Specifications

Access & Permissions

• Specifications belong to a project and follow the standard project access rules. Only one active specification of each type can exist per project.
• Files are locked while a review workflow is active.
• Shared links (7-day expiry) open a read-only viewer showing all sheets, inputs and outputs.
• Specification access depends on your plan — it is included with the EP and EPC organisation plans.

Getting Started

1. Open your project and click Add Specification.
2. Choose Piping Material Specification, enter a name, description, filename and client file number.
3. The specification opens with an empty sheet canvas.
4. Click Add Sheet to add a sheet (below) — work is saved automatically as you go.

Create the document metadata first, then add only the sheets needed for the project design basis. Sheets can be reordered later without losing their inputs.

Sheets

Add sheets with the Add Sheet button. Available sheets:

• Piping Material Specification — the core sheet: pipe class, description, fluid/services, design conditions, test pressure, design standard, flange rating, material group, corrosion allowance and the six material tables.
• Wall Thickness & Schedule — per-size required wall thickness and schedule selection under ASME B31.1, B31.3, AS 4041 or ISO 4427 (HDPE).
• Flange Pressure Rating — ASME B16.5 class pressure-temperature rating check.
• Notes & References — free-form notes for the specification.

Sheets are numbered and can be removed with the red button on each sheet header. Reordering is supported from the sheet controls.

Material Tables

The core sheet contains six material tables — Pipe, Flanges, Fittings, Gaskets, Couplings and Olets. Each row covers a size range:

1. Pick the From and To sizes (e.g. DN25 → DN300). A row applies to every size in that range.
2. Select the Schedule (pipe) or Class (flanges, fittings, couplings, olets) for the row.
3. Enter the description, standards and notes for the row.
4. Add as many rows as you need — the material group selection filters which pipe catalogues are used.

Rows whose sizes are outside the project's configured pipe sizes are flagged as outside the project so you can review them before issuing.

Pipe Manufacturing Type

Each pipe row includes a Type column that sets the pipe's manufacturing (seam) type. This drives the joint efficiency E used in the wall-thickness calculation:

• SMLS — Seamless (E = 1.00)
• ERW — Electric Resistance Welded (E = 0.85)
• EFW — Electric Fusion Welded (E = 0.80)
• DSAW — Double Submerged Arc Welded (E = 0.95)
• FBW — Furnace Butt Weld (E = 0.60)

The available types depend on the selected material group — Carbon Steel offers all five, Stainless Steel offers SMLS/ERW/EFW, and plastic (HDPE/PP/PVC) rows have no Type column because plastic pipe is sized by SDR with E fixed at 1.0. Changing the material refreshes the dropdown while preserving any type you already picked if it is still valid.

Wall-Thickness Checks

1. Open the Wall Thickness & Schedule sheet and choose the design code (B31.1, B31.3, AS 4041 or ISO 4427 for HDPE), material, design pressure, temperature, corrosion allowance and pipe sizes.
2. The sheet computes the required wall for every size using t = P·D / [2·(S·E·W + P·Y)].
3. Results show the allowable stress, joint efficiency E (from the pipe row's seam type), weld strength factor W, coefficient Y, pressure thickness, minimum thickness (incl. corrosion allowance) and the required thickness.
4. The selected stocked schedule is checked against the required thickness, including the 12.5% mill tolerance. Sizes that pass show OK; sizes that do not meet the requirement show CHECK.
5. Available schedules for each size are listed so you can pick the next heavier schedule when a size fails.

Flange Rating Check

1. Open the Flange Pressure Rating sheet and select the ASME B16.5 flange material group, rating class, flange type and face.
2. Enter the design pressure and temperature.
3. The sheet looks up the class's maximum working pressure at the design temperature and reports NOT RATED, OK or EXCEEDED.
4. The full pressure-temperature rating table for the class is shown for reference.

Tee Matrix

• The core sheet builds a tee matrix from your pipe rows' size ranges.
• Equal tees (ET) are marked automatically on the diagonal.
• Reducing tees (RT) appear for every other size combination within the range and can be overridden per cell.
• Sizes outside the project's configured pipe sizes are excluded and listed separately.

Saving & Revisions

• Changes are saved automatically as you fill in the sheets.
• Full revision history with alpha → numeric promotion, the same as other document types.
• Archived revisions are read-only — switch revisions from the revision links in the header.
• Render All Sheets re-runs every sheet so the outputs reflect the latest inputs.

Exporting to PDF

1. Click Export PDF on the specification.
2. Generates a professional PDF with:
   • A cover page with the revision history.
   • Every sheet showing inputs and outputs, including the material tables, wall-thickness and rating tables.
   • An appendix with the wall-thickness detail, joint-efficiency values and the tee matrix.
3. Download Word produces a Word-compatible version of the same content.

Sharing

• Click Share to generate a signed URL with a 7-day expiry.
• Opens a read-only viewer showing all sheets, inputs and outputs — no account required.

Troubleshooting

FAQ

Do I need to save manually?

No — specifications auto-save as you fill in the sheets.

How is the joint efficiency chosen?

From the pipe row's Type column (SMLS 1.00, ERW 0.85, EFW 0.80, DSAW 0.95, FBW 0.60). Plastic rows are fixed at E = 1.0.

Can I share a specification with someone who isn't registered?

Yes — use Share to create a read-only signed link that expires after 7 days.