Organize HVAC Details 1

[cdxx139]

I am organizing our firms Details, standard and sequences etc. And am currently tackling the Standard Details and adding to them as needed. My question is organization. We currently have 13 different categories, and I was told they are done per AIA guidelines, which I have not been able to find.

How do you organize your standard details? Did you make your categories and subcategories, or did you follow a standard that I have not been able to find?

knowledge is power

 

[urgross]

We generally organize the details by naming them by the specification they refer to. As an example, any DDC details would be under 23 09 23. If multiple details belong to the same specification number, we use paragraph number/letter extensions.

 

[kacarrol]

I have a really old copy of "Sourcebook of HVAC Specifications" and "Sourcebook of HVAC Details" both by Frank E Beaty. The HVAC specs use a numbering system similar to the one mentioned by urgross and the details in the second book follow that scheme. For instance:

From "Sourcebook of HVAC Specifications":
Reciprocating Compressor Unit is section 15150

From "Sourcebook of HVAC Details":
D-15150-1 Reciprocating Compressor Refrigerant Piping
D-15150-2 Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Above Compressor
D-15150-3 Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Below Compressor

K

 

[Wilbur55]

Not what I have done, but first imaginings of what I would do:
1. Rely primarily on section level numbers.
[ul]
[li]It seems that using paragraph numbers:[ul]
[li]Would be a maintenance nightmare when the specs are updated.[/li]
[li]Could be confusing five years from now to find reference to detail D-15150-2.A, which is today a reciprocating chiller; but then a quantum-laser chiller.[/li][/li]
[/ul]
[li]Who knows how long it will be before CSI upsets the numbering applecart again? They continue to jiggle it with enough frequency to be irritating.[/li]
[/ul]
2. Use leading zeros in the sequential numbers. Otherwise, sorting will be messy in some software.
3. Make the numbers at least 3 digits ("001," etc.).
4. Use a version number suffix (sequential or date in yyyymmdd format):
[ul]
[li]D-15150-002-009 Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Above Compressor[/li]
[li]D-15150-002-20150515 Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Above Compressor[/li]
[/ul]
5. Use letter suffixes when an oops happens and a detail that has been released is found by others to contain an error that needs to be updated now:
[ul]
[li]D-15150-002-20150515.b Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Above Compressor[/li]
[/ul]
6. Don't reuse numbers when details are retired.
7. Use a consistent delimiter between the detail number and the title, for parsing by software if needed:
[ul]
[li]D-15150-002-20150515.b = Reciprocating Chiller - Piped with Evaporator Above Compressor[/li]
[/ul]

Yes, it is a long format. For how long do you want this filing system to be useful? How difficult do you want it to be to update to CSI's next big idea in numbering spec sections?

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

 

[cdxx139]

We use CSI MaterSpec at work, and thought that would be the logical idea. But we use the new CSI 23 series, while some clinets use the old 15 series, and we also do some military and other quasi govt entities, who also use 23 series CSI, but they dont all seem to match ours, so I have the similar frustrations as Wilbur in that respect. Then add in the fact that CSI is an ever evolving system, and the constant upgrading is difficult to keep track of, so I have decided to give a second column name as the specification number, but for the above frustrations, not the primary number.

We originally were using a 3 digit series with a leading H, so H000 series was anchors and supports, H600 series was Heat Exchangers and H1500 series was sheet metal. I was told this was AIA standards but have not found any documentation to prove it.

So I was hesitant create a new organization system, but the only way to organize it in a way that makes sense to me, iS to break it into 3 categories, airside (DUCT), water side (HYRD) and BOTH. Something like below.

1000 - DUCTWORK

1100 - SHEET METAL
1110-1130 DUCT
1140-1160 DUCT CONNECTIONS
1170-1190 OTHER

1200 - EXHAUST SPECIALTIES
1210-1230 HOODS AND CAPTURE
1240-1260 FANS
1270-1290 OTHER

2000 - HYDRONICS

2100 - PIPING WATER
2110-2130 MECHANICAL ROOM
2140-2160 BUILDING
2170-2190 OTHER

2200 - PIPING WATER CONNECTIONS
2210-2230 GENERAL COILS CONNECTIONS
2240-2260 SPECIFIC EQUIPMENT CONNECTIONS
2270-2290 OTHER

2300 - REFRIGERATION & FUEL OIL
2310-2330 SPLIT SYSTEMS
2340-2360 CHILLER
2370-2390 FUEL OIL

2400 - STEAM
2410-2430 PIPING
2440-2460 STEAM SPECIALTIES
2470-2490 EQUIPMENT

3000 - BOTH (OR EITHER)

3100 - ANCHORS AND SUPPORT
3110-3130 DUCTWORK
3140-3160 PIPING
3170-3190 EQUIPMENT

3200 - PENETRATIONS
3210-3230 DUCTWORK
3240-3260 PIPING
3270-3290 EQUIPMENT


knowledge is power

 

[Wilbur55]

I would still use the current CSI system as a basis. It has more granularity than their previous 16-division system, and most of their Section numbers could be stable enough for the most complex details.

Whatever section numbers CSI tweaks, you are free to ignore their "new and improved" version. All the update madness is simply that. People have better things to do than to keep up with the whim du jour from writers of standards, software, etc.

It will lead to some disconnects as the master spec is updated, but the quantity of disconnects should be relatively small. Using some recognized system seems easier to manage and to share with others than requiring correlation with an entirely original numbering system. There should be relatively few numbers you would need to create (correct typos in the list, etc.) if the current CSI system is used.

But this is your system and it needs to work for you.