What is technical disclosure?

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Technical briefings are a highly important technical management task for construction companies. Their purpose is to enable the technicians and workers involved in the installation work to become familiar with and understand the characteristics of the project they are working on, its design intent, technical requirements, construction methods, as well as the issues that need attention. Given the inherent complexities, continuity, and variability of installation project construction, installation companies at all levels must strictly implement a responsibility system for technical briefings, and strengthen construction quality inspection, supervision, and management in order to improve construction quality. I. Tasks and objectives of technical briefing: In the process of turning construction blueprints into actual physical structures, it is essential, within the framework of project organization and management, that every technical professional involved in the construction work understands the specific conditions under which the work will be carried out, the organizational aspects of the construction, the detailed technical requirements, as well as the key technical measures that need to be implemented. It is also important for them to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire construction process and the critical areas involved, so that the quality of the construction meets the standards set by the construction acceptance regulations. For every worker involved in the construction work, technical briefings enable them to understand the specific tasks related to the particular sections of work they are responsible for, as well as the methods of operation, construction techniques, quality standards, and safety precautions. This ensures that workers know exactly what is expected of them. Through such briefings, it becomes clear how different roles should cooperate with each other and how tasks should be handed over smoothly, thereby facilitating orderly construction, reducing various quality issues, and improving the overall quality of the work. Therefore, when carrying out a construction project, it is necessary to provide technical briefings with different focuses and levels of technical detail to the personnel at various levels involved in the work. Especially for key projects, critical parts of projects, special projects, as well as those involving the adoption and application of new technologies, new processes, new materials, and new structures, it is even more necessary to provide comprehensive, clearly focused, and detailed technical instructions during the technical briefing. II. Classification of technical briefings Technical briefings are generally provided to construction workers at different levels, depending on factors such as the difficulty of the construction work, the scale of the installation project, and the complexity of the structure ； The content and depth of the technical instructions also vary. 1. Design briefing. The design unit carries out the engineering design in accordance with the **basic construction policies and guidelines as well as relevant design standards. After approval by the local construction committee and relevant departments, the designers provide technical instructions to the construction team regarding the design intent, drawing requirements, technical specifications, construction precautions, and special requirements for key sections. 2. The chief engineer or senior engineer of the construction unit provides technical instructions on the implementation of the construction plan to the person in charge of the construction team or work area. 3. The construction team leader or the person in charge of the construction site (project manager) provides technical instructions to the persons in charge of individual construction units, quality inspectors, safety officers, and other relevant staff members. 4. The person in charge of the specific construction project or the chief technical engineer provides technical instructions to the team leaders and workers of various trades. III. Requirements and contents of technical instructions for installation project construction l. Requirements for technical instructions ⑴ The technical instructions for project construction must comply with the relevant provisions of the installation project construction and acceptance specifications, technical operation procedures (process standards for individual tasks), and quality inspection and evaluation standards. At the same time, it must also comply with the relevant regulations and guidelines set by various industries, as well as the specific local policies and laws of the province (region/municipality) where it is located. ⑵ The technical instructions for construction work must comply with **all relevant technical standards, including units of measurement and names. Some construction companies also establish internal standards, such as construction procedure standards for specific installation tasks and construction management standards, etc. These enterprise standards should be carefully implemented during the technical briefing. ⑶ The technical instructions must also meet all the technical requirements specified in the design and construction drawings. In particular, when the technical requirements and standards outlined in the drawings are higher than those set out in the relevant construction and acceptance specifications, more detailed instructions and explanations must be provided. ⑷ It shall conform to and reflect the intentions and specific requirements outlined in the technical instructions provided by the higher-level technical leader. ⑸ All requirements of the construction organization plan or construction scheme must be met and implemented, including technical measures and construction schedule requirements. ⑹ For construction workers at different levels, the depth and level of technical instructions vary; in other words, the content of these instructions as well as the way in which they are presented need to be tailored to each group of workers. ⑺ The technical instructions should be comprehensive and clear, highlighting the key points ； It should be specified in detail how to proceed, what standards must be followed, what the technical requirements are, and construction methods, quality standards, and safety precautions should all be outlined explicitly without any ambiguity. ⑻ New technologies, new processes, and new materials used in construction should be explained in detail, along with specific instructions on how to create sample rooms and other related matters. 