{"id":10358,"date":"2019-03-19T02:35:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T02:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/?p=10358"},"modified":"2022-10-25T05:54:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T05:54:25","slug":"construction-acronyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/resources\/articles\/construction\/construction-acronyms\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction &#8211; Construction acronyms"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Construction-acronyms.jpg\" alt=\"Construction acronyms\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"683\" width=\"1500\" title=\"Construction-acronyms\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<h1>Construction acronyms: The most important construction acronyms to know<\/h1>\n<p><strong>JUMP TO SECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-1\">Construction acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-8\">Floor plan acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-2\">Architectural drawing acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-3\">Blueprint acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-4\">Civil engineering acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-5\">Construction project management acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#nav-7\">Wrapping your head around the growing the list of acronyms<\/a><\/p>\n\t<h2>Construction acronyms&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>Acronyms are pretty popular right now in all industries, and the construction industry is no different. Construction acronyms have always been around, due to the nature of construction drawings, complex terms and the need to condense important <a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/resources\/articles\/construction\/construction-terms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">construction terms<\/a> and jargon.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing your construction acronyms can be really important for anyone in the industry, as acronyms are used generously and across many different phases and activities involved in a construction project.<\/p>\n<p>You can need to decipher and understand acronyms on drawings, or need to quickly interpret acronyms on the fly in meetings.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve covered some of the main construction acronym categories for you below, so that your acronym game is on point.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a suggestion for any other construction acronym categories, please let us know and we&#8217;ll add it to the ever-growing list of construction acronyms.<\/p>\n\t<h3>Floor plan acronyms<\/h3>\n<p>Floor plans are filled with construction acronyms because of the size constraint associated with a floor plan. When a lot of information needs to be squeezed onto a much smaller scale, acronyms do a great job of explaining what things are without overloading the plan or document with text. Here&#8217;s some of the more common and useful floor plan acronyms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ASPH<\/strong> &#8211; Asphalt, one of the easier construction acronyms to figure out on the spot<\/p>\n<p><strong>B<\/strong> &#8211; Basin, a single B can even mean something amongst construction abbreviations and acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>BAL<\/strong> &#8211; Balustrades<\/p>\n<p><strong>BK<\/strong> &#8211; Brick, bricks are usually pretty self-explanatory, as they are usually large in number and very frequently used<\/p>\n<p><strong>CF<\/strong> &#8211; Concrete floor<\/p>\n<p><strong>DPC\/DPM<\/strong> &#8211;\u00a0Damp-proof course or damp proof membrane, which is used for water proofing<\/p>\n<p><strong>FCL\/FFL<\/strong> &#8211; Opposing and yet related, these construction acronyms mean the finished ceiling level (FCL) or finished floor level (FFL)<\/p>\n<p><strong>GPO<\/strong> &#8211; General power outlet, one of the most common floor plan acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>MSB<\/strong> &#8211; The master switchboard, of course<\/p>\n<p><strong>RL<\/strong> &#8211; Reduced level, one of the less contextual and easily understood acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>RWH\/RWP\/RWT<\/strong> &#8211; Rainwater acronyms for the rainwater head, pipe and tank<\/p>\n<p><strong>SS<\/strong> &#8211; Good old stainless steel<\/p>\n<p><strong>U\/G &amp; U\/S<\/strong> &#8211; Construction acronyms focused on the underside of things: underground (U\/G) and underside (U\/S)<\/p>\n<p><strong>W(number)<\/strong> &#8211; Basix window number<\/p>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t an exhaustive list of floor plan acronyms, and you can find many other acronyms floating around the internet, to help make your floor plan and construction acronyms easier to understand and use.<\/p>\n\t<h3>Architectural drawing acronyms<\/h3>\n<p>Architectural activities are filled with acronyms and jargon, which were and are established early in the architectural journey &#8211; particularly in architecture drawings.<\/p>\n<p>While you may not have much to do with the architectural drawing side of construction acronyms, it can still prove very valuable for any one working in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s some of the mainstay architecture acronyms:<\/p>\n<p><strong>AFF<\/strong> &#8211; Above finished floor<\/p>\n<p><strong>ANOD<\/strong> &#8211; Anodised<\/p>\n<p><strong>CIP<\/strong> &#8211; Cast in place<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLG<\/strong> &#8211; Ceiling<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLR<\/strong> &#8211; Clear<\/p>\n<p><strong>COMPR<\/strong> &#8211; Compressible, some architect drawing acronyms are more self-explanatory than others<\/p>\n<p><strong>DIM\/DIMS<\/strong> &#8211; Dimension or dimensions<\/p>\n<p><strong>EPDM<\/strong> -Ethylene Propylene Diene M-Class (Roofing) &#8211; Some construction acronyms save us a lot of time pronunciation issues<\/p>\n<p><strong>FD<\/strong> &#8211; Floor drain or fire department &#8211; make sure you know which