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AEC Technology Glossary

Construction & Field

What is Specification (Specs)?

Specifications are the written companion to the drawings: they define the quality, standards, products, and execution requirements for every part of the work, organized by trade divisions (MasterFormat in North America). Drawings say where; specs say what and how well.

In practice

Specs drive submittals, substitutions, and disputes. AI tools now check specs against drawings for contradictions and extract requirements automatically — errors between the two documents are a classic source of change orders.

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