2. Contents of construction technical instructions 2.1 The technical instructions provided by the chief engineer or senior engineer of the construction company to the person in charge of the construction team or work area should cover the following main aspects: ① Overview of the project and various technical and economic parameters and requirements ； ② Main construction methods, key construction techniques, and problems encountered during implementation ； ③ Technical treatment details and precautions for special engineering sections ； ④ Construction technical requirements, implementation plans, and precautions for new technologies, new processes, new materials, etc ； ⑤ Construction organization design: network plan, schedule requirements, construction layout, construction machinery, labor arrangement and organization ； ⑥ The cooperative relationship between the general contractor and subcontractors, as well as between the civil engineering works and the installation work, and the handling of related issues ； ⑦ Adhere to construction quality standards and safety techniques, and make use of standardized procedures such as those promoted by the company wherever possible. 2.2 The technical instructions given by the technical supervisor of the construction team to the person in charge of the unit project, quality inspectors, and safety officers include the following aspects: ① General description of the project, as well as local topography, geomorphology, engineering geology, and various technical and economic indicators ； ② Specific requirements, construction methods, and difficulty level of the design drawings ； ③ The specific requirements for the construction organization design or construction plan, as well as the steps and methods for its implementation ； ④ What are the specific methods used during construction, what process standards are applied, and which construction techniques from the company are utilized? ； Key areas and potential problems encountered during implementation along with solutions ； ⑤ Construction schedule requirements, sequence of tasks, construction planning, and assignment of tasks to construction teams ； ⑥ Issues related to the main types and quantities of construction machinery used in the construction, as well as their arrival dates and the scheduling of operations ； ⑦ Operating procedures, technical specifications, and precautions related to new processes, new structures, and new materials ； ⑧ Construction quality standards and specific safety technical measures, as well as precautions. 2.3 The content of the technical instructions provided by the person in charge of a particular construction project or the chief technical engineer to the team leaders and workers of various trades should include the following aspects: ① It is necessary to clarify the specific technical requirements for each sub-project that is to be constructed by a particular team, as well as the construction standards to be followed or the internal methods employed by the company ； ② Construction quality standards for various sub-projects and elements ； ③ Prevention methods for common quality problems and relevant precautions ； ④ Explanation of construction safety measures, as well as an overview of the safety accidents that have occurred in similar projects in the past and the specific safety strategies that should be adopted. The content of this book is mainly prepared for the third type of construction technique briefing. IV. Methods for Implementing Technical Instructions for Construction Project Installation The common methods for implementing technical instructions include the following: 1. Meeting-based instruction The chief engineer or senior engineer of the construction company provides technical instructions to the team leaders or supervisors in the construction areas, usually through technical meetings. These meetings are chaired by the company’s chief engineer or senior engineer, with participation from the company’s technical, safety, and quality control departments, as well as team leaders, deputy team leaders, and engineers specializing in various fields. Thoroughly prepare the technical briefing materials in advance, and conduct technical presentations and briefings during meetings. The construction organization plan or construction scheme for the project is presented in detail, along with specific methods and requirements for its implementation. The technical department then provides a detailed explanation of the key aspects of the construction scheme, including specific requirements regarding the construction schedule. The quality control and safety departments offer detailed explanations regarding construction quality and technical safety measures. The technical deputy leader of the construction team and the engineers in various specialties put forward specific requirements regarding issues that were unclear in the technical instructions or posed significant difficulties during implementation, including problems related to the construction site, construction machinery, scheduling of construction activities, construction plans, division of work phases, labor allocation, and construction techniques. The meeting should address technical issues one by one and make the necessary arrangements. 