In this module, we are going to focus on the requirements for inserting and managing
Tailoring Options within a Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) Master
. Tailoring Options are designed to make project specification editing easier.
We tailor specifications to allow the selection of an agency or agencies, project
methods such as Design-Bid-Build or Design-Build, location, and/or products.
Tailoring allows the designer or editor to exclude various requirements, thereby
pre-editing a guide specification to remove requirements that do not exist in the project
and simplify customization.
Use Tailoring Options when alternative but equal systems or requirements appear
throughout the guide specification, such as when one agency has an automated system and
the other agencies do not.
Other examples would be to choose between iron, copper, or plastic pipes or selecting
one or two paint systems out of 30.
For the purpose of this training exercise, I removed all of the existing Tailoring Options
to demonstrate the various lessons for inserting them within the Master
Specification Section.
Before we begin our lesson, I would like to review some guidelines you should follow when
adding new Tailoring Options.
First, keep the Tailoring Option name simple and do not make them too long, as they should
only be one to three words.
Secondly, avoid using additional punctuation marks, such as commas or slashes.
Commas separate, and define multiple Tailoring Options and must not be used as
part of the Tailoring Option.
For instance, when adding "PIPES,COPPER", it would create two Tailoring Options, one for
Pipes and the other for Copper over the same text.
This would also be true when adding agency-specific Tailoring.
Lastly, avoid using acronyms as much as possible; spell it out so it is easy to
understand. If you cannot avoid using acronyms, then define them in the General
Note at the beginning of the Section.
Let's start by adding Tailoring Options.
When adding Tailoring Options, you will always start by selecting the item to tailor
first. We are going to begin by adding a Tailoring Option for Air Force, Army, and
NASA around 1.1, 1.1.1, and 1.1.2.
Let's go ahead and highlight the three subparts.
As you see, I started highlighting before the beginning tag and stopped
highlighting after the ending tag.
To insert a Tailoring Option, we can either select the Insert Menu
and select Tailoring, Add Tailoring Option or we can mouse-over the highlighted area,
right-click and select Insert Tailoring.
Before we start adding the Tailoring Options, let's discuss the Tailoring Options
window. The field below Tailoring Option is where you would enter the new Tailoring
Option. The area directly below is where the existing Tailoring Options within a Section
would be listed.
The field below Current Options will display the details of an active Tailoring Option.
In order to see this information, your cursor must be positioned within a current
Tailoring Option in order to add or remove Tailoring Options.
Now that you understand the functions of the Tailoring Option window, let's enter "
AIR FORCE,ARMY,NASA". Previously, I mentioned that commas are used to define multiple
tailoring options, so as I was entering the new Tailoring Options, I separated each one
with a comma and no space.
Now that we have the Tailoring Options entered, select OK.
The font color of a Tailoring Option is teal, which distinguishes it from other
elements within a Section.
In some cases, Tailoring Options can often encompass large amounts of text, so you're
not always sure what Tailoring Option you may be reviewing or editing.
You can simply mouse-over the text to see the Tailoring Option.
Let's navigate to subpart 1.5.1.
Within the paragraph, I would like to add a Tailoring Option for Hydrants.
In the last sentence of the paragraph, I'm going to place my cursor before the word
"and", and enter "hydrants, ".
Now I'm going to highlight "hydrants, " and the following comma and space.
When adding Tailoring Options, always make sure to include the appropriate punctuation
and spacing within the Tailoring tags so that when they are removed, the designer or
editor does not have to go through the Section correcting the punctuation and
spacing. Now let's right-click and select Insert Tailoring, enter
HYDRANTS and select OK.
When you need to add multiple Tailoring Options within a paragraph, pay close
attention to the punctuation and spacing and always test your work to ensure proper
alignment. To do this, either go to the View Menu and select Tailoring, or right-click on
an area of a Section that does not contain Tailoring tags, and select View Tailoring
. From the Tailoring Options window, you will click on the Tailoring Option you want to
temporarily hide, so let's click on "HYDRANTS" and select OK.
