Spec sheet

In short

• A spec sheet describes one product or one product series with its technical data. It comes from the manufacturer, and one sheet can cover a whole series.

• It covers dimensions, materials, ratings, norms, certificates, options and order codes. The order code names the exact variant.

• Wholesalers use it to choose a product, to prove that an alternative is equivalent, to build submittals and to answer technical questions in a quote.

Example

An LV names a pipe by its dimensions, its wall thickness and a norm. A wholesaler offers another brand as an or equal product. To prove the match, it sends the spec sheet of the offered product to the planner. The planner compares the dimensions, the norm and the material on the sheet with the text of the LV. Where the LV names a Leitfabrikat, the equivalence has to be shown with the bid, and the sheet is the evidence for it.

In German wholesale, product data also travels as structured data, for example BMEcat with ETIM features. A tool for reading such files is the BMEcat viewer.

What to watch for

• Check the version and the date of the sheet, because manufacturers revise their data.

• Match the exact variant to the order code. A product series contains several variants.

• Compare the properties the LV demands with what the sheet states. If a value is missing, clarify it before you offer.

• Sheets in a tender package are part of the offer, so check them before they go out.

• Keep the version that was used for the offer on file, so that the offered product can be traced later.

Not to be confused with

• Submittal: the approval package of a US construction project. A spec sheet is one document inside it.

• Ausschreibungstext: the description of the work in a tender. A spec sheet describes a product.

• Safety data sheet (Sicherheitsdatenblatt): the document for chemicals, not a technical data sheet.

• Product data package: the set of spec sheets that a distributor or a manufacturer’s representative assembles for the products it quotes.