MIL-HDBK-1110
the job site. Storage must provide for protection of materials
from deterioration, as well as conformance to prevailing safety
and environmental regulations. Spill kits must be present and
procedures established to clean up spills, and any hazardous
waste generated must be stored and disposed of in accordance with
local regulations.
8.3.1.7
Site Conditions. The site conditions must be
completely and correctly defined. Variations from the
description of the site conditions generally cause costly changes
in the specification. They may concern the size or scope of the
work, the extent of corrosion or coating deterioration, the
construction or coating materials, or other things that affect
the work to be done. Some specification writers do not examine
the job site but rely on drawings on file that may not be
current. Additions significantly increasing the level of effort
may have occurred since the drawing was made. The Federal
Government does not require inspection of the job site before
bidding, because it might be unduly costly to bidders located in
other geographical areas. Thus, bidding may not be as precise as
if the site were inspected. In fact, some bidders deliberately
do not inspect the work site in hope of finding variations that
would bring additional money to them.
Another common error is to underestimate the amount of
loose, deteriorated coating that must be removed in maintenance
painting. Loose paint is generally not well defined. The best
definition is probably paint that can be removed with a dull
putty knife.
Recently, a number of contracts have been awarded that
involve the removal of paint containing lead, chromium, asbestos,
or some other toxic material. Such paints must be identified as
containing hazardous material before the contract is advertised.
8.3.2
Products Part. The products part of a specification
includes requirements for materials to be used. This may include
abrasives and other cleaning materials and thinners, as well as
coating materials. Historically, materials with proven
performance and low life-cycle costs were usually chosen. Now,
most heavily populated areas require lead- and chromate-free
coatings that are low in VOCs. These are frequently more
difficult to apply than earlier formulations, have had very
little field testing, and thus may provide shorter term
protection.
Paint products are always best procured using a
specification or a specific brand name, if this is permitted and
if the product has data showing good field performance. Many
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