2. Written instructions: The project’s technical supervisor shall provide technical instructions to the team leaders and workers involved in the work. It is important to use written forms for these instructions, not only because written technical documentation is an essential part of the construction project’s technical records and should be archived after the construction is completed, but also because it serves as an important means of clarifying technical responsibilities. In particular, in the event of serious quality issues, it acts as a key indicator for identifying those who are technically responsible. The person in charge of the specific construction project shall, based on the construction organization plan or construction scheme for that project, as well as the technical instructions provided by higher-level technical supervisors, and in accordance with the relevant technical provisions, quality standards, and safety requirements outlined in the construction and acceptance specifications and regulations, along with the company’s own methods and operating procedures, take into account the specific conditions of this project. Then, according to the different components of the project, and referring to the technical standards for each component, he/she shall prepare detailed written technical instructions. These instructions should be prepared in multiple copies (usually five copies) and delivered to the workers. After receiving the instructions, the team leader should sign the instruction record. Two copies are handed over to the work crew for implementation, one is stored in the site’s technical archives, and one is kept by the technical personnel. After receiving the technical instructions, the team leader must organize all team members to study and discuss them carefully, so as to clarify the process flow and key points of construction operations, the requirements for task handover, quality standards, technical measures, methods for protecting finished products, ways to prevent common quality issues, as well as safety precautions. Subsequently, based on the project schedule and the team’s labor force and technical capabilities, responsibilities should be assigned within the team, along with clear guidelines for cooperation, in order to develop a plan that ensures the successful completion of all tasks. In the absence of technical instructions and clear construction objectives, with only design drawings and construction procedure sheets provided, team leaders or workers can refuse to start working, as this does not conform to the normal procedures for construction work. 3. Submission of construction samples: When new technologies, new processes, or new materials are used for the first time, as a precaution, the method of submitting samples can also be employed for certain sub-projects within the installation work. The so-called sample demonstration refers to the process of, in accordance with the technical requirements and specific procedures outlined in the design drawings, and by drawing on similar construction methods as well as experience gained from site visits, creating a sample that meets excellent quality standards on a particular physical structure, a specific construction step, or a sample piece within the installation project. This is done by experienced workers with high technical skills within the company, so that it can serve as a model for other workers to learn from. It enables these workers to understand the characteristics, properties, and differences of new technologies, processes, and materials used throughout the construction process, as well as to master the necessary operational techniques and be familiar with the steps involved in the construction process along with the relevant quality standards. Since this kind of explanation is relatively intuitive and easy to understand, it yields good results. 4. Technical instructions for positions: The construction of a particular project consists of various tasks and operations carried out by different workers and positions. Only by ensuring the quality of the work performed by these various positions can the quality of the installation work be guaranteed. Some construction companies establish responsibility systems for workers’ job positions and create operation procedure sheets; based on the specific conditions at the construction site, they provide written instructions to workers regarding their duties at all times, outlining specific requirements for carrying out tasks, including those related to safe operations. V. Issues to be noted in the technical briefing for construction project installation 1. The technical briefing must strictly comply with construction and acceptance standards and regulations; the requirements set out in these standards and regulations, especially the quality standards, must not be altered or omitted arbitrarily. The technical instructions must also meet the requirements specified in the construction organization plan. It is necessary to comprehend and understand the technical requirements outlined in previous technical documents such as those providing higher-level instructions, and it is not allowed to violate the relevant provisions set out in these documents arbitrarily. Detailed meeting minutes should be kept for the meetings held by the company, including the names of the attendees, the date, the contents of the meeting, and any technical decisions made during it. Meeting minutes must be complete; they shall not be lost or torn away arbitrarily, and should be archived as technical documents related to the meeting for long-term storage. All written technical instructions must be reviewed, and drafts must be kept; the handwriting should be neat and clear, and references to materials must be accurate. The issuer, reviewer, and recipient of the written instructions must all sign and stamp them. 2. A construction project consists of multiple sub-projects, and each sub-project is equally important to the overall project; the technical instructions for each sub-project must be comprehensive, thorough, and meticulous. For sub-projects that are large in area, numerous in quantity, and require high technical standards, a more detailed technical briefing is necessary ； Technical briefings should also be conducted with the same care for sub-projects that are relatively sparse, located in special areas, involve concealed work, or have low technical requirements. 