Division 27—Communications
This division basically covers traditional IT items (structured cable, data and
voice systems) as well as audio visual and specialty communications systems.
It also deals with inside and outside cable and cable pathways, telecommuni-
cations services, and gets as granular as printers, virus protection software,
disaster recovery, and even virtual reality equipment. This is also the division
that covers a wide range of specialty systems such as nurse call, sound
masking, RFID, intercom and paging systems, digital signage, clocks, and
point-of-sale, among others.
Division 28—Electronic Safety and Security
This is essentially the life safety division where access control, video surveil-
lance, intrusion detection, detection of radiation, fuel, refrigerant and gas,
and fire alarm detection reside. Each of the sections within a division is
presented or written in three parts:
General—This part lays out the administrative and procedural require-
ments for the contractor on the job.
Products—This part lists the equipment, materials and products required
for the system and job.
Execution—This part describes how the products and equipment are to be
installed, post-installation requirements, documentation, and so on.Drawings
The other half of the construction document is the plans or drawings, an inte-
gral component to convey the design intent of the systems. The drawings show
locations, relationships, dimensions and detail. The design drawings are also
organized and standardized. Drawings, or a drawing set, are typically
organized by discipline (e.g., civil, structural, electrical, telecommunications),
and then further by type of drawings (e.g., plan, elevation, section).
Note that drawings may also be prepared during construction by the con-
tractor; these are called “shop drawings” and are used to show how equipment
may be fabricated or installed (Fig. 13.3).
Manufacturers of integrated building system products need to understand
how their products can be specified on a job. In addition, they must provide
information regarding their products in a MasterFormat format rather than
the traditional product data sheet. This indicates that the manufacturer
148 Smart Building Systems for Architects, Owners, and Builders