Read the file that was issued.
A published PDF is enough. That includes a specification SpecsIntact produced and a book that never went through it.
Compare · Specset and SpecsIntact
Specset reads the UFGS book SpecsIntact writes.
Does Specset work with SpecsIntact?
Specset reads the UFGS spec books SpecsIntact produces. SpecsIntact is the free government tool for writing and editing those specifications. Specset reads that finished book after it is issued, reviews submittals against the conformed section, and drafts a proposed RFI response against that section and the current sheets. Specset does not replace it, and it does not connect to it. Specset starts from the finished specification and parses the published PDF. From that text it merges later amendments into the base sections and builds a submittal log.
Submittal log · DraftRidgeview Center
Ready to review- 01 33 00 §1.9Submittal register
- 03 30 00 §2.1Concrete mix design
- 08 11 13 §1.4Door and frame schedule
- 23 31 00 §1.3Duct construction
4 draft rowsNot filed
SpecsIntact
SpecsIntact writes and edits the section.
The SpecsIntact software overview describes it as government-funded software for preparing standardized facility construction specifications, used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. It can be downloaded and installed free of charge. NASA SpecsIntact masters are what Kennedy Space Center publishes for KSC facility work.
Two parts do the writing. The SI Editor is the word processor for SpecsIntact sections: bracketed options, tailoring that includes or excludes requirements, and the Reference and Submittal Wizards. The SI Explorer runs the job, including quality assurance reports. SpecsIntact capabilities also cover publishing the project specification. That is the writing job.
Side by side
Two tools, in order.
SpecsIntact while the section is being written. Specset after the book is issued. A description of the sequence, not a ranking.
| Step | SpecsIntact | Specset |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Write and edit the UFGS section | Read the issued specification |
| File | UFGS masters and SpecsIntact sections | The published PDF |
| Editing | Bracketed options, tailoring, and revisions | Does not edit the UFGS section |
| After issue | The edited section is the project text | Later amendments merged into the base section |
| Submittals | Submittal Wizard, then a register export | A draft log with section, paragraph, type, and submit date |
| Conflicts | QA reports while the section is edited | Section against section, and the spec against the drawings |
| Packages and questions | Submittal requirements carried in the published section | Submittal review, and a proposed RFI response |
UFGS software
UFGS software for the work after the book is issued.
Specset picks up the issued file. The parser is the start. The conflict check, the log, the review, and the proposed RFI response all read the text it builds.
Merge what landed after the book.
Addenda and special provisions fold into the base section, oldest to newest, so later work reads one governing text. That conformed section is the record spec intelligence keeps.
Read the book against itself, and against the drawings.
SpecsIntact quality assurance reports stay with the section while it is edited. They check references, brackets, and submittals. Specset reads the finished book for conflicts inside it, section against section, including contradictory requirements across sections, and for conflicts between the specification and the design drawings. Design quality review is that pass.
Draft the register from the sections
Specset reads the submittal requirements in the finished sections and drafts a log your team can edit before anything is filed.
Check the package. Draft the response.
Submittal review checks a package against the conformed section. On a field question, RFIs and revisions draft a proposed response against that section and the current sheets. The reviewer keeps the disposition.
Submittal log
What UFGS 01 33 00 names, and what the draft stores.
UFGS 01 33 00 Submittal Procedures assigns the submittal descriptions. The SD numbers and titles are set by the SpecsIntact Configuration, Control, and Coordinating Board, and the section says not to change them. Specset reads the submittal requirements listed under each SD heading. It uses those titles on a draft only when the project’s type list is set to them.
- SD-01Preconstruction Submittals
- SD-02Shop Drawings
- SD-03Product Data
- SD-04Samples
- SD-05Design Data
- SD-06Test Reports
- SD-07Certificates
- SD-08Manufacturer's Instructions
- SD-09Manufacturer's Field Reports
- SD-10Operation and Maintenance Data
- SD-11Closeout Submittals
What UFGS 01 33 00 defines for the register.
UFGS 01 33 00 is where the project submittal register is defined. The Government fills the specification section, the SD number and type, one principal paragraph, and the approving authority. The contractor fills in the activity number, the submit date, the approval-needed-by date, and the material-needed-by date. Paragraph 1.9.1 says to retain those four contractor columns as approved. On a USACE contract that register is ENG Form 4288, and it is kept in the Resident Management System (RMS) when the contract requires RMS.
Classification follows the section: Government Approved (G) and For Information Only (FIO). Design-build sections also use Designer of Record approval (DA), Government conformance review (CR), and the combined DA/CR and DA/GA marks. For Army projects on RMS, the code after G is the approving authority: AE, DO, AO, RO, or PO. The same section tells the specifier to export the submittal register from SpecsIntact at the end of design, and it shows how that SpecsIntact file is pulled into RMS. Specset's log is a separate draft. It records the section, the paragraph, a type from the project's type list, whether the row is for record only, and the submit date.
Other books
The same parser on other spec books.
UFGS is the federal case. Caltrans and WSDOT specifications, and non-standard project manuals, go through the same parser. Format detail for those books lives on UFGS and DOT specs.
Common questions
Specset and SpecsIntact.
01Does Specset work with SpecsIntact?
Specset reads the UFGS spec books SpecsIntact produces. Specset reads that finished book after it is issued, reviews submittals against the conformed section, and drafts a proposed RFI response against that section and the current sheets. Specset does not connect to SpecsIntact.
02Is Specset a SpecsIntact alternative?
No. SpecsIntact stays the tool for writing and editing the UFGS section, including tailoring and bracketed options. Specset reads the finished project specification and works from that text. Keep SpecsIntact for the book. Use Specset after the book is issued.
03Does Specset replace SpecsIntact quality assurance reports?
No. Keep those reports on the section while it is written. Specset adds a pass over the finished book: contradictory requirements from one section to another, and conflicts between the specification and the drawings.
04Does Specset integrate with SpecsIntact?
No. Publish the project specification the way you already do, then upload that file. Specset does not open a SpecsIntact job, and it does not write back to one.
05Which submittal descriptions does a Specset UFGS log use?
Specset reads the submittal requirements from each UFGS section, including the SD headings, and drafts rows with the section, the paragraph, a type, and the submit date. The type comes from the project’s submittal type list. A project can set that list to the SD-01 through SD-11 titles. The default list uses labels such as Preconstruction Submittal, Product Data, Shop Drawing, and Concrete Mix Design. The draft does not carry the classification, the approving authority, or the contractor dates other than the submit date.
06Can Specset read a specification that was not produced in SpecsIntact?
Yes. Upload the published PDF. A SpecsIntact job is not required.
07Is Specset SpecsIntact AI?
No. Specset is separate software. It parses the issued specification and runs agents on that text for a submittal log, a submittal review, and a proposed RFI response. It is not a feature inside SpecsIntact.
Finished book
Bring the specification SpecsIntact already published.
A UFGS book, a DOT specification, or a project manual that follows neither. The walkthrough starts from that file.