3. During the technical briefing, special attention should be paid to the current common problems related to construction quality and work-related accidents within the company; every effort should be made to prevent such issues from arising, thereby stopping construction quality accidents and casualties at their inception. During the technical briefing, potential quality issues and accidents should be prevented, to ensure that the briefing is comprehensive, thorough, and complete. Furthermore, the technical instructions should be provided as early as possible, so that frontline technicians and workers have sufficient time to understand the technical issues outlined in them and prepare in advance, ensuring that the construction workers are well-informed and thus able to complete the construction tasks successfully. 4. Supervision and inspection of technical briefing work. Technical managers at all levels must not assume that everything is fine just because I have already provided oral or written technical briefings. Generally speaking, this is merely the beginning of the information-dissemination process. The bulk of the work involved in this process is to monitor and check the effectiveness of such dissemination. During construction, it is necessary to repeatedly remind field technicians or supervisors to reinforce or highlight the requirements outlined in the technical instructions, based on the specific construction tasks at hand. The \"three-inspection system\" should be strengthened, and inspections during construction must be intensified. Intermediate inspections of the project should be carried out rigorously, and any issues identified should be resolved promptly to avoid quality problems or unnecessary rework. 5. Various methods can be used to convey technical instructions, so that every worker is familiar with and understands the specific details and requirements outlined in them. For example, before the construction of a specific sub-project, the relevant information from the technical instructions can be displayed on the wall in the form of blackboard notices. Re-briefing should be conducted during the pre-work and post-shift arrangements, when assigning tasks and distributing work. For new technologies and new processes, external parties or experienced workers from the same unit should carry out technical demonstration sessions, or provide sample rooms to illustrate the relevant techniques, so that workers can clearly understand the operational steps and have a clear idea of what to do, thereby preventing various quality or safety incidents. 6. Technical briefing is an important part of construction management and an essential step in the construction technical management process. It is a grave mistake to think that technical briefings are outdated procedures – merely a matter of reading from a script in a superficial manner, with no proper follow-up or supervision after the briefing is given. Some believe that this is not a new process or technology, and the workers involved in the construction are experienced ones; as a result, the details of the instructions are simplified, or no instructions are given at all and no inspections are carried out. For some more sporadic types of work, such as embedding components and sheet metal work, no instructions are given, no oversight is provided, and no inspections are carried out. All of the above are widespread, extremely wrong, and constitute the root cause of quality accidents. Thoroughly carrying out technical briefings for construction projects is a prerequisite for ensuring project quality and completing tasks on schedule; it is also a duty that every construction technician must fulfill. VI. Key points of technical instructions for the construction of individual installation tasks: Since a project, especially large and complex installation projects, involves numerous individual tasks that must be completed in phases by different types of work teams. The content of the technical instructions should be determined in accordance with the specific requirements of various sub-projects, based on the technical specifications in the design drawings and the regulations set out in the construction acceptance standards. It is necessary to provide technical instructions with different contents and focuses, taking into account the specific characteristics of different types of work. Installation projects can be classified by specialty into 9 sub-projects, namely pipeline installation, electrical installation, ventilation installation, elevator installation, general mechanical equipment installation, industrial furnace construction, automation instrument installation, steel structure engineering, and container engineering. Each of these sub-projects can further be divided into several sub-items based on the type of work and the category of equipment, resulting in a total of over 130 sub-items for installation projects. The key points of the construction technical instructions included in the sub-projects are listed below. 1. Pipeline installation work: determining the embedding locations and dimensions in coordination with civil engineering; requirements for the prefabrication of pipelines, their supports, hangers, and fasteners; the sequence and methods of pipeline installation along with relevant precautions; pipeline connection methods, measures, and quality requirements; welding techniques and technical standards as well as corresponding measures; types, positions of welds, and quality standards; pressure levels, media used, temperatures, and procedures for pipeline testing; methods, steps, and quality requirements for pipeline purging; anti-corrosion requirements for pipelines and the corresponding operating procedures; ways to prevent common quality issues; and safety precautions. 