ARCOM at CONSTRUCT 2011, Chicago IL

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at this year's CSI CONSTRUCT show!

Joseph Berchenko Named Assistant Director of Architectural Specifications

ARCOM is pleased to announce the promotion of Joseph Berchenko, AIA, CSI, CCS, to the position of Assistant Director, Architectural Specifications.

“Joe’s wealth of diversified specifying experience and agile mind will strengthen ARCOM’s wide-ranging efforts focusing on the future of master guide specifications. He will bring a fresh, welcome perspective to future developments of AIA’s MasterSpec and ARCOM’s Specware,” said Paul Brosnahan, ARCOM’s Vice President of Architectural Specifications.

Joe has been a Senior Architectural Specification Writer at ARCOM since 2003. Originally from Nebraska, he worked for a number of firms in Lincoln and also served as a commercial plans examiner for 10 years.

“The way specs are written is changing,” Joe said. “Not only are the written construction documents becoming BIM interoperable, but they're getting smarter and more automated every day. In the next few years, I expect to see product selection become increasingly integrated with a simplified writing process. It's a very exciting time to join the management team at ARCOM. I greatly look forward to my participation in what will surely prove a transformative period for specifications.”

Joe’s promotion is effective immediately, and he will continue to work from ARCOM’s Alexandria, Virginia, office.

Firm Profile: Anderson Design, Inc.

"The supporting documents allow me to better understand specific construction materials and methods that I may have limited knowledge of. This allows me to write a tighter specification, minimizing potential construction phase conflicts." (John C. Anderson, Principal and Owner, Anderson Design, Inc.)

Anderson Design, Inc., a one-person landscape architecture firm, has provided site design and landscape design services in Georgia and the Carolinas since 2001. Located in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Anderson Design works on a broad spectrum of projects including higher education, K-12 schools, office buildings, streetscapes, recreation facilities, and church campuses.

John C. Anderson, the principal and owner of Anderson Design, has used MasterSpec since founding his company. He values MasterSpec because it facilitates coordination of specifications with other design disciplines on complex projects. He finds that the editor's notes and supplemental documents allow him to close holes in his document package by helping him answer questions about materials and construction methods.

As a one-man consulting firm, he depends on MasterSpec's construction industry knowledge to help shorten the learning curve when he is working with a particular design program element for the first time. By doing things quicker, he says he can move on to other billable tasks.

Here's a list notable projects from Anderson Design:

• Hampton Hall Club Center
• Hampton Hall Golf Club
• Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation Headquarters - Phase Three
• Suwanee Town Center
• Washington High School
• Kennesaw State University 

Earn Continuing Education Credits through the MasterSpec Independent Study Program

Did you know you can get free continuing education credits just by reading MasterSpec?

MasterSpec users who license the A/S/C or Landscape libraries in Full Length or Short Form can earn continuing education credits from the AIA and ASLA for reading specific specification sections and their corresponding supporting documents.

AIA/CES Learning Units (LU) and ASLA Professional Development Hours (PDH) can be earned by reading a selected section and then taking a short, 10-question test on the ARCOM Web site. By scoring 80 percent or higher on each test, you can earn one AIA LU (HSW eligible) or ASLA PDH for every section reviewed. In addition, some MasterSpec sections qualify for sustainable design credit; tests and sections which meet the criteria for sustainable design credit are marked with a green globe icon.

Take full advantage of your MasterSpec license today by checking out the free MasterSpec Independent Study Program. Visit http://www.arcomnet.com/users/independent_study.php, or view the FAQs at http://www.arcomnet.com/users/support_faq_study.php. For questions or comments, please contact ARCOM at 800.424.5080 or by email at continuinged@arcomnet.com.

Upcoming Trade Shows

Want to meet ARCOM's writers and other staff members? Interested in demonstrations of our software and new products? Simply want more of our famous chocolate truffles? You're in luck, because ARCOM will be exhibiting at the following upcoming trade shows:

Construct 2011
Chicago, IL
September 14-16, 2011
Booth #812

USGBC 2011 GreenBuild Conference & Expo
Toronto, ON
October 4-6, 2011
Booth #1925

ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo
San Diego, CA
October 31-November 1, 2011
Booth #2039

We're also offering in-depth training at Construct 2011 (Sept. 13) and ASLA (Nov. 2). If you'd like more information, visit the training page on our website or send a note to training@arcomnet.com.

We'd love to see you in Chicago, Toronto, or San Diego!

Until the Paint Is Dry

Some construction work is important only until the paint is dry, painting typically being the last job before an owner takes possession of a project. This work is usually classified as "temporary facilities and controls" and is normally the Contractor's responsibility with minimal guidance or limitations imposed by the Project's Architect or Engineer.

However, what and how much temporary work to do and what limitations are suitable to perform it as required for a successful project can be points of disagreement with the Contractor. This situation is where specifications for temporary work are important and must set only those requirements that are necessary to ensure successful Project completion.

Construction dewatering is an aspect of temporary construction addressed in MasterSpec Section 312319 "Dewatering." Construction dewatering lowers and controls ground-water levels before and during excavation to allow construction to be performed in near-dry conditions on stable subgrades and to reduce hydrostatic pressure against excavation support and protection systems. Temporary diversion of surface water from entering excavations or ponding is handled by separate means included in MasterSpec Section 312000 "Earth Moving."

