Michael Heinsdorf, PE, LEED AP, CDT, ARCOM

Code or standard?

What's the difference between a code and a standard?

The 12-month correction period

Another way engineers can keep the client happy.

Hard and soft metric: It’s actually ‘conversion’ and ‘substitution’

After discussing "hard" and "soft" metric conversions in a previous blog post, I found that there is a better way to address this topic, thanks to a comment from reader Howard Ressel about ASTM/IEEE SI10-2010: The American National Standard for Metric Practice.

Specifying lighting controls: Part 2

When specifying a lighting control system, reviewing the four types of lighting control discussed in part 1 of this series is a good place to start. Part 2 tells you how to determine what kind of lighting control system meets the client's requirements.

Specifying lighting controls: Part 1

Part 1 looks at four common types of lighting controls: panelboards, dimming controls, addressable controls, and relay-based systems.

Closed and open specifications

What exactly are they, and how should engineers specify products or systems with the four different types of specifications?

Listed, labeled, and defined in the National Electrical Code

What exactly does "listed and labeled as defined in NFPA 70" mean?

The proper amount of specificity

What is the appropriate level of detail for a specification?

Soft and hard metric conversions

"Soft metric" is not a mix of imperial and metric measurements, and the Dept. of Defense does not recommend it for engineering drawings.

Specifying for sustainability: Reference standards

Every engineer needs a benchmark. In specifying, that's a reference standard.

Specifying for sustainability: performance specifying

One of the cores of LEED v4 or any sustainable design standard is specifying performance. Here's how to do it properly.

Specifying for green building: Part 1

How do you structure specifications to properly specify building performance that is compliant with a green building code such as LEED v4?