acronyms it means here<\/p>\n<p><strong>FO<\/strong> &#8211; Face of<\/p>\n<p><strong>FND<\/strong> &#8211; Foundation &#8211; one of the most &#8216;foundational&#8217; acronyms in the business of construction<\/p>\n<p><strong>HVAC<\/strong> &#8211; Heating, ventilating and air conditioning &#8211; an acronym which has become mainstream<\/p>\n<p><strong>HM<\/strong> &#8211; Hollow metal<\/p>\n<p><strong>ILO<\/strong> &#8211; In lieu of<\/p>\n<p><strong>NIC<\/strong> &#8211; Not in contract, some acronyms are related to outside forces and not materials or designs<\/p>\n<p><strong>OH<\/strong> &#8211; Overhang or opposite hand<\/p>\n<p><strong>OPP<\/strong> &#8211; Opposite or opposite hand<\/p>\n<p><strong>PT<\/strong> &#8211; Pressure treated<\/p>\n<p><strong>PNT<\/strong> &#8211; Paint or painted<\/p>\n<p><strong>RCP<\/strong> &#8211; Reflected ceiling plan<\/p>\n<p><strong>SPK<\/strong> &#8211; Sprinkler or speaker &#8211; another important one not to get mixed up<\/p>\n<p><strong>SSTL<\/strong> &#8211; Stainless steel &#8211; sometimes acronyms across the construction industry can be a little different. Even floor plan diagrams and architectural drawings can use different acronyms for the same thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STRUCT<\/strong> &#8211; A self-explanatory construction acronym, and one of the most important<\/p>\n<p><strong>TPD<\/strong> &#8211; Toilet paper dispenser, everything needs an abbreviation or acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>UNO<\/strong> &#8211; Unless noted otherwise<\/p>\n<p>Architectural drawing diagrams can take a lifetime to get to know, and most architects start them early. But having a basic understanding can prove helpful and inform other areas of your construction knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t<h3>Blueprint acronyms<\/h3>\n<p>The common theme of construction blueprints being front and centre of drawing and diagram related construction documents continues. Blueprints also have a bunch of acronyms which need decoding:<\/p>\n<p><strong>A.F.G<\/strong> &#8211; Above finished grade<\/p>\n<p><strong>B.O.W<\/strong> &#8211; Bottom of wall<\/p>\n<p><strong>F.A.C.P<\/strong> &#8211; Fire alarm control panel<\/p>\n<p><strong>FRPF<\/strong> -Fire proof<\/p>\n<p><strong>HDCP<\/strong> &#8211; Handicapped<\/p>\n<p><strong>J-box<\/strong> &#8211; Junction box, and important and commonly used construction acronym for electricians and related trades<\/p>\n<p><strong>LDD<\/strong> &#8211; Limited dimension drawing<\/p>\n<p><strong>LL<\/strong> &#8211; Live load, sometimes double letter acronyms are the hardest to decipher<\/p>\n<p><strong>REQD<\/strong> &#8211; Make sure you don&#8217;t miss this required acronym<\/p>\n<p><strong>REBAR<\/strong> &#8211; One of the most common construction abbreviations and most important materials<\/p>\n<p><strong>T.O.B<\/strong> &#8211; Top of beam &#8211; Similar to the bottom of acronyms (B.O. &#8216;x&#8217;), there are a bunch of top of acronyms to know<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of other blueprint acronyms of course, but many of them have been covered in previous construction acronym sections. As you become more and more knowledgable about your construction acronyms, you&#8217;ll see more and more overlap across activities.<\/p>\n\t<h3>Civil engineering acronyms<\/h3>\n<p>The civil engineering &#8216;part&#8217; of the construction industry has some of its own construction acronyms, but many of them are of course related to or covered by the other sectors as well.<\/p>\n<p>Civil engineers are often working off the architectural drawings and blueprints, so many of their acronyms feed off of these prior activities.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the more common construction acronyms and abbreviations used in civil engineering include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>A.B<\/strong> &#8211; Anchor bolt or asbestos board<\/p>\n<p><strong>ASC<\/strong> &#8211; Allowable stress of concrete<\/p>\n<p><strong>AE<\/strong> &#8211; Assistant engineer, not an account executive in construction acronyms, which is the more common business abbreviation<\/p>\n<p><strong>BM<\/strong> &#8211; Benchmark or bending moment<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOF<\/strong> &#8211; Bottom of foundation<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOQ<\/strong> &#8211; Bill of quantities<\/p>\n<p><strong>BRW<\/strong> &#8211; The brick retaining wall<\/p>\n<p><strong>CC<\/strong> &#8211; Centre to centre<\/p>\n<p><strong>CE<\/strong> &#8211; Not a CEO, but a chief engineer<\/p>\n<p><strong>CMU<\/strong> &#8211; Concrete masonry unit<\/p>\n<p><strong>CMP<\/strong> &#8211; Critical path method<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS<\/strong> &#8211; Comparative statement<\/p>\n<p>Engineers use many acronyms, abbreviations and languages to communicate.<\/p>\n\t<h3>Construction project management acronyms<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/construction-project-management-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Construction project management<\/a> is at the heart of the construction industry, and it has its fair share of construction acronyms.<\/p>\n<p>While not as technical or drawing focused as some of the other acronym categories, construction project management and the people who work in this area (essentially everyone) have figured out a number of ways to simplify and abbreviate some of the more common project management words:<\/p>\n<p><strong>AC<\/strong> &#8211; Actual cost<\/p>\n<p><strong>AF<\/strong> &#8211; Actual finish date<\/p>\n<p><strong>BAC<\/strong> &#8211; Budget at completion<\/p>\n<p><strong>BCWP \/ BCWS<\/strong> &#8211; Budgeted cost of work performed or scheduled. The acronym may be more of a mouthful than the words<\/p>\n<p><strong>CPAF<\/strong> &#8211; Cost plus award fee<\/p>\n<p><strong>CPPC<\/strong> &#8211; Cost plus percentage of cost. Any time you see a construction acronym with CP, it&#8217;s most often cost-plus something.