2. Electrical installation work: Close coordination with civil construction to determine the types, locations, and methods of embedding components; the installation methods, procedures, measures, requirements, and key operational points for electrical busbars, cables, wires, cable trays, piping, panels, switches, and appliances; quality standards, especially regarding the appearance and dimensions of exposed pipelines and appliances, as well as the quality of installation; ensuring that protection and shielding grounding are complete and reliable; protection of finished products, particularly valuable electrical appliances; methods to prevent common quality issues; and safety precautions. 3. Ventilation installation works: determination of the dimensions for the fabrication of air ducts, types of joints used in air ducts and the corresponding fabrication procedures and quality requirements; requirements for the fabrication and installation of air duct supports and hangers; methods of air duct installation, key operational points, and quality requirements; quality control measures for the fabrication and installation of cleanroom air ducts; requirements for anti-corrosion coating of air ducts; selection of insulation materials, their thickness, insulation methods, and key operational points; ways to prevent common quality issues; safety precautions, etc. 4. Elevator installation work: Location and measurement determination methods for elevator guide rail brackets; methods and quality requirements for hoisting and adjusting the guide rails; procedures for handling the ends of steel wires; steps for installing the car; position control during the installation of landing doors; installation requirements for load-bearing beams; hoisting process of the traction machine; quality standards for control cabinets and electrical systems ； Safety protection measures for escalator transportation and lifting, setting out and measurement of the installation location ； Methods for preventing common quality issues, finished product protection, and safety measures for working at heights. 5. Installation of general mechanical equipment: inspection and acceptance of the foundation’s appearance and dimensions; requirements for the conditions at the construction site, especially with regard to constant temperature, constant humidity, vibration prevention, dust prevention, or radiation protection during the installation process; the entire sequence of operations from marking out the location, transporting the equipment to its final position, installing it, to conducting individual unit tests; the dimensional standards and precision requirements applicable during installation, as well as the standards that must be met during testing; quality standards, methods for preventing common quality issues, safety precautions, and measures for protecting precision equipment. 6. Industrial furnace masonry work: acceptance, inspection, selection of furnace construction materials as well as moisture-proof measures during storage and construction; masonry methods and key operating points; precautions for masonry in various sections; control of casting processes for refractory castables or mix proportions for refractory concrete, along with corresponding technical measures; regulations and requirements regarding the mixing, transportation, and vibration of refractory concrete; methods and sequences for pouring refractory concrete as well as curing methods; number, width, distribution, and structure of expansion joints; quality standards and methods to prevent common quality issues. 7. Automation instrument installation projects: Proper storage, selection, and installation of instrument equipment, valves, and other related components; procedures and requirements for coordinating instrument installation with work carried out by other specialized teams; methods, measures, quality standards, and key operational points for installing instrument pipelines and equipment; procedures and requirements for individual instrument testing and joint calibration; thorough protective measures for raw materials, equipment, and finished products; quality standards for instrument installation and testing, as well as measures to prevent common quality issues. 8. Steel structure engineering: the model, weight, quantity, geometric dimensions, planar position and elevation of steel structures; the variety, type, specification, connection methods and technical measures for different types of steel; the specifications of welding equipment and precautions for its operation; welding processes and their technical standards; the sequential workflow from material cutting to the assembly of complete structures; quality standards for steel structures and measures to prevent common quality issues; construction safety measures (especially those related to work at heights). 9. Container engineering: prefabrication of semi-finished components and foundation inspection; selection of construction machinery and equipment, on-site layout, and operational precautions; comprehensive installation methods, procedures, and quality requirements; product materials, specifications, welding methods, welding materials, and selection of welding sequences; welding processes and technical standards, technical measures, weld types, positions, and quality criteria; parameters for strength and sealing tests, environmental requirements and procedures, product corrosion protection and insulation requirements; prevention of common quality issues; safety measures (especially protective measures during operation: precautions against electric shock, exposure to toxins, falls, etc.).