Glossary
STLB-Bau (German standard specification texts)
STLB-Bau (Standardleistungsbuch für das Bauwesen) is a digital, dynamic text system with standard wording for VOB-compliant tender texts. Its texts are organised by trade.
In short
STLB-Bau (Standardleistungsbuch für das Bauwesen) is a digital, dynamic text system for VOB-compliant tender texts. Its texts are organised by Leistungsbereiche, that is by trade.
DIN publishes it. Working groups of the GAEB (Gemeinsamer Ausschuss Elektronik im Bauwesen) write the content. GAEB has provided it since 1996. Dr. Schiller & Partner GmbH implements the data, and DIN Bauportal GmbH operates the portal.
Planners build a Langtext from it by choosing options. The result is standardised wording.
Example
A planner who writes a heating or plumbing LV opens the Leistungsbereich for the trade and chooses the options that fit the job. The result is a Langtext with standard wording. The options are the choices built into the text, and the planner decides which of them apply to the job. That wording stays the same across LVs, which helps matching.
The text is product-neutral. The product is therefore derived from its properties: dimensions, norms and classes. A wholesaler who reads such a text for a radiator looks for the radiator that meets those properties. A Leitfabrikat is different: it names one product. Because the text is product-neutral, the same text can be matched to products from different manufacturers.
The GAEB file format that carries these texts is explained in the GAEB guide.
What to watch for
STLB texts are product-neutral. Derive the product from dimensions, norms and classes, not from a brand name.
The same wording across LVs helps matching.
Read the Langtext of the LV itself. Options chosen by the planner change the wording, so two LVs can read differently.
Know whether an LV uses STLB texts or manufacturers’ own Ausschreibungstexte before you match products.
Not to be confused with
GAEB DA XML: the file format for exchanging LVs. It is not a text system.
Leistungsbereiche: the trade chapters of the text system. They organise the text and are not item types. See Positionsarten.
Manufacturers’ Ausschreibungstexte: texts written by the manufacturer. They are an alternative source, not the STLB text system.
Related terms
Kurztext and Langtext (short and long text)
Kurztext and Langtext are the two texts of every item in a German bill of quantities. The Kurztext is a one-line label, and the Langtext is the full description of the work with material, dimensions, norms and scope.
Leistungsbeschreibung (statement of work in a German tender)
A Leistungsbeschreibung describes the work being tendered. It is the umbrella term: a Leistungsverzeichnis, with quantities for each item, is one form of it, and a Leistungsprogramm, with goals and requirements, is the other.
Or equal (brand name or equal)
Or equal (brand name or equal) is a specification clause that names a product as the standard and allows an equal product that meets the salient characteristics stated in the specification. The offer has to identify the product it offers.
Positionsarten (item types in a German bill of quantities)
Positionsarten are the item types of a German bill of quantities, such as normal, base, alternative and provisional items. The type decides whether an item counts toward the bid total.
TGA (building services, MEP)
TGA (building services, MEP) is the Technische Gebäudeausrüstung of a building: its technical systems, from water, gas and wastewater pipes to heating, ventilation, electrical power and building automation.
MasterFormat (CSI)
MasterFormat is the system of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) for numbering and organising the specifications of construction projects in the US and Canada. It has 50 divisions, 00 to 49.