Title: Prescriptive Specifications

Author(s): Karthik H. Obla and Colin L. Lobo

Publication: Concrete International

Volume: 37

Issue: 8

Appears on pages(s): 29-31

Keywords: performance, requirement, quality, project

DOI:

Date: 8/1/2015

Abstract:
About 10 years ago, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) initiated an effort aimed at transforming concrete specifications from prescriptive to more performance based. In 2014, NRMCA’s Research Engineering and Standards committee conducted a survey among concrete producer members on 15 prescriptive requirements commonly seen in mixture specifications. The requirements were ranked and the top five were further evaluated using 150 recent project specifications. The Specification in Practice (SIP) series was prepared to discuss the requirements and suggest alternative requirements based on performance criteria. The SIP series is available on the NMRCA website. The first five in the series are included in this issue of CI.