need to register for an account for Assist On-Line but the documents are free.

Some examples with typical designations are:

• Federal Specs and Standards: CCC-W-408, A-A-60003 (commercial item descriptions), FED-STD 101, FTM-STD.
• Mil Specs and Standards: MIL-C-17, MIL-STD-810.

Federal documents designated PS are Voluntary Product Standards maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). There are only a few but they are fundamental and widely referenced. They are:

• PS 1, Commercial and Industrial Plywood.
• PS 20, American Softwood Lumber Standard
• PS 2, Performance Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels

State, regional, and local agencies also promulgate standards where they cannot find existing standards that suit their requirements. These usually have the force of law in the original jurisdiction but may also be referenced as a voluntary standard in other jurisdictions.

Which Standards Apply?

Obviously, you can look in the relevant SpecLink or PerSpective section to see which standards apply to that work result or product category. But what if you need to prepare a new section? The following are recommended places to look for relevant standards, in order of efficiency:

• The applicable building code, fire safety code, etc. Codes also reference voluntary standards, for the same reasons, so if your code does reference one that standard has the force of law.
• The ICC Model Codes. These do not have the force of law but may be more comprehensive than your local code. Also, ICC is careful to reference only truly acceptable standards.
• Our NGO List. Do a word search in that page for a relevant organization, then search their publications web site for relevant documents.
• www.4specs.com Association Listings. At the bottom of each MasterFormat page in the 4specs index are trade associations that are applicable to that product group.
• ASTM's Standards store. ASTM has the largest collection of standards on all types of subjects, and their store is very easy to search.
• Commercial resellers of reference documents. These web sites allow word searches across all documents they have on hand.
• www.4specs.com Manufacturer Listings. 4specs has indexed thousands of building product manufacturer web sites by MasterFormat. Find the product category, then review what the manufacturers say about which quality standards their products meet.
• Google. Google, despite its reputation, is not very efficient for this type of search. Its principal problem is that it finds things that are stated as not being something as well as those that are.
• If all else fails, phone a manufacturer and ask what standards apply. Some manufacturers are strangely(?) reluctant to publish this information, even though they do test their products to meet them.

P.S. You can also email us -- we may have something in our research database.

Standards Collections and Bibliographies Worth Buying

ASTM Standards in Building Codes

Published by ASTM International, Inc., www.astm.org.

This sub-set of the full ASTM library contains the full text of all ASTM standards referenced in the ICC building codes and in BSD SpecLink^®. Many of these standards are important product standards that spec writers should understand. Compared to the alternative methods of obtaining ASTM standards, this set is an outstanding value, as well as a convenience.

Paperbound 4-volume set or CD-ROM, published annually in May-June; ASTM Webstore Page on This Publication

45 percent of all documents referenced in BSD SpecLink are published by ASTM (over 900). BSD cooperates with ASTM to assure that this set includes virtually all ASTM's referenced in the BSD SpecLink sections (a small number of previously unlisted standards are usually added to BSD SpecLink each year, after the publication deadline). SpecLink subscribers are eligible for 10 percent member discount.

NFPA National Fire Codes, Subscription Service

From National Fire Protection Association, www.nfpa.org.

This publication is an annual subscription to the full text of almost all NFPA standards. It is available via CD-ROM, online, or in looseleaf binders. The CD-ROM or hardcopy includes semi-annual updates, plus annual meeting comments. On-line version is updated continuously and includes newsletter.

Over 40 NFPA standards are referenced in BSD SpecLink and PerSpective. Many are referenced in building codes. Other NFPA standards are industry-accepted for reducing hazards due to fire and for design of active fire protection systems.

ICC International Codes

From the International Code Council, www.iccsafe.org.

Even if your local building code is not based on the ICC codes, these code books are a valuable reference. Each book includes a complete bibliographic citation for each referenced standard, including the edition date that is applicable to that edition of the code.

Commercial Resellers of Reference Documents

Commercial resellers should be your last resort, unless convenience is your primary motivator, because the documents often cost more than if you bought them from their original author. Major resellers who have large collections and a reasonably good web site are listed below:

• IHS, Inc., http://store.ihs.com
• TechStreet, www.techstreet.com

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