Blogs

Specifying Practices--Laws and Regulations in Construction Documents

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CDT posted 16 hours ago
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A project owner’s attorney once said to me, with some bemusement, “The law applies to everyone .”. While he was referring to our mutual client for a capital project, the same, exceedingly basic precept engenders the question for architects, engineers, and specifiers, “Is it necessary to expressly cite specific laws or regulations in construction documents?” For decades, this writer has encountered a strong belief among many design professionals and project owners that applicable laws, statutes, ordinances, codes, rules, regulations, and lawful orders, decrees, and resolutions of governmental authorities having jurisdiction (collectively referred to in this ...
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CSI Online—3 Free Resources You Can Use Right Now

By Peter Kray posted 16 days ago
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CSI makes it easy for you to access the online resources you need anytime, from anywhere. Here are three key features on the CSIResources.org website that you can use to: Find new career opportunities or advertise for open positions. Achieve or maintain professional credentials. Enrich your professional community and communicate in real-time with other CSI professionals. Find Your Next Employer or Employee Time to make a move to a new gig or search for the right person to join your team? Start the process by visiting the CSI Career Center , the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry's source for recruiting ...
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Specifications for Construction Manager at Risk Projects

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CDT posted 20 days ago
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A popular, alternative project delivery method is construction manager at risk (CMAR), also known as “construction manager as constructor” (CMc) and “construction manager as general contractor” (CM/GC). CMAR project delivery is used for both private projects and, where enabled by statute, for public work. This article presents a high-level overview of what owners and design professionals should know about construction documents for CMAR projects. What is CMAR? Typical participants in a CMAR project are shown below. In the figure, solid lines between boxes represent lines of contractual privity between participants. The principal participants’ roles are ...
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Akron-Canton CSI May 2022 Newsletter

By Jillian Tipton posted 20 days ago
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Volunteer Week Spotlight on Roby Peters

By Peter Kray posted 23 days ago
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to all our current and past volunteers. All week, we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on CSI member Roby Peters, who values volunteer opportunities for the paths they create to meaningful connections. How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? I met a group of wonderful people at a monthly meeting and the energy was vibrant, the people were kind, fun, and I signed up for wherever help was needed. ...
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Volunteer Week Spotlight with Sandi Velleca

By Peter Kray posted 04-22-2022
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to our current and past volunteers. Throughout the week we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on Sandi Velleca, FCSI, CDT®, CCS®, CCCA®, SCIP , who credits volunteerism as a pathway to invaluable friendships and professional advancement. How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? Years ago, when I first joined CSI, I attended a chapter leadership training. While there I was taken under the wing ...
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Volunteer Week Spotlight on Holly Gotfredson

By Peter Kray posted 04-21-2022
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to all our current and past volunteers. All week, we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on Holly Gotfredson, CSI, CDT®, and president of American Metalcraft, Inc., whose volunteerism includes educating youths on career opportunities in the industry. How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? I think volunteering creates an opportunity to grow, learn, and serve together toward achieving a common goal. ...
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Volunteer Week Spotlight on Cory Robbins

By Peter Kray posted 04-20-2022
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to all our current and past volunteers. All week, we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on Cory Robbins, BA, CSI, and president of CSI Philadelphia, who describes volunteerism as a shortcut to networking and building your brand. How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? In my company, I was tasked with outreach to specification writers and changing the way exterior enclosure specifications were ...
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Volunteer Week Spotlight on Ellen Onstad

By Peter Kray posted 04-19-2022
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to all our current and past volunteers. All week, we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on Ellen Onstad, CSI, CDT ® , who shares thoughts on the importance of introductions and what it means to have a stake in an organization How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? Shortly after joining CSI’s Portland, OR Chapter, I was asked to write a summary of the dinner presentations for The Predicator ...
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What Goes Around Comes Around: Volunteer Week Spotlight with James Mercado

By Peter Kray posted 04-18-2022
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Happy National Volunteer Week! To celebrate the occasion, CSI would like to give a resounding round of applause to our current and past volunteers. All week, we are putting the spotlight on CSI members who go the extra mile for their colleagues and the built community at large. Today’s spotlight is on James Mercado, who credits mentorship for inspiring a commitment to service. How did you first decide to volunteer, and what is your area of expertise? Back in 2012 when I met Dave Ingram, a construction documents technologist (CDT®) and architectural sales and coatings consultant, we chatted a lot about construction specifications, and I ...
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CSI Celebrates Women's History Month—Lakisha Woods

By Peter Kray posted 04-05-2022
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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) wanted an experienced professional with a proven track record as its new executive vice president/chief executive officer (CEO). Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE, who stepped into the position January 31, easily fits that description. Woods has held several significant leadership roles in the design and construction industry, most recently as the president and CEO of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), where she expanded the organization’s programs and markets while also growing its relationships with members, clients, partners, and public agencies, including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, ...
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Construction Specifications Institute Celebrates Women’s History Month—Jori B. Smith