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CWBS<\/strong> &#8211; A common and important acronym for project management &#8211; the contract work breakdown structure<\/p>\n<p><strong>EMV<\/strong> &#8211; Expected monetary value &#8211; project management acronyms can mean the difference between failure and success<\/p>\n<p><strong>FFP<\/strong> &#8211; Firm fixed price<\/p>\n<p><strong>IFB<\/strong> &#8211; Invitation for bid<\/p>\n<p><strong>PMIS<\/strong> &#8211; Project management information system. To some companies, this is folders and papers, to others, the information management system is software-based.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Construction-documents-checklist.png\" alt=\"Construction documents checklist\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"700\" width=\"1400\" title=\"Construction documents checklist\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<p><strong>QA and QC<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/templates\/quality\/forms\/qa-qc-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Quality assurance and quality control<\/a> &#8211; two of the main components of project quality<\/p>\n<p><strong>RFP &#8211; <\/strong>Request for proposal or request for quotation &#8211; The buying and bidding process has its own fair share of acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>SOW<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/templates\/commercial\/forms\/statement-of-work-construction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Statement of work<\/a> &#8211; a document used to outline and schedule a project<\/p>\n<p><strong>SV<\/strong> &#8211; Schedule variance &#8211; because not all projects go to plan (most don&#8217;t)<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWAG &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong>Sophisticated wild ass guess, one of the more informal but still useful construction acronyms<\/p>\n<p><strong>TC<\/strong> &#8211; Target completion date, keep your eyes on this acronym prize<\/p>\n<p><strong>TQM<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/quality\/quality-project-management-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Total quality management<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>VE<\/strong> &#8211; Value engineering &#8211; the modification of designs and systems<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, many of these project management acronyms are slightly different to the engineering and drawing focused acronyms. You will see much more crossover and overlap in design and engineering related fields than you do between them and project and site based work.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the office (design, engineering) and the site (project management, supervision, labour) is the holy grail of construction acronym mastery, as then you can converse and sound in the know no matter where you are working.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Wrapping your head around the growing list of construction acronyms<\/h2>\n<p>Many people in the construction and other industries (business etc.) complain about the number of acronyms and abbreviations used.<\/p>\n<p>But while it can seem daunting when entering the workforce or learning a bunch of new construction acornyms, in the long run, these acronyms and abbreviations save you time and enable the better and more efficient transfer of information.<\/p>\n<p>Acronyms have become even more of their own language with the development of instant messaging, texting etc., but in the workplace, and with construction acronyms, the purpose is to smooth the transfer of information.<\/p>\n<p>As long as everyone is on the same page and everyone is peaking the same construction acronyms language &#8211; acronyms are great and will continue to develop and evolve in the years ahead &#8211; as they always do.<\/p>\n\t<p>People in <strong>80+ countries<\/strong> use this construction management software to deliver projects on time and on budget.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/construction-project-management-software\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee how\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/World-map-users.png\" alt=\"Sitemate users\" itemprop=\"image\" height=\"1440\" width=\"3000\" title=\"Sitemate users\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\"  \/>\n\t<h2>See how you can easily streamline your systems and processes with Sitemate today<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn more \u2192\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/software\/dashpivot\/demo\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWatch a demo\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/20-11-11-User-pair-37-1-1.svg\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Construction acronyms: The most important construction acronyms to know JUMP TO SECTION Construction acronyms Floor plan acronyms Architectural drawing acronyms Blueprint acronyms Civil engineering acronyms Construction project management acronyms Wrapping your head around the growing the list of acronyms Construction acronyms&#8230; Acronyms are pretty popular right now in all industries, and the construction industry is&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","rank_math_title":"Construction acronyms: The most important acronyms in construction","rank_math_description":"Construction acronyms are incredibly common in the construction industry. Here's the most important acronyms in construction which you need to know.","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"construction acronyms"},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"industry":[],"product":[],"region":[],"system":[],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-10358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction"],"acf":[],"custom_permalink":"resources\/articles\/construction\/construction-acronyms","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"system","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/system?post=10358"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitemate.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=10358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}