CHAPTER 2 DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATIONS

INTRODUCTION

Working with drawings and specifications (specs) is an essential part in your development as a Construction Electrician. You must be able to interpret, plan, estimate, and schedule construction projects, using the information supplied by the drawings and specifications. You will need to picture the separate operations mentally as the work progresses through the various stages of construction. You must use good judgment when determining what effect numerous factors and conditions have on a project and what allowances should be made for each of them. You must have ready access to information about the material, the equipment, and the labor required to perform various types of work under conditions encountered as part of the Naval Construction Force (NCF). In this chapter, we discuss this important phase of your work, that is, working with drawings and specifications.

Project concepts are developed by local activities. Their supporting documentation for a construction project is forwarded to NAVFACENGCOM, Engineering Field Division (EFD), for requirement validation, technical adequacy of the design solution, and reasonable cost estimate. Once a project has been designed, approved, and funded, it then must be accepted by COMSECOND/COMTHIRDNCB for tasking to the Seabee community. Your first encounter with a project that may have taken years to develop and fund will be the drawings and specifications.

From the beginning (a facility deficiency) to the end (a deficiency corrected), an involved process takes place. As a member of the NCF, you are the person who makes the needs and ideas of the naval community come to reality.

DEFINITIONS

To be able to work with, and from, drawings and specifications, you must know the terms commonly associated with planning, estimating, and scheduling. We have defined a few of the terms you will need to do your job. Read them with care, but do not try to memorize them. Remember where you found them so you can refer to these terms whenever you have to use them.

Activity estimates consist of a listing of all the steps required to construct a given project. Activity quantities provide the basis for preparing the material, equipment, and manpower estimates. They are used to provide the basis for scheduling, material deliveries, equipment, and manpower.

Bill of material (BM) is a tabulated statement of the material required for a given project. It contains such information as stock numbers, unit of issue, quantity, line-item number, description, vendor, and cost. Sometimes the bill of material will be submitted on either material estimate sheets or material takeoff sheets; the two sheets contain similar information. Usually, the takeoff sheet is an actual tally and checkoff of the items shown, noted, or specified on the construction drawings and specifications.

Construction activities are a breakdown of master activities. They identify functional parts of the project and are often assigned to a particular company (Bravo/Charlie) or rating.

Detailed estimates are precise statements of quantities of material, equipment, and manpower required to construct a given project. Underestimating quantities can cause serious delays in construction or can result in unfinished projects. A detailed estimate must be accurate to the smallest detail to quantify requirements correctly.

Direct labor includes all the labor expended directly on assigned construction tasks, either in the field or in the shop, that contribute directly to the completion of the end product.

Equipment estimates consist of a listing of the various types of equipment, the amount of time, and the number of pieces required to construct a given project.

Estimating is the process of determining the amount and type of work to be performed and the quantities of material, equipment, and labor required.