I recently went to another conference outside of CSI. Yep, they do exist. It was on Health Care Project Delivery #HCPD. It was a 2 day conference, and the first day was very well done. The better part of the morning was spent at educational round tables that doubled as Networking Opportunities. I won’t make the same mistake as I did on the DIY bench and promise a part 2 on the subject. But in a future blog I would like to visit some of the ideas presented at the conference. I took a lot of notes, so I’m sure I can pull something together. However, I did want to visit acronyms and abbreviations.

This was my first time attending a conference of this style. During one of the presentations an abbreviation was used. It was ‘P3’, it was even on a slide. Now, I’ve seen all of the others related to project delivery DBB (Design-Bid-Build), DB (Design/Build), CMaR (Construction Manager at Risk) and IDP (Integrated Project Delivery). You get the point, and there are several other methods of project delivery. Why am I spelling these out, so if you are new to them, this article will make sense. However, I could not wrap my mind around what P3 stood for. On another slide it was written out ‘PPP’, well that was about as close as it came during the conference to spelling it out. I finally googled it, since it was mentioned at least a half dozen times. I hope more of you know what this is than I did, but it is simply ‘Public-Private Partnership’. 

There is a really good overview one the project delivery at Wikipedia. If you are not familiar with it, I would suggest reading it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public–private_partnership 

This got me thinking about all of the acronyms or abbreviations we use in our industry and life. Back in the days of manual drafting, when we (OK, I) would letter my drawings the fewer words, the better. Some of the architectural classics are still around.

• BOT – Bottom
• BRG – Bearing
• CL – Center Line
• COL – Column
• CPT – Carpet
• DET – Detail (I’ve also seen DTL)
• EA – Each
• GB – Gypsum Board
• OH – Opposite Hand
• REV – Revision
• TOP – Top of Parapet (one of my favorites, the acronym is the first word)
• W/ - With
• W/O - Without
• W/C – Water Closet (these W's favor the slash... go figure)

You get the point, the full list is part of the National CAD standards. If you still include abbreviations on an information page, I would encourage referencing these standards. It save a half a sheet in your drawing set. But one of the things I started to do about 15 years ago, and really took full swing with my use of Revit. Was to write the word out on my drawings. It started because I on the computer, I realized I could be clear if I write it out. So it is very rare that I use an abbreviation. I believe this is a good approach when communicating your intent. No reason to write in code, if you can help it. I encourage others to look into this an adopt the practice. Who knows, it may save you one RFI in the future.

But just as I leave this behind in my drawings. It has crept into mine and everyone else’s text messaging. Even some of the fasted thumbs texting (yep, I’m talking about my daughters) retreat to using texting acronyms. But why not, it communicates the emotion and tone which can be lost in text alone. And to take the tone one step further, is the emoticon. Now, I’m one to over use these in texting, but I think that is because I love graphics and it appeals to hidden artist in me. At the end of the day, it is always best to find balance in what you write and follow the CSI practice of CCC. Clear, Concise & Correct.

Until next time… LOL & BRB

…and now for something completely different.
There are more collect calls on Father’s Day than on any other day of the year.