Part III: Facts Are The Building Blocks Of Knowledge
              And Judgment
Understanding and Using the Parts and Pieces of the Building Well

Introduction

Facts and knowledge must be distributed to many. "We hire good consultants for that" is not an acceptable approach. To delegate all responsibility to a consultant is to forfeit all ability to manage the project. 

   You must know which consultant to call. And each one will have their own nature and speed—pick them and that is what you will get. And their purpose and values may not match yours. Once selected, you can change their output only a little. They will tell you there are only a few ways, and say that what others are routinely successfully achieving is unfeasible or impossible. And they will ask you questions for which your intelligent answer matters. 

   Call the subs, vendors, and reps for information and advice? Same problem. If you’re in charge you must know something before you can even ask the first question. You cannot know everything but you must know something—enough to manage. Each building work area and task is complex, and includes traditions and ingrained work practices that may not be obvious, rational, or optimal. So no one, no mat-ter how clever and intelligent, can figure this out without some help. 

   This part of the book provides this help. The chapters are divided into the main parts of the build-ing. A little theory about why things work, a description of how things are done and why, and common misconceptions, problems, and solutions are presented for each work item. No previous knowledge of the subject is required or assumed. Only the minimum amount of technical information is presented. (Some areas may seem to contain a lot of technical information, but wait until you are asked a question. This information may seem barely enough. A second reading for reference may be needed.) 

   Knowledge of the information in this part of the book will put you in the top couple percent of all those in the building business. You will be able to more effectively hire project personnel (consultants, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors), evaluate their presented alternatives, answer their questions, and review their work in progress. 

   And one other thing happens. Because they will notice that you have taken the time to really learn about their work (not just learning a few buzzwords to fool them), they will be flattered. And respect you more. Communication improves and you manage faster, easier, and better.