By Peter Kray posted 03-29-2022
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The term “soft skills” that women are often known for doesn’t mean they can’t also be confident and assertive. In fact, people with relationship-building acumen are sought out more and more in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry. In the case of Jori Smith, CSI, CDT®, and secretary of the CSI Board, those skills have served her well in her own remarkable career. One of the trailblazers CSI is celebrating during Women’s History Month, Smith not only is a success story in her own right but also an outspoken advocate for women in the industry. Her following interview is the fourth of five stories CSI is sharing throughout ...
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FY2023 CSI CHICAGO BOARD SLATE

By CSI Chicago Chapter posted 03-25-2022
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Written by: Guadalupe Casimiro, CSI, CDT | CSI Chicago Chapter Nominating Committee Chair As Chair of the CSI Chicago Chapter Nominating Committee, I am pleased to announce the slate of candidates for the FY2023 (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) Board. We received a total of 11 nominations for our open board seats with an excellent variety of skills and types of members represented. Sincere thanks to the Nominating Committee for their hard work and wisdom: Brad Schwab, and Jennifer Friedland. Following the January 10, 2022 deadline for nominations, the Nominating Committee reviewed all the nominations very carefully. We assessed the skills and experience ...
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Specifications for Projects with a Construction Manager as Advisor

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, CDT posted 03-22-2022
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Certain project delivery methods may include an owner-hired construction manager as advisor (CMa), most often for design-bid-build (D-B-B) and construction manager at risk (CMAR) projects. In CMAR projects, a CMa is often termed an “owner’s representative” or “owner’s authorized representative” rather than “construction manager”. Sometimes, design-build (D-B) projects include an “owner’s consultant” who may, in some cases, perform services similar to those of a CMa. This article addresses how the construction documents, especially the specifications of Divisions 01-49, should be drafted to accommodate the role and responsibilities of a CMa. The article also ...
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CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS INSTITUTE CELEBRATES WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH-SUSAN W. BLISS

By Peter Kray posted 03-22-2022
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Throughout March, CSI is celebrating Women’s History Month, honoring the countless contributions women have made to the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner) (AECO) industry. The month is set aside annually to honor women’s contributions in American history. The 2022 Women's History theme, “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the ongoing pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history. Here, CSI sits down with 2021 Class of Fellows Honoree Susan Bliss CSI, CDT ...
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2 Conversations to Join Now on CSI Community Connect

By Peter Kray posted 03-21-2022
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Ever want to discuss a specific work challenge with your peers, get (and give) input to help solve a problem, or even take a casual straw poll? There’s a good place for that: the CSI Community Connect Forum . This go-to resource is where you can connect with other construction industry professionals in real-time, keep up on current events, and even share interesting information about yourself. Here are two timely, current conversations you may want to follow—and contribute to—right now. (The comments have been edited for length, so please log in or create a new profile to read them in their entirety.) #1) Is There a Consensus on TOC Page Count Numbers? ...
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Construction Specifications Institute Celebrates Women’s History Month—Ellen Kay Crews

By Peter Kray posted 03-15-2022
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CSI celebrates Women’s History Month, honoring the countless contributions women have made to the AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner) industry. The month is set aside annually to honor women’s contributions in American history. The 2022 Women's History theme, “ Providing Healing, Promoting Hope ,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history. Here, CSI sits down with former CSI Board Chair Ellen Kay Crews FCSI, CCS®, CCCA®, CDT®, SFP, FMP. ...
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Women in Construction—‘Let’s Build’ for the Future

By Peter Kray posted 03-09-2022
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Happy Women in Construction Week! This annual event takes place during the first full week in March to highlight the great initiatives and history of women in construction. CSI takes pride in supporting the work women do in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) community. The Let’s Build Camp for Girls is a key foundation for introducing teenage girls and young women to an opportunity to explore the world of building that the CSI Foundation supports for welcoming them into the field now and in the future. “Most of the time AECO jobs are not spotlighted, especially for girls,” said Kristen Fallon with Let’s Build-Lehigh ...
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Women in Construction Week—How CSI Supports Success

By Peter Kray posted 03-07-2022
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Happy Women in Construction Week! This annual event takes place during the first full week in March to highlight the great initiatives and history of women in construction. CSI takes pride in supporting the work that women do in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) community. One key resource CSI offers to support that work is by providing women—and all CSI members—with the industry’s benchmark advanced certification program to demonstrate their understanding of the entire construction process and concrete skills. The CDT ® and CCS ® certification are just two ways in which AECO professionals demonstrate their knowledge of advanced ...
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CSI Celebrates Women’s History Month—Lee Ann Slattery Interview

By Peter Kray posted 03-02-2022
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CSI celebrates Women’s History Month, honoring the countless contributions women have made to the AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner) industry. The month is set aside annually to honor women’s contributions in American history. The 2022 Women's History theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history. Here, CSI sits down with 2020 Class of Fellows honoree Lee Ann Slattery FCSI, CCPR™, CDT ® , LEED AP, ...
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