Design and Construction Standards

Introduction

The Penn State Design and Construction Standards (hereinafter referred to as the Standards) have been prepared by the Office of the Physical Plant (OPP) to direct the design approach and specifications for construction projects.  These Standards are the result of considerable experience in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a substantial number of physical facilities. It is intended that the content of the Standards be applied in the preparation of documents for the design and construction of new buildings and renovations to existing physical facilities. These Standards are to be applied to the work of all Professionals including Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Vendors, Commissioning Agents, and any other entities performing work under an OPP Design & Construction contract.

Interpretation of the Standards and Conflict Resolution

Some content within the Standards is presented as a strict requirement and shall be adopted into a project’s execution without exception. However, the Standards should not be considered an exhaustive execution plan for all project applications. Where prescriptive requirements on a particular subject are absent, the Standard communicates the University’s priorities and preferences to provide the Professional with a framework for decision-making. If the Professional believes that a specific situation requires a deviation from the established Standards, the Professional shall discuss such a deviation with the OPP Project Leader and request in writing that a waiver be approved.

Other Codes and Regulations

The Professional shall design the project in compliance with all applicable Federal, State and Local codes, ordinances, laws and other regulations which have jurisdiction over the construction. If any of the above are at variance with the material in the Standards, the most demanding requirements shall be observed. The Professional shall note that due to the size and breadth of operations, the University is subject to codes and regulations that are not normally encountered in typical construction projects.

Quality Assurance

All buildings and other facilities associated with the University shall be designed and constructed with quality components specified to provide maximum life-cycle usefulness. The University establishes the total project budget including the maximum funds available for construction. The Professional is charged to monitor program requirements and cost estimates to assure that the project is designed within available funding and that it does not deviate from the quality requirements established in the Standards.

Sustainability

The University has a commitment to environmental stewardship and requires the maximum practical use of sustainable and energy-efficient designs and specifications for architectural, site, utility, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work. Refer to 01 80 00 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS for the University's high-performance requirements which often exceed building code minimums. The Professional should be aware that all designs will be reviewed by the University within this context.

Location-Specific Applicability

The Standards apply to all University locations and facilities unless indicated otherwise.

Hershey Medical Center

As a fully functioning healthcare institution, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (MSHMC) occupies a unique position within the University system. The Penn State College of Medicine (COM) maintains separate Design and Construction Standards that address healthcare-specific requirements, which may be found on the Penn State Health website (https://www.pennstatehealth.org/about-us/facilities/contractor-resources-hmc-com). All MSHMC projects shall comply with the OPP Standards in addition to the COM Standards. Where a discrepancy exists between these two Standards, the Professional shall identify the discrepancy and contact both the OPP Project Leader and the D&C Standards Administrator.

Penn State Health

Penn State Health (PSH) is a network of University-affiliated community health care facilities. Most PSH facilities are not located on an established University campus and do not necessitate the institutional-level design and construction requirements provided by the OPP Standards. As a result, projects at all PSH facilities are exempt from the OPP Standards. Penn State Health maintains separate Design and Construction Standards which can be found on the Penn State Health website (https://www.pennstatehealth.org/about-us/facilities/contractor-resources-hmc-com).

Applied Research Laboratory

The Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) maintains several facilities across University and non-University properties. All ARL projects directed by OPP Project Leaders shall conform to the OPP Standards. Due to the sensitivity of their mission, ARL projects have enhanced security requirements beyond the scope of the OPP Standards. Most of these security requirements are related to communications/network security and product compliance with the Trade Agreement Act. Additional project requirements may be provided by ARL Personnel once the Professional is awarded an ARL contract. The awarded Professional shall work with the OPP Project Leader and ARL Personnel to resolve any discrepancies between the OPP Standards and ARL requirements.

Organization of the Standards

The Standards are organized in a manner consistent with the Construction Specification Institute's MasterFormat - 2004 edition. Content is arranged in 50 Divisions (00 through 49), although some Divisions are reserved for future use:

Division 00 - Procurement and Contracting Requirements: Documents practices related to the purchase of goods and services for the purpose of planning, design, and construction of physical facilities. Content includes design contract agreements, construction contract general terms and conditions, and forms/tools for administering contracts.

Division 01 - General Requirements: Describes technical project requirements that overlap multiple building trades/systems including project documentation, space planning, site layout, codes and regulations, and building performance requirements.

Division 02 - Existing Conditions: Describes technical project requirements related to a project site prior to the start of work including demolition, hazardous material abatement, and site remediation.

Divisions 03 through 49: Describe technical requirements related to a specific building trade or system. Note that not all Divisions are assigned or used within the Standards.

Revisions to the Standards

Improvements in design and construction methods, technological advancements, and changes to the University's priorities and preferences all necessitate continuous revisions to the Standards by OPP Personnel. Professionals that would like to suggest a beneficial change to the Standards or identify a published error may submit these requests to OPP_DES@psu.edu. All proposed changes to the Standards are reviewed by a committee consisting of the Standards Coordinator and the Owner(s) of the associated technical subject matter. After review and approval, the revision will be published to the Standards.

Before starting a project for the University, all Professionals shall ensure that they review the Standards and note any recent updates from their most recent project. The Professional is responsible for executing their contract using the version of the Standard as it existed on the day the contract was signed. Version control of the Standards is available using the "Version History" tool within the Confluence interface.

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Previous versions of the standards (before August 2017) have been archived in the Revision Log and Archive.