As we examine the paragraph, we no longer see 'hydrants' as the option was hidden and is no
longer a part of the sentence, and the punctuation and spacing is correct.
Always make sure to Unhide them as you complete your testing.
Now I'd like to show you the correct way to add Tailoring Options around the last
paragraph of a subpart so the Tailoring Tag encompasses the blank line.
Let's navigate to subpart 2.3.2 and scroll up so we can see the
last paragraph.
Now place your cursor before the beginning tag and highlight, stopping just before
the ending tag.
Right-click and select Insert Tailoring.
Below the Tailoring Option, let's enter "SERVICE LINES", and
select OK or press Enter.
Making sure that you include the proper spacing within the Tailoring tag prevents
unnecessary cleanup once the Tailoring Options are removed.
In some cases, you may find that you need to modify an existing Tailoring Option to either
remove one of the options, add an option, or red-line an existing option.
Most users think that they have to delete the existing Tailoring Option and then
reinsert it, which can be time consuming, frustrating, and unnecessary.
In order to demonstrate the best approach, let's navigate to subpart 3.2.1.
Before we begin, I wanted to bring your attention to the placement of the Tailoring
tag. Normally, the tag would be placed in front of the beginning tag, but in this
case, there is a Technical Note that needed to accompany the text paragraph, so in this
case, the Tailoring tag began before the beginning tag and ended before the
beginning tag of the following paragraph.
When the Tailoring is removed or hidden, both the Technical Note and associated paragraph
will be also.
Let's go ahead and modify the Tailoring Option.
As you see, we currently have a Tailoring tag for AIR FORCE, ARMY and NASA, but we need
to change NASA to NAVY.
This is a two-step process in order to remove one option and add the other option.
In order to do this, place the cursor within the Tailoring Option, go to the
Insert Menu, select Tailoring, and choose Remove Tailoring
Options. When the Remove Tailoring Options window opens, the Tailoring Options will be
displayed below Current Option.
Before making changes, always verify these are the ones you want to modify.
Let's go ahead and select NASA and select OK.
As we examine the Tailoring tag, you will see that it now only reflects AIR FORCE and
ARMY. Now we are going to add Navy.
So let's go back to the Insert Menu, select Tailoring, Add
Tailoring Options, and enter NAVY, then select
OK. The Tailoring tag now reflects AIR FORCE,ARMY,NAVY.
Modifying the Tailoring tag is much better than going through the trouble of deleting
the tag and adding it back in.
As we continue, we are going to use a different technique to Tailor the last
paragraph of this subpart for Air Force, Army, and NASA.
Let's position our cursor before the beginning tag and highlight, stopping
just before the beginning <SPT =3.2.1.1.1 tag
. Mouse-over the highlighted area, right-click and select Insert Tailoring.
This time, we are going to select the Tailoring Options from the list.
Just as in Windows Explorer, we can use the Shift key to select consecutive options or
the Ctrl key to select Non-consecutive options.
Let's go ahead and hold down the Ctrl key and select AIR FORCE, ARMY,
and NASA.
Now release the Ctrl Key and select OK.
As you see, we have all three options within our tag.
With a Formatted Table, you should apply them to the entire table and they must be
positioned correctly.
The beginning tag must be on the same line as the Formatted Tables beginning
tag and the ending tag must follow the ending tag.
As we complete this lesson, I would like to stress how important it is to test Tailoring
Options after insertion in order to ensure the proper spacing.
Since Tailoring is so complex, we cannot provide examples of all the different
applications in which you may need to insert Tailoring, but now you have the foundation to
insert them properly.
When preparing a UFGS Master, it is imperative that you refer to the Unified
Facilities Criteria (UFC) Unified Facility Guide Specifications (UFGS) Format Standard
UFC 1-300-02.
A link to this document is provided on the e-Learning Modules page under the Resources
section. This completes the lesson on Inserting and Managing Tailoring Options
within a UFGS Master Section.
To learn more, please continue to the next module of your choice.