A permanent dewatering system may be required in some instances if continuing control and removal of ground water from buildings is required. Permanent dewatering systems must be designed to meet long-term engineering requirements, are typically the responsibility of the design professional, and are generally specified with greater detail in another section, such as MasterSpec Section 334600 (Section 02620) "Subdrainage."

Authorities having jurisdiction sometimes do not permit the Contractor to assume responsibility for design of dewatering and ground-water control systems during construction.

The quality of water discharged from dewatering may also be subject to strict control by authorities having jurisdiction. Federal and state restrictions on water quality may be relevant, and the Contractor must obtain necessary discharge permits. Water pumped from excavations may have to pass through sedimentation tanks before it is allowed to flow into city sewer systems or be ejected outside the excavation. Stormwater erosion and sediment controls imposed by authorities having jurisdiction usually must be considered in the dewatering plan.

Construction below the water table without controlling ground water should not be attempted. Unrelieved hydrostatic pressure can cause piping or heaving of foundation soils, making them unsuitable to support construction. Dewatering intercepts seepage that would otherwise emerge from the slopes or bottom of an excavation, and it improves the stability of excavated slopes.

Tests of a dewatering system may be warranted to evaluate performance before excavating. Testing provides an opportunity to fine-tune the installed system before placing it in operation. The outcome of dewatering cannot always be accurately predicted; dewatering is a combination of science and art, and designs may require modification in the field and trial-and-error tests. Difficult soils and soils with low permeability may require time to yield their ground-water content.

Damage produced by dewatering may include cracking in structures and finishes caused by differential settlement. Existing structures built on weak, compressible soils or on saturated, loose sand could settle. The condition of structures, types of foundations, and water-table elevations immediately adjacent to the Project should be determined before dewatering. If dewatering and excavation will lower the water table significantly at such structures, precaution in the form of underpinning those structures may be necessary. Buildings with deep foundations are usually less affected by adjacent dewatering than those with shallow foundations; older buildings are usually more affected than newer ones. Excessive pumping of ground water may also adversely affect nearby wells, reduce available water necessary for plant and tree health, contribute to the development of sink holes, or increase the flow of nearby pollutants or sea water into the aquifer.

Three basic methods are common for ground-water control at excavations below the water table. The appropriate method or combination of methods depends on a project's location and the amount of water flow determined by comprehensive test borings and soil surveys.

• Open Drainage: Water may flow into the excavation; be collected in ditches, drains, and sumps; and be pumped out.
• Predrainage: The water table is lowered before excavation by using well points in granular soils, ejector systems, vacuum systems, deep wells, and other well systems, often placed outside the excavation perimeter.
• Cutoff: Ground-water seepage is arrested or severely curtailed by sheet piling, cylinder walls, slurry or diaphragm walls, or soil freezing. Such cutoff methods that create a barrier to ground water may be used alone or with other dewatering methods, but cutoffs often minimize or eliminate the need for other dewatering efforts.

Electro-osmosis may be required for more effective operation of well points, as well as ejector systems and wells in some impermeable soils. It is a phenomenon whereby some fine-grained sediments with low permeability expel pore water when an electric current is passed through them. Electro-osmosis uses well points as negative electrodes to attract water. Rods are driven into the soil to act as anodes. A direct electric current is passed through the soil from the anode rods, causing the ground water contained in the soil to flow to the well point that serves as the negative electrode (cathode). The water is then removed by pumping.

Employee Profile: Ken Chappell, Assistant Director, Engineering Specifications

With over 30 years of experience in mechanical engineering and the construction industry, Ken joined ARCOM in January of 2010. He has been directly involved in writing specifications and engineering construction documents for much of that time.

Ken graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1986 with a degree in Mechanical & Electrical Engineering. His early career was spent as a design engineer doing research and development in the fields of aerospace, automotive, automated equipment, robotics, and facilities. Ken not only designed equipment and facilities but often oversaw the construction, installation, and commissioning of the equipment and facilities all over the world.

He has also developed many relational database software applications to support his design work and for a variety of companies and service groups. His career later evolved into material handling and automated warehousing. He also spent time building up a successful book of business as a real estate agent in Cincinnati, Ohio, before deciding to write construction specifications full time. "Admittedly," Ken says, "writing architectural and engineering specifications as a career path was not on the radar, but it has been a very rewarding journey. My career at ARCOM has allowed me to 'laser focus' my knowledge and experience from past career paths into a single effort."

Ken has written specifications for projects in academia, government, and the private sector, including many types of commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities, biocontainment facilities, medical centers, senior-living facilities, high-end residential and university campuses, and community colleges. Ken is a member of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) where he is becoming increasingly involved in various technical committees establishing standards in the construction industry.

When his face isn't staring at a computer screen, Ken spends his spare time at the gym; exploring Washington, DC; traveling occasionally; designing "stuff"; and painting portraits of friends and the occasional commissioned work. He works out of ARCOM's Alexandria, Virginia, office.

* * * * *

ARCOM’s staff of 40 professionals represents some of the most innovative and personable specification professionals, writers, editors, computer scientists, and service people in the industry. This occasional series provides brief biographical sketches of just a few of the people serving you at ARCOM.